Bristol Room

Patrons and researchers can ask to have items retrieved from the Bristol Room at any time during regular library hours.  The Bristol Room is open on Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:45 pm, and on Thursdays from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.

The Bristol Room contains a special library collection devoted to local history.  It consists of books, diaries, memoirs, oral histories on cassette, videos, maps, high school yearbooks, scrapbooks, photographs and post cards. Genealogists conduct research in the Bristol Room by consulting family histories, city directories (beginning with 1884), church and cemetery records. Patrons who have an interest in researching images of Bristol’s past are able to view hundreds of photographs dating from the nineteenth century to the present. The earliest high school yearbook in the collection is from 1931. There are also graduation programs from the 1800s and school attendance records from the same period. The Historic Resources Inventory is a listing of older buildings in Bristol, which includes the year of construction and the names of previous owners. The Bristol Press is available on microfilm beginning with the first edition, which was published in 1871. An accompanying subject, birth, death, and marriage index can be used as an aid to research. Certain subjects such as local clock-makers, the New Departure Company and World War II are well-represented in the Bristol Room.

The public has access to this unique collection during regular library hours.To learn more about the Bristol Room patrons can inquire at the Reference Desk, which is located on the second floor of the library.

 


Click Here For Information On
BRISTOL SCHOOL YEARBOOKS

 



Bristol Cemeteries

Religious Affiliation Name of Cemetery Location
Catholic St. Joseph Roman Catholic Cemetery (Old) 31 Queen St. ( near Maple St.), adjacent to St. Joseph Church
Catholic St. Joseph Roman Catholic Cemetery (New)  522 Terryville Ave. (near Everett St.)
Catholic St. Thomas Cemetery 54 Curtis St. (north of Farmington Ave., off Lewis St.)
Congregational Down St. Cemetery (formerly known as Bridge St. Cemetery and earlier South Cemetery) Down St. (near South St., south of Memorial Blvd.) 
Congregational Lewis St. Cemetery (formerly North Cemetery) 80 Lewis St. (north of Farmington Ave.)
Episcopal Episcopal Cemetery (Old) Near corner of Maple St. and Stearns St. (adjacent to old St. Joseph Cemetery, near St. Joseph Church)
Jewish Congregation Beth Israel 626 Lake Ave. (near Glenn St.)
Non-denominational Forestville Cemetery 60 Circle St., Forestville
Non-denominational Lake Avenue Cemetery Lake Ave. ( at the corner of Cross St.)
Non-denominational Peacedale Cemetery James P. Casey Road (near Perkins St.)
Non-denominational West Cemetery 49 Pound St. (between Terryville Ave. and Cemetery Ave.)

Researching Houses and other buildings

The Historic Resources Inventory of Buildings and Structures gives a detailed description and photographs of more than one hundred residential and commercial buildings.  Most of the buildings in the inventory were constructed prior to the 1940s.  The oldest, the Benjamin Buck house, was built in 1729. 

The library also has an Information File which contains material about some of the well-known houses in Bristol and also a list of Bristol houses and neighborhoods that are on the National Register of Historic Places.  The Bristol Press Index has useful information under the headings: House Tours, Old, Housing, and Buildings.  Information and photographs of a few of these houses are available in the Bristol Room.  

A house in the Federal Hill area may possibly be included in the Federal Hill walking tour booklet. The Smith History of Bristol (Bristol Connecticut, "In Olden Time New Cambridge") contains many pictures of houses that were built before 1907. Both of these publications are available at the library.

Ask the Reference Librarian for assistance in accessing all of these materials. 

Helpful Website:

National Register of Historic Places

Vintage Postcards

(From the Bristol Room Collection) 


Main Street
 


North Main Street
 


Pierce Homestead
 


Brightwood Hall