"American engraver and historian John Warner Barber (1798-1885) was well known for his books on local, state, and national history. This work, organized by county, gives historical background on all the Massachusetts towns that existed when it was first published in 1839. Barber supplies facts and details of each town's early settlement, including original Native American place names, and he presents statistics on local industries and agriculture, descriptions of landmark architecture and cultural organizations, and brief biographical sketches of historic residents. Barber's numerous engravings, mostly 'taken on the spot' when he visited towns to gather information, attractively supplement the descriptions" -- Publisher's description.