There’s nothing like discovering an old photo and reminiscing about days gone by. While these photographs are quite a bit older than those you’re likely to discover in your attic, they still make us feel connected to our history. We’ve collected some of the most incredible early photos ever taken in Massachusetts. Take a look into the past below:

  1. This picture of Boston from 1860 is the oldest surviving aerial photo in the world.

James Wallace Black, The Met Museum (Public Domain) It was taken by James Wallace Black while he sailed over the city in a hot air balloon. You can see Old South and Trinity Church, two Boston landmarks that still draw visitors today. The photograph is titled “Boston, as the Eagle and Wild Goose See It.”

  1. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s house in Andover, 1865

Library of Congress (No Known Restrictions)

  1. Interior of a hospital’s women’s ward, mid-1800s.

Flickr/Boston Public Library

  1. Major General William Francis Bartlett in Pittsfield, 1865

Library of Congress (No Known Restrictions)

  1. A parade on Columbus Avenue in Boston, 1875

Flickr/Boston Public Library

  1. Boston City Hall as it stood in 1865

Library of Congress (No Known Restrictions)

  1. Ponakin Road Bridge spanning Nashua River on Ponakin Road, Lancaster, 1865

Library of Congress (No Known Restrictions)

  1. A master bedroom in Massachusetts, 1885

Flickr/Boston Public Library

  1. The view from the Boston State House, 1858

Flickr/Boston Public Library

  1. View from the Boston State House looking south, 1858

Flickr/Boston Public Library

  1. Ships sailing out of Boston, 1900

Flickr/Boston Public Library

  1. A festive shot of Faneuil Hall, 1870

Flickr/Boston Public Library

  1. A Chinese funeral in Boston, 1908

Flickr/Boston Public Library

  1. A “consumptive home” for victims of tuberculosis, 1870s.

Flickr/Boston Public Library

  1. Hotel Pelham in Boston, 1850

Flickr/Boston Public Library

  1. A quiet library filled with men researching statistics, 1900

Flickr/Boston Public Library

  1. A packed street car, 1900

Flickr/Boston Public Library

What do you think of these photos? Do you recognize any spots that are still around today? Let us know below!

James Wallace Black, The Met Museum (Public Domain)

It was taken by James Wallace Black while he sailed over the city in a hot air balloon. You can see Old South and Trinity Church, two Boston landmarks that still draw visitors today. The photograph is titled “Boston, as the Eagle and Wild Goose See It.”

Library of Congress (No Known Restrictions)

Flickr/Boston Public Library

For more amazing old photographs of Massachusetts, check out these rare photos taken during WWII.

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