The Sterling, Massachusetts papers consist of the incorporation of Sterling from a section of Lancaster in 1781, creation of the Sterling Turnpike Corporation, state, county, and town tax books, petitions to the General Court concerning a tax dispute between Sterling and Shrewsbury, Mass., land surveys and land deeds, especially concerning Ebenezer Pope (1752-1825), Ebenezer Pope Jr. (1784-1833) and Jeremiah Burpee (1724-1817). Also included are wills, estate settlements, promissory notes, arrest warrants, deeds and apprenticeship documents, detailed directions for building a public highway between Sterling and Westminster, Mass. (with lists of damages to property owners along the route), account books of the Sterling Post Office, 1824-1826, kept by postmaster Isaac Goodwin (1786-1832), and the committee's assessment of each school's curriculum. The volumes include a record book of the Society for Detecting Thieves, 1831-1852, organized to recover stolen property and discover the perpetrators. These records contain a constitution, membership and dues lists, committee lists, and treasurer's accounts. A volume of militia company records, 1818-1838, kept by Phineas Beaman Dana (1789-1835), includes lists of members, supplies, and ammunition, and the issuance of orders for parades, drills, and inspections. There are also First Social Library Records, 1804-1852, mainly kept by Israel Allen (1757-1817), and containing minutes of each meeting of the Sterling Library Committee, including election of officers and library borrowing policies. First precinct records, 1796-1812, of Sterling parish and town meetings were kept by Moses Smith (1763-1814) and include the details of building the town's first meetinghouse, the sale of pews and stable lots, and town maintenance and taxation policies. A photocopy of the record volume of the First Congregational Church of Sterling (including when it was known as the Second Church of Lancaster, Mass.), 1744-1813, is also included. This photocopy includes vital records, memberships, dismissions and ordinations, committee meetings, the church covenant, and the lengthy dispute between Rev. John Mellen (1723-1807) and church leaders in 1774 concerning doctrinal differences. The folders also include regulations for the Sterling Reading Room, 1813; a Constitution, list of members, and minutes of meetings of the Sterling Singing Society; and a subscription and bylaws of an association to collect newspapers in order to keep the citizens of Sterling politically informed.
