Part of the 2017 Dorchester House Tour coverage

Every house has a story behind it: Who built it and when? Does it have architectural/historic significance? What changes have been made since it was built? And, perhaps most intriguing, who has lived in it over the generations?

The resources listed below, compiled by the Dorchester Historical Society, can help you get started uncovering the story of your house.

Current owner: City of Boston Assessor's page.

Building Permits: At the City of Boston' Inspectional Services website, “Search for historical permit records.”

Historic Properties: Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, here: information about individual properties and areas in Dorchester.

Fire Insurance Atlases: Between 1874 and 1933, insurance companies published atlases that showed the owner for each property. Find Dorchester atlases at dorchesteratheneum.org; originals at DHS.

Boston Blue Books: Published from the 1890s through 1915, Blue Books were an elite street directory for residents and businesses. Available at DHS; search on “Boston Blue Book” for online sources.

Boston Resident Lists: Available online at the Boston Public Library (bpl.org) for most years, 1922-1966. Lists are by ward and precinct, which changed over time; contact DHS for help.

City Directories: Directories from 1870 through 1900 at the Boston Athenaeum’s website. With ancestry.com, find directories post-1900 here.

Federal Census Records: Available on ancestry.com or familysearch.org.

Deeds: For 1900 or before, search by grantor or grantee; click on “Suffolk ” for 1870 to 1900, click on “Norfolk” for pre-1870. Find deeds from the 1970s to the present, searchable by property address and by names, at www.masslandrecords.com. Deeds between 1900 and the 1970s are at the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds (not online).

Dorchester Historical Society Resources: dorchesterhistoricalsociety.org and its sister site, dorchesteratheneum.org, offer a wealth of information about Dorchester’s history, people, places.