Since 1634, inhabitants of Massachusetts towns have elected legislators to represent their interests in the General Court. Originally known as the House of Deputies, the elected representatives from the towns formed the lower house of the General Court and sat as a separate body beginning in 1644. With the arrival of the new charter for the Province of Mssachusetts Bay, the lower chamber became known as the House of Representatives, the name by which it is still known today.
Over the course of the annual session of House, the House clerk keeps a daily record of the proceedings of the representatives, which is collectively known as the Journals of the House of Representatives. Originally intended for internal use, the House first ordered the publciation of its daily activity after a dispute with Governor Joseph Dudley in 1715. From that time through the adoption of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780, the Journals of the House of Representatives were printed annually.
In 1919, the Massachusetts Historical Society issued reprints of pre-Constitutional Journals beginning with the first volume from 1715.
Although the House ordered the clerk to continue printing the Journals after 1780, only a handful of volumes were published. Regular printing resumed in 1864 and has continued to the present.
More recent House Journals (2002 to the Present) are available through the website of the Massachusetts General Court.