Information on when a house was built may be obtained by the City (or County, if the house is on a rural route) Office of Building Permits.

The Local History and Genealogy Department maintains an information file Domestic Architecture -- History.

In addition, patrons may wish to examine the following books in the library collection:

"House Histories: a guide to tracing the genealogy of your home" by Sally Light.

"Discovering the History of Your House" by Betsy Green:

The Greene County Assessor's Office has an online database.

Assessor’s information sheets contain some general information about a house, plus previous owners, and sometimes, a site drawing. The Office of the County Recorder of Deeds will have some of this same information. Once these documents are obtained, the owner may check old Springfield City Directories in the Local History and Genealogy Department, as well as newspaper indexes, for possible information on previous owners.

The Local History and Genealogy Department also maintains a Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority Assessment File for some parts of the city. Records in this file will sometimes include photos. The majority of these buildings are in central and south-central Springfield (Park Central Sqaure, Center City, MSU, etc.).