The South Congregational Society was formed in 1824 to provide a meetinghouse in South Amherst closer to home for its members than the First Church in Amherst Center. Funds for the building were raised by subscription, and land was donated by Nathaniel Dickinson. The building was completed in September 1825, and the first minister, Rev. Horace Chapin, was ordained in November. In 1915 the church was incorporated and named the South Congregational Church in Amherst.

The South Congregational Church Collection extends from 1824 to the present. Material includes bound volumes of church records beginning in 1825; early documents, such as the deed of land from Nathaniel Dickinson and the first subscription list; financial and committee records; records from the 1974 addition; bulletins; memorabilia of events; histories of the church; clippings; and photographs of the building and church members.

A major portion of the early records have been housed in The Jones Library Special Collections for many years. Additional material, mostly dating from 1950 to the 1980's, was obtained by gift from the church in January 1990. Both portions have been consolidated and recorded in the card catalog.

While the entire South Congregational Church Collection has been catalogued in card form, only a portion has been microfilmed. If the material has been microfilmed, a microfilm reel number appears on the upper left corner of the catalog card. In order to help locate the material on the microfilm reel, a location, such as beginning, middle or end, is given below the description of the material.

Sample card:

Headings on the microfilm, such as "South Congregational Church-Records-Box IV," do not reflect current storage, because a large quantity of material has been incorporated since the microfilming was done. They are sometimes included on the catalog cards, only as an aid in locating material on the microfilm reel.