The Braintree Historical Commission has created an online survey that will help determine how much Braintree and other nearby residents know about the town and what focus officials should take on issues ranging from Local Historic Districts to the Old Thayer Library.

"The town is always bringing new people in and out," Director of Planning and Community Development Christine Stickney said. 

Stickney said that there is no specific goal of the survey, but rather its intention is to provide the commission with a baseline of information about what people know about the town's history and their opinions on what kind of educational and other efforts could be made in the future.

"You think you're reaching an audience and you really don't know," Stickney said.

Survey questions include basic information such as age, sex and whether participants live in Braintree or elsewhere and whether they rent or own, as well as how respondents feel about how the town is doing on educating children and the public in general on Braintree history. 

A series of questions asks participants whether they know that Braintree has a Local Historic District along Washington Street and then, if they would like to see more areas of town designated as such, if they would choose Braintree Square, Elm Street or another area.

The survey can be accessed at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/braintree_historical_commission.

The commission consists of five members, with Elizabeth Mees currently serving as chair, and was established by state law. The Massachusetts Historical Commission was created in 1963 to "help to establish our sense of place and to define the very character of our communities."

This is the first electronic survey by the Braintree Historical Commission that Stickney said she is aware of, and the first widely-distributed questionnaire in some time. Next, the town will likely tackle economics, and specifically survey small businesses in Braintree, Stickney said.