Its headquarters, located at 87 Mount Vernon Street on Boston's Beacon Hill, are closed to the public.

The Colonial Society of Massachusetts is involved in a number of other activities such as convening scholarly conferences.

Its education efforts include encouraging the study of colonial Massachusetts in schools, conducting workshops for teachers, and promoting the sharing of research amongst graduate students.

Initially, only descendants of Massachusetts Bay or Plymouth colonists were able to join the society.

Notable members include: Thomas R. Adams, Charles W. Akers, Charles Evans, John Grinold, Philip F. Gura, John Elbridge Hudson, Leonard Woods Labaree, Franklin Pierce Rice, and Walter Muir Whitehill.