This dataset contains historical data on concentrations of total and dissolved organic carbon in Massachusetts streams from the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (NWIS) database. The data were compiled from NWIS using site and sample selection criteria to retrieve all publicly available data from surface-water samples that contained analysis of both total and dissolved organic carbon. The data set was screened, as much as possible from the site and sample description information in NWIS, to retain only routine environmental samples from stream sites. The final data set consists of 223 samples from 52 sites and were collected from 1978 to 2007.