We use history to catalyze the connections that make Cambridge, Massachusetts more vibrant and cohesive.
May 19: Dialogue Dinner
Dialogue Dinner: A Different Kind of Dinner Party Tuesday, May 19, 20266-8 pm159 Brattle Street (History Cambridge headquarters)Registration requiredLimited space available!This Dinner will be photographed for promotional purposes and all participants must sign a release form. If you don’t want to be photographed, please join us at a future Dinner. Join us for a unique…
May 30: Dana Park Meet-Up + Game
“Save Dana Park” AI-guided interactive puzzle game Saturday, May 30, 2–4 PM (Sunday rain date)Dana Park, CambridgePlan for the game to take about 1 hourBring a charged phone and shoes for paths and grassFree snacks!Recommended for ages 10+; younger kids are welcome with a grown-up nearbyFree to play; donations appreciatedNo pre-registration — just show up…
June 11: History Hang: North Cambridge Walk
Thursday, June 11 at 10 amMeet at Jerry’s Pit/the bus stop at Rindge Ave @ Russell FieldFree. Please pre-register! Well-behaved furry friends welcome Our Neighborhood History Center initiative keeps us moving across the map, but we refuse to leave our favorite places behind. While 2026 is officially focused on West Cambridge, we are returning to…
June 13: Land/Mark Symposium
Land/Mark: A Symposium on Enslavement, Resistance, and the Revolution Saturday, June 13th, 11am – 3pmCambridge Public Library Lecture Hall449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138Free and open to the publicRegistration required This symposium explores the story of Mark, Phillis and Phebe, three enslaved people punished in 1755 for fatally poisoning their enslaver, John Codman, in order to break free from slavery. The case was so well known that 40 years later, Paul Revere used the location of one of their bodies as a…
“The Greatest Curiosity of Cambridge”: Chinese Comes to Harvard
By Beth Folsom, 2026 An August 1879 article in the Cambridge Chronicle announced that “there was a written agreement dated Shanghai, 26th of May, ‘79, between [Francis] Knight, on behalf of the President and Fellows of Harvard College, and Ko Kum Huo, to teach the Chinese language at Harvard College for three years, at a…
“Saving Dana Park” Melds Gaming, AI, and Local History
By Beth Folsom, 2026 Tucked into a Cambridgeport block off of Magazine Street sits Dana Park, part of the city’s landscape since the mid-1800s. How did the park come to be, and what might happen if it were to be taken from the Cambridge public and placed into private hands? These are some of the…
Commemoration of Cambridge’s 275th Anniversary Reflects City’s Changing Face
By Beth Folsom, 2026 In December 1905, a large audience assembled in Sanders Theater to hear an array of “notable men” speak on the occasion of the 275th anniversary of the founding of the city we now know as Cambridge. The Cambridge Historical Society had been formed earlier that year, and this anniversary celebration was…
West Cambridge History Hub
2026 is our year of West Cambridge! Check out our upcoming events A Brief History of West Cambridge As defined by the City of Cambridge’s Community Development Department, the neighborhood of West Cambridge is bounded on the west by Fresh Pond, on the north by Concord Avenue, on the south by the Charles River and…
American Revolution in Cambridge
Introduction Cambridge has been part of America’s Revolutionary story from its beginnings, even before the outbreak of the war for independence. On Sept. 1, 1774, Cambridge residents responded to the news that Gen. Thomas Gage, royal governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, had ordered the removal of gunpowder from a magazine (a powder storage…
East Cambridge History Hub
A Brief History of East Cambridge The area that we now know as East Cambridge was for many centuries largely salt marshes and mud flats which, at low tide, virtually cut the area off from other parts of the city, as well as from Boston. The rich oyster beds contained there served as an important…
LGBTQ+ History Hub
This hub is a work in progress. Have some resources to add? Let us know! In This Hub Introduction Cambridge is a well-known leader in LGBTQ+ rights. The city was first in Massachusetts to perform gender-affirming surgery in 1972, and in 2004 it became first in the country to grant same-sex marriage licenses. City government…
North Cambridge History Hub
North Cambridge History Hub
Fort Washington History Hub
Fort Washington Park is the last remaining fortification from the Revolutionary War in Cambridge, but the park and neighborhood hold rich histories beyond the Revolutionary era. This History Hub contains materials that details the eras of the park
Cambridgeport History Hub
History Hub for all things Cambridgeport
Culinary History Hub
Culinary History of Cambridge By Rain Robertson, and revised by Deb Mandel, 2022 Cambridge holds a rich and distinctive culinary history. It gave America ice, the Porterhouse steak, Peking ravioli, its first star chef in Julia Child, and a hankering for Indian food. This is a survey of 20th century markets, delis, cafeterias, and local…
Indigenous Peoples History Hub
Curious about the Indigenous history of this place? Start learning here.
Inner Belt Hub
Cambridge had a major role in battling one highway for decades and eventually sparking a process that created a powerful coalition that led officials to remake transportation policy for the Boston area inside Route 128
Curious About Forgotten Souls of Tory Row?
In 2022, History Cambridge was awarded an Arts for Social Justice grant from Cambridge Arts. We selected the artist collaborative Black Coral, Inc. for the project and installation began in May 2022, with the art on view from June 1st 2022 through April 7th 2023. “Forgotten Souls of Tory Row: Remembering the Enslaved People of Brattle Street” honors the enslaved adults and children who lived and worked on this land as well as those whose labor on Caribbean plantations helped finance the grand homes of white Tory Row elites.
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Find original research by History Cambridge staff, interns, volunteers, and community members, including articles, oral histories, and online exhibitions. Search results also include our finding aids, which describe archival materials you can make an appointment to view in person.
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