We engage with Cambridge, Massachusetts, to explore how the past influences the present in order to shape a better future.
Open Archives 2023: Born in Cambridge
Join the staff of History Cambridge and special guest Mike Kuchta at the historic Hooper-Lee-Nichols House for Open Archives
May 18 Good Gumbo: A History Cambridge Fundraiser with Chef Renee McLeod
Join History Cambridge board member Renee McLeod for another cooking demonstration. This time, we’ll be exploring gumbo, a traditional Southern dish.
May 17: 2023 Inaugural Marcus and Amy Garvey Annual Lecture: Featuring Paula Paris
History Cambridge is pleased to co-sponsor Black History in Action for Cambridgeport’s 2023 inaugural Marcus & Amy Garvey Annual Lecture. This event recognizes St. Augustine’s role in the historic Pan-Africanist UNIA movement, founded by Marcus Mosiah Garvey and Amy Ashwood Garvey in 1914. Paula Paris, eminent public historian with decades of service to communities across Cambridge, will deliver the first lecture in this new yearly tradition. This event is free and open to the public.
May 7: Jerry’s Pond Fest
History Cambridge is pleased to co-sponsor Jerry’s Pond Fest. The Friends of Jerry’s Pond are celebrating their 7th Earth Day and you are all invited. There will be music, Bangladeshi dance, food, arts & crafts, Native American Fish Weir, and many activities for both kids and adults. Meet your neighbors to celebrate the planned reopening of Jerry’s Pond, and meet members of the IQHQ team and community groups. Come make art, see Audubon’s animals, remove invasive species, weed native gardens, clean around the pond, and, of course, stop by the History Cambridge table!
History Hub has stories of women to celebrate changing Cambridge since Battle of Bunker Hill
As this Women’s History Month draws to a close, History Cambridge invites you to learn more about some of the women who have had an impact on the community and to think about stories that haven’t yet been told.
The Tot Lot child care nears a 50th anniversary with the same cooperative model from its birth
Tot Lot was the first child care center in 1970s working-class Cambridgeport, and was designed to have parents working in the classrooms alongside the teachers.
Growing up in Cambridgeport has been idyllic, but Gen Zers see the area changing around them
Neither Nora Sokolovska nor Katrina Pallais can imagine a better place to grow up than Cambridgeport. And the 17-year-olds don’t just mean in comparison to other Cambridge neighborhoods. They mean on the face of the earth.
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
Black History in Cambridge: Online Resources Hub
Above Image: Saundra Graham speaks into a megaphone during the occupation of 319th Harvard Commencement June 11, 1970 (Courtesy Cambridge Historical Commission) Delve into these online resources that explore Black history in Cambridge. More programs and events about Cambridge’s Black history are being planned. To be notified, sign up for our monthly enewsletter. Articles Self-Guided…
Early Black Cambridge Resource Hub
Are you interested in learning more about the history of race, slavery, and African American life in the Cambridge area? This guide highlights many of the resources available that touch on these topics, including primary, secondary, and public-facing sources (such as self-guided tours and websites). While this hub is focused on material related to the…
Women’s History Hub
Profiles included: Barbara Ackermann | Maria Baldwin | Ann Bookman | Sara Chapman Bull | Joyce Chen | Helen Lee Franklin | Suzanne R. Green | Lois Lilley Howe | Edith Lesley | Eva Neer | Mercy Scollay | Elizabeth Sullivan | Phyllis Wallace Our 2020 theme was Who Are Cambridge Women? But why spend…
Businesses Well Lived
As part of our ongoing work to capture Cambridge history, we partnered with Cambridge Local First to reach out to local small business owners and find out how the pandemic has affected their livelihood.
Lois Lilley Howe Hub
As part of our year asking “Who Are Cambridge Women?” meet Lois Lilley Howe. Learn about her life and work.
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.
Search Our Site
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.
Shed light on untold stories and silenced voices.
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