We use history to catalyze the connections that make Cambridge, Massachusetts more vibrant and cohesive.
April 26: Ideas, Invention, and Imagination: A Guided Tour of Cambridgeport
Saturday, April 26, 20252-3:30 pmFree; registration requiredLimited space availableWeather date: Sunday, April 27 at 2 pm About the tour Join authors Karen Weintraub and Michael Kuchta for a series of free tours exploring Cambridge’s legacy of innovation, adaptation, and revolutionary ideas. Based on their book Born in Cambridge: 400 Years of Ideas and Innovators, these…
May 3: East Cambridge in the Revolution tour
Saturday, May 3, 2025 2-3:30 pmFree; registration required Limited space availableWeather date: Sunday, May 4 at 2 pm About the tour East Cambridge is a neighborhood whose role in the Revolutionary War is largely unknown. Long overshadowed by other parts of the city, most notably the Cambridge Common, where General George Washington took command of…
May 10: East Cambridge in the Revolution tour
Saturday, May 10, 2025 2-3:30 pmFree; registration required Limited space availableWeather date: Sunday, May 11 at 2 pm About the tour East Cambridge is a neighborhood whose role in the Revolutionary War is largely unknown. Long overshadowed by other parts of the city, most notably the Cambridge Common, where General George Washington took command of…
May 13: History Café: Squire’s Meat and East Cambridge’s Fight for Change
Industry, Labor, and Community: Squire’s Meat and East Cambridge’s Fight for Change Tuesday, May 136-7 pmEast Cambridge Savings Bank292 Cambridge StreetFree, please register! About the event From the time of its founding in the 1840s, the John P. Squire & Co. meat processing plant was a major force in East Cambridge industry. At its peak…
The great fire of 1963 and the end of meat packing in East Cambridge
By Michael Kuchta, 2025 On the afternoon of April 14, 1963, Easter Sunday, a spectacular fire consumed the Squire’s meatpacking plant on Gore Street in East Cambridge. More than 500 firefighters from Cambridge and surrounding communities worked to subdue the flames. Hot embers were carried by the thick smoke and fell onto buildings as far…
Harvard Square institution was party to a landmark Supreme Court decision
By Laura Roberts, 2025 With First Amendment issues in the news and on our minds, it is interesting to recall how a venerable Harvard Square restaurant was party to a landmark Supreme Court decision on the “Establishment Clause,” which reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise…
New England Glass and the history of glassmaking in East Cambridge
By Beth Folsom, 2025 The Cambridge papers announced in April 1850 that the New England Glass Co. was building an enormous chimney for its glassworks site on North Street in East Cambridge. With a 30-square-foot base, the chimney would climb to 240 feet, “20 feet higher than the Bunker Hill Monument!” This construction was a…
East Cambridge History Hub
2025 is our year of East Cambridge See what events we’ve got planned! 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…
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
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 1700s, it also offers relevant material from later periods in Cambridge history.
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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