May 10: East Cambridge in the Revolution tour

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 the Continental Army. But East Cambridge played a critical role in the Revolutionary story, from the construction of Fort Putnam and other earthworks to the landing of British troops at Lechmere Point to begin their westward march to the battle of Lexington and Concord.

During the Revolution, local businessman Andrew Craigie was heavily involved in land speculation; following the end of the war, Craigie was able to translate this into the private sector, accumulating a vast amount of land in East Cambridge and creating the Lechmere Point Corporation in order to survey, grade, and fill the area for sale as individual lots for residential and commercial development. This transformation of the landscape enabled East Cambridge to become a vibrant center for industry and local government, as the construction of a bridge to Boston allowed for workers and goods to flow more easily into the neighborhood and enabled it to become the seat of justice for Middlesex County. This tour will explore both East Cambridge’s role in the Revolution and the many ways in which the neighborhood has retained its revolutionary character over the past several centuries.