Self-Guided Tour: Clay, Bricks, Dump, Park: A Tour of North Cambridge

Black and white photo of a person bent over many rows of bricks outside. Stacked bricks are seen on the right.

This tour begins with glacial time – 10,000 years ago when ice left behind vast deposits of clay in North Cambridge, then fast-forwards 9,800 years to the neighborhood’s brickmaking heyday, and the dump left in its wake. Clay shaped one of Cambridge’s biggest industries, and the lives of North Cantabrigians for generations. Take a walk through North Cambridge to find out how.

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The Remarkable John “Jack” Emerson: Founder of the J. H. Emerson Company

By Daphne Abeel, 2005 When Will and George Emerson begin to talk about their family background and their father, who founded the J. H. Emerson Company, they mention somewhat offhandedly that they are descended from a brother of Ralph Waldo Emerson and that their paternal grandfather was related to the artist Maxfield Parrish. But it…

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Henderson-Vandermark Family Papers, 1813-1974

Administrative Information Historical Sketch Sources Scope and Content Note Box and Folder List 8 cartons, 1 half file box, 1 folio box, 1 folio photo box, OS Processed by Anne Geiersbach, September 2008 Updated by Aly Brown, December 2009 12.04 linear feet Acquisition: The Henderson-Vandermark Family Papers were placed on deposit by Peter and Henry…

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