We always say, Everyone is a history ambassador. “A Close-up of Huron Avenue” shows just how true that is, no matter how old—or young—you are. Around 1980, Fayerweather Street School students, ages eight to eleven, conducted a five-month study of their neighborhood. At that time, the school was located at 74R Fayerweather Street (it moved to its current location, 765 … Read More
Who Is Essential Cambridge? Part 2: Teachers
In the first part of our series, “Who Is Essential Cambridge?,” we examined the role of Cambridge women in the industrial sector during and between the World Wars. Women played an important role in industrial production in the years before the outbreak of World War I—a role that continued and intensified over the coming decades. As such, these industrial workers … Read More
Memories of Nineteenth-Century Cambridge
By Lois Lilley Howe Read January 22, 1952 This article originally appeared in the Cambridge Historical Society Proceedings, Volume 34, pages 59-76 ONE of my earliest recollections — I cannot date it — is that I asked some older member of my family if it was probable that I should be alive when 1900, the new century, came in. I never imagined … Read More
Edith Lesley: Pioneering Educational Leader
By Jan Devereux This blog post is a result of our “How Have Women Shaped Cambridge?” call for submissions as we celebrate our 2020 theme, “Who Are Cambridge Women?” Edith Lesley (1872-1953) left a mark on Cambridge in founding, in 1909, the school that over the past 111 years has grown into Lesley University. The daughter of a shoemaker, Edith … Read More
The History of 74 Rear Fayerweather Street, Cambridge
By Heli Meltsner, 2007 In the six decades after 1852 the use of this property changed utterly: an unused field became a garage, elementary school and finally a private residence. When William G. Stearns bought forty acres of the Ruggles-Fayerweather estate he hired the prolific local surveyor Alexander Wadsworth to lay out a residential subdivision. The 63 lots on Fayerweather … Read More
Maria Baldwin, 1856-1922: “An Honor and a Glory”
By Daphne Abeel, 2006 Cantabrigian Maria Baldwin, a gifted and imposing African-American educator of the early 20th century, has never lacked recognition. During her lifetime and after her death, she was praised and then remembered. She was exceptional for her era and perhaps for all eras, attracting the attention of the entire community with her engaging personality and great skills … Read More
A “Townie” Benefactor
By Daphne Abeel, 2012 Frederick Hastings Rindge, Cambridge’s most important individual benefactor, was a ‘‘townie’’ who entered Harvard in 1875. The son of Samuel Baker Rindge, a successful merchant and businessman, Frederick grew up in the ‘‘Rindge mansion,’’ which still stands at the corner of Dana and Harvard streets. At Harvard, he was a loyal and enthusiastic student –– and … Read More