History of Cambridge, Massachusetts

Originally known as Newtown, Cambridge is one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts. First settled in 1630 by Thomas Dudley, who wanted to make Newtown the capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Cambridge was later incorporated as a town in the colony about six years later.

The following is a timeline of the history of Cambridge:

1630:

• In December, Newtown is settled by Thomas Dudley.

1631:

• Winthrop Square Park is established on what is now modern day Kennedy Street.

• The Cambridge Common is established on Massachusetts Avenue.

1635:

• The Henry Vassall House is built on Brattle Street.

1636:

• Newtown is incorporated as a town in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

• On September 8, Harvard College is founded in Cambridge.

1638:

• Newtown is renamed Cambridge.

1681:

• The Cooper – Frost – Austin House is built on Linnaean Street.

1685:

• The Hooper – Lee – Nichols House, a Georgian-style house, is built on Brattle Street.

1718:

• The Massachusetts Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

1726:

• The Wadsworth House is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1727:

• The William Brattle House, a Georgian-style house, is built for William Brattle on what is now modern day Brattle Street.

1730:

• The Abraham Hasey – Dr. Samuel Wheat House, a Georgian-style house, is built for Dr. Samuel Wheat on Brattle Street.

1750:

• The Old Burying Ground is established on Garden Street.

• The Watson House, a Georgian-style house, is built near the corner of what is now modern day Massachusetts Ave and Russell Street.

• The Abraham Watson Jr. House, a Georgian-style house, is built on what is now modern day Massachusetts Ave.

1753:

• The Vassall – Waterhouse – Ware House, a Georgian-style house, is built for Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse on what is now modern day Waterhouse Street.

1754:

• The Aaron Hill House is built for Deacon Aaron Hill on Brattle Street.

1759:

• The Longfellow House, a Georgian-style house, is built for John Vassal Jr on Brattle Street is later later purchased by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1843.

1760:

• Christ Church is built on Garden Street.

• The Reverend East Apthorp House, a Georgian-style house, is built East Apthorp, rector of Christ Church, on Linden Street.

1761:

• The John Hicks House, a Georgian-style house, is built by local carpenter John Hicks on the corner of Dunster Street and Boylston Street.

1762:

• Hollis Hall is built at Harvard Yard.

• The Richard Lechmere House, a Georgian-style mansion, is built for Richard Lechmere, who is the son-in-law to Governor Spencer Phips, on Brattle Street.

1764:

• Holden Chapel is built at Harvard University.

• Harvard Hall is built at Harvard University.

• The population of Cambridge is 1,582.

1767:

• The Elmwood – James Russell Lowell House, a Georgian-style mansion, is built for Lieutenant Governor Thomas Oliver on Elmwood Ave and later became the birthplace of local poet James Russell Lowell in the 19^th century.

1772:

• The James Read House, a Georgian-style house, is built for local tanner James Read on Brattle Street.

1783:

• The Joseph Stacey Read House, a Colonial style house, is built on what is now modern day Massachusetts Ave.

1790:

• The population of Cambridge is 2,115.

1792:

• The Kidder – Sargent – McCrehan House, a Federal-style house, is built on Rindge Ave.

1796:

• The Fresh Pond Hotel is built on Lakeview Ave.

1798:

• The Holmes Block II – Green Block is built on Central Square.

1800:

• The Joseph Bartlett House, a Colonial-style house, is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Dame School is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The population of Cambridge is 2,453.

1801:

• The Joseph Holmes House, a Colonial-style house, is built on Coolidge Hall.

1803:

• The Thomas Lee House, a Georgian-style house, is built on Brattle Street.

1804:

• Stoughton Hall is built at Harvard Yard.

1805:

• The Broad Canal is built.

• The Asa Ellis House, a Federal-style house, is built on Auburn Street.

• The Samuel P. P. Fay House, a Federal-style house, is built on Harvard Street.

1806:

• The Margaret Fuller House, a Federal-style house where Margaret Fuller was born in 1810, is built on Cherry Street.

• The Cox – Hicks House, a Federal-style cottage, is built on Winthrop Street.

1807:

• The Sarah Orne House, a Federal-style house, is built on Coolidge Hill Road.

• The Walter Frost House, a Federal-style house, is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Opposition House is built on Hancock Place.

1808:

• The Dexter Pratt House, a Federal-style house, is built on Brattle Street.

• The Larches, a Georgian-style mansion, is built for Jonathan Hastings on Brattle Street.

1810:

• Asa Gray House, a Federal-style house, is built on Garden Street.

• The population of Cambridge is 2,323.

1811:

• Holworthy Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

1812:

• The Elizabeth Frost Tenant House is built on Bowdoin Street.

• University Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

1820:

• The Levi Farwell Tenant House is built on Kennedy Street.

• The population of Cambridge is 3,295.

1821:

• Four Lechmere Point Corporation Row Houses are built on Gore Street.

• The Cambridge Neighborhood House, a Federal-style house that was later used as a child care center in 1878, is built on Moore Street.

1822:

• The Josiah Collidge House, a farmhouse, is built on Coolidge Hill Road.

1830:

• The Farwell – Thomas Russell Store is built on Bow Street.

• The population of Cambridge is 6,072.

1831:

• The Mount Auburn Cemetery is established on Mount Auburn Street.

1840:

• The population of Cambridge is 8,409.

1843:

• The Sears Tower – Harvard Observatory is built on Garden Street.

1844:

• The Second Waterhouse House is built on Follen Street.

• The Eaton Jacob House, a Greek Revival-style house, is built on Cherry Street.

1845:

• The North Avenue Congregational Church is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Speakers Club is built on Mount Auburn Street.

1846:

• Cambridge is reincorporated as a city.

1847:

• The Abraham Watson Jr. House is moved to Sherman Street.

1848:

• The Wyeth Brickyard Superintendent’s House, a Greek Revival-style house, is built on Rindge Ave.

1850:

• The Cambridge Almshouse is built on Matignon Road.

• The population of Cambridge is 15,215.

1851:

• The Prospect Congregational Church is built on Prospect Street.

1852:

• The Union #2 Engine House is built on Main Street.

1853:

• The George Gale House, an Italianate-style house, is built on Clinton Street.

1855:

• The T.S. Eliot House, a Greek Revival-style house where poet T.S. Eliot lived while teaching at Harvard in 1913, is built on Ash Street.

1857:

• The Walden Street Cattle Pass is built on Walden Street.

• Boylston Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

1858:

• The North Little Common is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1859:

• The William L. Lockart Company Building is constructed on O’Brien Highway.

1860:

• The population of Cambridge is 26,060.

1862:

• Grays Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

1864:

• The Cornerstone Baptist Church is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Cambridge Police Station is built on Church Street.

1865:

• The Saint Mary of the Annunciation Catholic Church is built on Norfolk Street.

1866:

• The Walter Frost House is moved to Frost Street.

1867:

• The Old Cambridge Baptist Church is built on Harvard Street.

• Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Aaron Hill House is moved from Brattle Street to Brown Street.

1868:

• Saint John’s Chapel is built on Brattle Street.

• The Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church is built on Pearl Street.

1869:

• The Soldiers Monument is erected on Cambridge Common.

• The Union Railway Car Barn is built on Cambridge Street.

• Hotel Packard is built on Eliot Street.

• Thayer Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

• The Cambridge National Bank Building is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Fairfax is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1870:

• The First Church in Cambridge Congregational is built on Garden Street.

• Weld Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

• The Mount Auburn Cemetery Reception House is built on Mount Auburn Street.

• The population of Cambridge is 39,634.

1871:

• The Matthews House is built in Harvard Yard.

• The Pilgrim Congregational Church is built on Magazine Street.

1873:

• Reed Hall is built at the Episcopal Divinity School on Brattle Street.

• Lawrence Hall is built at the Episcopal Divinity School on Brattle Street.

• Harugari Hall is built on Spring Street.

• The Charles Sawyer Tenement building is constructed on Main Street.

• The Clark – Lamb Building is constructed on Massachusetts Ave.

1874:

• The Middlesex Bank Building is built on Cambridge Street.

• The Luke Building is built on Main Street.

• The Sacred Heart Catholic Church is built on Sixth Street.

• The Morris Boynton House is built on Washington Ave.

1875:

• The F.A. Kennedy Stream Bakery is built on Franklin Street.

• The American Net and Twine Company Factory is built on Second Street.

• Memorial Hall is built on Cambridge Street.

1879:

• Burnham Hall is built at the Episcopal Divinity School on Brattle Street.

1880:

• The Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson House is built on Buckingham Street.

• Sever Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

• The population of Cambridge is 52,669.

1881:

• Austin Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

• The First Baptist Church Cambridge is built on Magazine Street.

1882:

• The John Bridge Statue is erected on Cambridge Common.

• Davenport – Allen and Endicott Factory Headhouse is built on Main Street.

• The Union Baptist Church is built on Main Street.

1883:

• The Lowell School is built on Lowell Street.

1884:

• The John Harvard Statue is erected in Harvard Yard.

• The Robert Frost House is built on Brewster Street.

• The Odd Fellows Hall is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1885:

• Manter Hall is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Scared Heart Roman Catholic Church Rectory is built on Sixth Street.

• The Hotel Eliot is built on Austin Street.

• The Hotel Austin is built on Austin Street.

• The Reginald A. Daly House, a Queen Anne-style house, is built on Hawthorn Street.

1886:

• The Grace Methodist Church is built on Magazine Street.

• The Main Building at Mount Auburn Hospital is built on Mount Auburn Street.

• Hotel Norfolk is built on Nortfolk Street

• Hotel Franklin is built on Norfolk Street.

• The Cambridge Almshouse Caretaker’s House is built on Churchill Ave.

• The Blanchard Building is constructed on Massachusetts Ave.

1887:

• Longfellow Park is built on Brattle Street.

• The Hasty Pudding Club clubhouse is built on Holyoke Street.

• Cambridge Almshouse Dormitory is constructed on Matignon Road.

1888:

• The Cambridge Public Library is built on Broadway.

• The Cambridge Mutual Fire Insurance Company is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• Hastings Hall is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• Saint James Episcopal Church is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1889:

• Brattle Hall is built on Brattle Street.

• The Middlesex County Clerk of Courts Building is constructed on Cambridge Street.

• Cambridge City Hall is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• Putnam School is built on Otis Street.

1890:

• The Harvard Bridge is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Porcellian Club is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The River Street Firehouse is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The population of Cambridge is 70,028.

1891:

• Hotel Greyburn is built on Bishop Allen Drive.

• Quincy Hall is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• Harvard Epworth Methodist Church is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1892:

• The Huron Avenue Bridge is built over the B&M Railroad.

• Claverly Hall is built on Mount Auburn Street.

• Trinity Hall is built on Mount Auburn Street.

• Winthrop Hall is built at the Episcopal Theological School on Saint John’s Road.

1893:

• The Lafayette Square Fire Station is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1894:

• The Professor Thayer Studio is built on Berkeley Street.

• The Hannah Powers – Harris Ginsberg Building is built on Norfolk Street.

1895:

• The Athenaeum Press Building is constructed on First Street.

• The Metropolitan Storage Warehouse is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• Engine House #7 is built on Main Street.

1896:

• Memorial Drive is built.

• The Middlesex County Registry of Deeds Building is constructed on Cambridge Street.

• The Frank A. Kennedy Furniture Store is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1897:

• The Second Cambridge Savings Bank Building is constructed on Dunster Street.

• The Surgical Building at the Mount Auburn Hospital is built on Mount Auburn Street.

1898:

• The Phillips Brooks House, a Colonial Revival-style house, is built in Harvard Yard.

• Westmorly Court is built at Harvard University on Bow Street.

1899:

• The Fresh Pond Parkway is built.

• The A.D. Club is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• Brentford Hall is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Manhattan Market – Purity Supreme Super Market is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Magazine Beach Bath House is built at Magazine Beach.

1900:

• The Cambridge Parkway is built.

• The Massachusetts Avenue Bridge is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Alpha Phi Club is built on Dunster Street.

• Robinson Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

• The Riverbank Court Hotel is built on Memorial Drive.

• The Harvard Union is built on Quincy Street.

• The Toppan House, a Colonial Revival-style house, is built on Farwell Place.

• The population of Cambridge is 91,886.

1901:

• The Bicycle Exchange Building is constructed on Bow Street.

• The Beth Israel Synagogue is built on Columbia Street.

• Dayton Hall is built on Kennedy Street.

• Bertram Hall is built on Kennedy Street.

1902:

• The Massachusetts Avenue Baptist Church is built on Hampshire Street.

• Delphic Club is built on Linden Street.

• Cambridge Armory is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• Hamden Hall is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• Waverly Hall is built on Mount Auburn Street.

• The Sacred Heart Roman Catholic School and Convent is built on Thorndike Street.

1903:

• The Church of the New Jerusalem is built on Quincy Street.

1904:

• The Yerxa Street Pedestrian Subway is built on Yerxa Street.

• The Taylor Square Firehouse is built on Garden Street.

• Emerson Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

• Agassiz House is built on Mason Street at Radcliff College.

• The Cambridgeport Savings Bank is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• Saint John’s Roman Catholic Church is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• Ridgley Hall is built on Mount Auburn Street.

1905:

• The Owl Club is built on Holyoke Street.

• Washington Court is built on Brattle Street.

• Construction begins on the Charles River Dam.

1906:

• The Fox Club is built on Kennedy Street.

1907:

• The Longfellow Bridge – West Boston Bridge is built on Cambridge Street.

• The Commercial Avenue Bridge over the Lechmere Canal is built.

• The Schlesinger Library is built on James Street.

• The Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church is built on Pearl Street.

• Eliot Hall is built on Shepard Street.

1908:

• The Raymond T. Wharehouse is built on Green Street.

• Cambridge Gas Light Company Purifying Plant is built on Third Street.

• The Abraham Hasey – Dr. Samuel Wheat House is moved to Willard Street.

1909:

• The Lechmere Canal is built.

• The Harvard Lampoon Building is constructed on Bow Street.

1910:

• Construction is completed on the Charles River Dam.

• The East Cambridge Viaduct – Lechmere Viaduct is built on the O’Brien Highway.

• The Cambridge Masonic Temple is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Immaculate Conception (Lithuanian) Catholic Church is built on Windsor Street.

• The Issac Kutz Store is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The population of Cambridge is 104,839.

1911:

• Wright Hall at Episcopal Divinity School is built on Brattle Street.

• The Kendall Square Substation is built on Main Street.

• The President’s House at Harvard University is built on Quincy Street.

• The Boston Elevated Railway Division 7 Headquarters is built on Mount Auburn Street.

1912:

• The Central Square Subway Station is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Irman Square Fire Station is built on Hampshire Street.

• The Kendall Square Subway Station is built on Main Street.

• The Cambridge Electric Light Building is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1913:

• Flagstaff Park is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Widener Library is built in Harvard Yard.

• Smith Hall is built at Harvard University on Kennedy Street.

• The Walker Memorial is erected at MIT on Memorial Drive.

• The Henry L. Pierce Engineering Laboratory, President’s House, the Senior House, the Main Courtyard is built at MIT on Memorial Drive.

• Gore Hall and Standish Hall are built at Harvard University on Memorial Drive.

1914:

• The Delta Upsilon Club is built on Harvard Street.

• The Cambridge Friends Meetinghouse and Center is built on Longfellow Park.

1915:

• The Larz Anderson Bridge is built on Boylston Street.

• The Squirrel Brand Company Building is constructed on Boardman Street.

• The Phoenix – S.K. Club is built on Mount Auburn Street.

• The Harvard Crimson Newspaper Office is built on Plympton Street.

• The Larches is moved from Brattle Street to Larch Road.

1916:

• Kane’s Furniture Store is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• Iroquois Club is built on Mount Auburn Street.

1917:

• Central Square Theater is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1918:

• The George Paine House, a Colonial Revival-style house, is built on Hubbard Park Road.

1919:

• The Pratt School of Naval Architecture is built at MIT on Memorial Drive.

• The Cantabrigia Club is built on Mount Auburn Street.

1920:

• The Standard Plate Glass Company Building is built on Albany Street.

• The Percy Bridgman House is built on Buckingham Place.

• Saint Paul’s Church is built on Arrow Street.

• The population of Cambridge is 109,694.

1922:

• The Lechmere Square Streetcar Station is built on Cambridge Street.

• The Dobbins and Draper Store is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1923:

• The Robbins Building is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Cambridge Savings Bank is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Harvard Trust Company is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Christian Science Church is built on Waterhouse Street.

1924:

• The First Street Bridge over Broad Canal is built.

• The Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Parish School is built on Corporal McTernan Street.

• The Lehman Hall, Lionel Hall and Mower Hall are built in Harvard Yard.

• The Miller Store is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Harvard Coop Society building is constructed on Massachusetts Ave.

• Saint Paul’s Rectory is built on Mount Auburn Street.

1925:

• Fogg Art Museum is built on Quincy Street.

1926:

• The Fresh Pond Lane over the B&M Railroad is built.

• The River Street Bridge is built on River Street.

• Strauss Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

• Moll’s Furniture Store is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Central Square Building is constructed on Massachusetts Ave.

• McKlinlock Hall is built at Harvard University on Mill Street.

1927:

• The John Wingate Weeks Foot Bridge is built over the Charles River.

• The New England Confectionery Company Factory is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Central Trust Building is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Manter Hall School is built on Mount Auburn Street.

1928:

• The Harvard Square Subway Kiosk is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Boston University Bridge is built on Route 2.

• The Cambridge Home for the Aged and Infirm is built on Concord Ave.

• The Rosenwald Realty Corporation Building is constructed on Massachusetts Ave.

• The John Hicks House is moved to Boylston Street.

1929:

• The Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church is built on Alewife Brook Parkway.

• The Lowell House and Dunster House are built at Harvard University on Holyoke Place.

1930:

• The Biological Laboratory is built on Divinity Ave.

• Wigglesworth Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

• The Second D.U. Club is built on Dunster Street.

• The Adams House Dining Hall is built on Plympton Street.

• The Eliot House, Mather Hall and Bryan Hall are built on Memorial Drive.

• The population of Cambridge is 113,643.

1931:

• The Charles River Railroad Draw Bridge #1 is built over the Charles River.

• East Cambridge Savings Bank is built on Cambridge Street.

• The George Eastman Research Laboratories are built at MIT on Memorial Drive.

• The Oxford Grill is built on Church Street.

• The Spee Club is built on Mount Auburn Street.

• Russell Hall is built on Plympton Street.

• Memorial Church is built in Harvard Yard.

1932:

• The White Tower Restaurant is built in Central Square.

• The Central Square Post Office is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1933:

• The Shell Oil Company “Spectacular” Sign is established on Magazine Street.

• The Freedman Building is built on Massachusetts Ave.

• The Cambridge Police Headquarters are built on Western Ave.

1936:

• The Conventual Church of Saint Mary and Saint John is built on Memorial Drive.

1937:

• The William Rogers Barton Building is built on Memorial Drive.

• The Cambridge Federal Savings Bank is built on Brattle Street.

1938:

• The O’Connell Branch of the Cambridge Public Library is built on Fifth Street.

1939:

• The William J. Reid Overpass is built on Memorial Drive.

• The Saint Hedwig’s Parish Church is built on Otis Street.

1940:

• The population of Cambridge is 110,879.

1941:

• The Houghton Library is built in Harvard Yard.

1946:

• The Matignon Central Catholic High School is built on Matignon Road.

1947:

• The Lamont Library is built in Harvard Yard.

1948:

• The Christ Church Parish House is built on Farewell Place.

1949:

• The Harvard Graduate Center is built on Everett Street.

• The Hayden Library is built at MIT on Memorial Drive.

1950:

• The Eliot Bridge is built on Soldier’s Field Road.

• The University Lutheran Church is built on Winthrop Street.

• The population of Cambridge is 120,740.

1951:

• The Boston Museum of Science is built at Science Park.

• The Brusch Medical Center is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1953:

• The Cambridge branch of the U.S. Post Office is built on Mount Auburn Street.

1954:

• The Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church Convent is built on Erie Street.

• The Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Convent is built on Matignon Road.

1955:

• The Radcliffe College Graduate Center is built on Brattle Street.

1956:

• The Harvard Advocate Building is built on South Street.

1957:

• The Cambridge Parkway Bridge is built over the Broad Canal.

1958:

• The Quincy House is built at Harvard University on Plympton Street.

• The Hayden Planetarium is built at Science Park.

1959:

• The Cambridge Armenian Church is built on Brattle Street.

• The Center for the Study of World Religions is built on Francis Ave.

1960:

• Washburn Hall at the Episcopal Divinity School is built on Brattle Street.

• The population of Cambridge is 107,716.

1961:

• The Holyoke Center is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1963:

• The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts is built on Prescott Street.

1965:

• Sherrill Hall is built at the Episcopal Divinity School Library on Brattle Street.

• The Watson House is moved to Elmwood Ave.

1967:

• The Mather House is built at Harvard University on Cowperthwaite Street.

1968:

• The Salvation Army – Cambridge Citadel is built on Massachusetts Ave.

1969:

• The James Read House is moved from Brattle Street to Farwell Place.

1970:

• The population of Cambridge is 100,361.

1973:

• Canaday Hall is built in Harvard Yard.

• Pusey Library is built in Harvard Yard.

1974:

• The Galeria is built on Kennedy Street.

1980:

• The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is built on Irving Street.

• The population of Cambridge is 95,322.

1987:

• The Central Square Park is built on Western Avenue.

1990:

• The population of Cambridge is 95,802.

2000:

• The population of Cambridge is 101,355.

2007:

• Jill Brown-Rhone Park is built on Lafayette Square.

2010:

• The population of Cambridge is 105,162.

Sources:
MACRIS, Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, Massachusetts Historical Commission, mhc-macris.net
“A Brief History of Cambridge Mass.” Cambridge Historical Commission, cambridgema.gov/historic/cambridgehistory