The Cambridge Of Eighteen Hundred And Ninety-Six: A Picture Of The City And Its Industries Fifty Years After Its Incorporation

Arthur Gilman...

9 minute read

Read Chapter

The Beginnings Of Cambridge

When, in 1630, the Company of Massachusetts Bay transferred itself from London to Massachusetts, bringing its governor, John Winthrop, and its charter, the movement was so popular in England that more than a Thousand persons came over in the course of that year; and before Ten years had elapsed, more than Twenty thousand had come to stay. The First settlements of the Winthrop party were scattered about the coast near Charles River, making the beginnings of Charlestown, Boston, Dorchester, Roxbur

25 minute read

Read Chapter

Cambridge Town, 1750-1846

The period in the history of Cambridge which we are about to consider naturally divides itself into Two portions, the line of separation between which is furnished by the Revolution. The marked differences in the career of the town, caused by its change from a township in the Royal Province of Massachusetts Bay to One of the fundamental parts which constituted the State of Massachusetts, would attract the attention of the most casual observer. Geographically it had already been greatly reduced i

42 minute read

Read Chapter

Life In Cambridge Town

No town in this country has been the occasion of Two literary descriptions more likely to become classic than Two which bear reference to the Cambridge of Fifty years ago. One of these is Lowell's well-known Fireside Travels, and the other is the scarcely less racy chapter in the Harvard Book, called Harvard Square, contributed by our townsman John Holmes, younger brother of The Autocrat,— a man mentioned more than once in Lowell's prose and verse. Emerson said once of John Holmes that he repres

21 minute read

Read Chapter

Cambridge Common

One of the most interesting spots in our historic city is the public Common in Ward One, situated on Massachusetts Avenue, with Harvard College on One side and Radcliffe College on the other. This tract of about Ten acres was set apart by the Proprietors of Common Lands for public uses from the earliest settlement of the town. The title, however, was not formally transferred to the town until November 20, 1769, when at a meeting of the proprietors it was voted, That all the common lands belongin

11 minute read

Read Chapter

Cambridge A City

“Dante might choose his home in all the wide, beautiful world; but to be out of the streets of Florence was exile to him. Socrates never cared to go beyond the bounds of Athens. The great universal heart welcomes the city as a natural growth of the eternal forces.”F. B. Sanborn. “Rome, Venice, Cambridge!I take it for an ascending scale, Rome being the First step and Cambridge the glowing apex. But you would n't know Cambridge— with its railroad, and its Water-works, and its new houses.”J. R. Low

22 minute read

Read Chapter

Literary Life In Cambridge

A clever Cambridge woman once said to me that when she met a Cambridge man, and was a little at a loss for conversation, she would turn upon him with the question, How is your book coming on? and the question rarely failed to bring forth a voluble answer. Brigadier-generals were no more common in Washington during the war than are authors in Cambridge, but the former carried the title in large letters, the latter often secrete themselves behind some profession or calling not ostensibly literary.

8 minute read

Read Chapter

Scientific Cambridge

The London Nature, in a review of Dr. George Birkbeck Hill's interesting book, entitled Harvard College by an Oxonian, noted the fact that the author had not expatiated upon the remarkable laboratories and scientific collections at Cambridge, which to the mind of the critic constituted the most noteworthy portion of the university. When I, too, consider that these laboratories and museums are the growth of hardly more than Fifty years, and remember that they already have a world-wide reputation,

11 minute read

Read Chapter

The Characteristics Of Municipal Government In Cambridge

The government of a city depends upon the disposition of a majority of its citizens holding the same views and acting together. The object of good city government is the efficient and economical administration of a city's affairs. This object is often thwarted by political or private interests inconsistent with it. Partisanship may be eliminated from the conduct of city affairs, and so may the influence of private interests. It is doubtless true that both are rarely eliminated altogether, but it

7 minute read

Read Chapter

The Rindge Gifts Manual Training School

Until 1887, Cambridge, while distinguished in many ways, had not been specially favored by any large gifts from her citizens for public purposes. She had been conspicuous for her educational institutions, for her many and varied industries, for her sturdy citizenship, and especially for the part she had taken in the struggle for the independence of our country, and later for union and liberty. Intelligence, patriotism, and many other virtues were characteristic of her people, but their wealth wa

9 minute read

Read Chapter

The Cambridge Idea

Some Four or Five years ago, a phrase broke in upon our Cambridge speech with such suddenness, energy, and large significance as are hard even yet to realize. Who First used it I do not know. My impression is that our present Superintendent of Parks, then a leading writer on our Cambridge newspapers, was One of the earliest to apprehend its potency, and that he with his skillful pen somewhat furthered its becoming widely used. But whoever it may have been that First uttered it, and however servi

27 minute read

Read Chapter

The Cambridge Littoral

When the lone pioneer Blaxton, voluntary Crusoe of Shawmut, climbed to the peak of the hill at the foot of which he had pitched his solitary camp, he beheld to the westward Two great bays, barely held apart at the base of the slopes by a low, narrow path disappearing in the highlands beyond. In either of these spacious coves the navies of the world of the time might have found ample anchorage. A winding river, flowing down from the westerly hills, broadened into a noble estuary that formed a lan

25 minute read

Read Chapter

Cambridge Water-Works

I propose to give a history of the beginning and progress of the chartered Water-works in Cambridge. The facts, new to many, and perhaps not altogether uninteresting on an occasion like this, will thus be recorded for future reference. The First charter was granted to the Cambridgeport Aqueduct Company in April, 1837, to bring the water from a spring or springs on what is now Spring Hill in Somerville. The water was brought in wooden logs, and a limited amount was supplied in the lower Port for

10 minute read

Read Chapter

Cambridge Parks

This year we celebrate the anniversary of the incorporation of Cambridge as a city; we consider what Cambridge is, what Cambridge shall be. In the strength of the intellectual life of the seat of Harvard University we have great faith. We believe, too, that the political life of our city stands as an example of the success of a steady struggle for good government. If such be the truth, is it not worth our while to dwell for a time upon the outward form of our city, to learn what can be done to m

13 minute read

Read Chapter

Real-Estate Interests Of Cambridge

If we recall the fact that soon after the First settlement of Cambridge, in the spring of 1631, it embraced a territory Thirty-five miles in length, including the towns of Billerica, Bedford, Lexington, Arlington, Brighton, and Newton, we shall see that our area has greatly decreased, as the extreme length of our present territory is only Four miles, and the total area about Four thousand acres, in spite of the fact that by legislative acts of 1855 and 1880, portions of Watertown and Belmont wer

9 minute read

Read Chapter

The Health Of Cambridge

The health of the city of Cambridge is not a matter of guesswork, but stands accurately recorded in the pages of the registration reports of the State and in the successive volumes of the Census of the United States. Of the diseases which prevailed here before the First registration report in 1841, we know but little. When some disease broke out in the form of an epidemic— like smallpox, the dysentery, or malignant sore-throat, we find contemporary records perhaps of the numbers of those dying f

2 minute read

Read Chapter

Burial-Places In Cambridge

“Go where the ancient pathway guides, See where our sires laid down Their smiling babes, their cherished brides, The patriarchs of the town; Hast thou a tear for buried love? A sigh for transient power? All that a century left above, Go,— read it in an hour!” O. W. Holmes. As early as 1634-35, One John Pratt was granted Two acres of land, described as situated By the old Burying Place without the common pales.This deed indicates the First land used for burials, which was located, as nearly as ca

16 minute read

Read Chapter

Harvard University In Its Relations To The City Of Cambridge

The President and Fellows of Harvard College own at present (April, 1896) 82 364/1000 acres of land within the limits of the city of Cambridge, the total present area of the city, according to Paige, the historian of Cambridge, being about Four and one-half square miles (2880 acres). The land now held by the President and Fellows has been acquired as a result of 107 separate negotiations, extending from 1638 to the present day. The following table shows the nature of these transactions; but in t

15 minute read

Read Chapter

Harvard University

In the Office of the President of Harvard College, in University Hall, Cambridge, there hangs, framed in a narrow band of oak, a card, perhaps Thirty inches long and Twelve wide. On this are printed these inscriptions, which in a few words tell the origin, the history, and the purpose of Harvard:— Harvard University is a chartered and endowed institution fostered by the state. The Charter, given to the President and Fellows in 1650, is still in force unaltered. The direct grants of money made by

22 minute read

Read Chapter

Chapel At Harvard

One cannot consider the movements of the religious life of Harvard apart from the history of the development of the university from a college. Thirty years ago Harvard was a college. The whole system of discipline was adapted to youth and immaturity of character. The student was under the eye of the college every hour of the day and night; his courses of study were marked out for him, lessons from the textbooks were given from day to day. He was under tutelage. In harmony with this system he was

5 minute read

Read Chapter

Physical Training

In reviewing the material growth and prosperity of a city it is well to consider some of the factors that have contributed to its renown in the best sense. Although an aggregation of houses and buildings inhabited by a few Thousand people may constitute a city, and it may be rated in prosperity in proportion to its increase in buildings and population, and its growth in wealth and industries— may we not look for higher evidences of its comparative rank in its development of principles and men? N

19 minute read

Read Chapter

Radcliffe College

In the year 1643, The Rev. Thomas Weld, pastor of the church in Roxbury, received from Lady Ann Moulson, of London, widow, the sum of One hundred pounds current English money, for Harvard College in New England. See A History of Harvard University, by Benjamin Peirce, P. 12. The purpose which Lady Moulson had in making this gift is expressed in the formal receipt which with great business sagacity she exacted of Mr. Weld. That document has been preserved, and Two consequences have followed. Lady

25 minute read

Read Chapter

The Public Schools Of Cambridge The Faire Grammar Schoole

The scope of this article does not permit a detailed history of the public schools of Cambridge. It is limited, therefore, to the following themes:— Could the colonists have foreseen the great things that were to issue from their humble school beginnings, the record of those beginnings would not be the scant and incomplete story that has come down to us. It is not until 1643 that we find any authentic account of a school in Cambridge. In that year the curtain suddenly rises on Elijah Corlett's F

44 minute read

Read Chapter

Private Schools In Cambridge Professor Agassiz's School

The high character of the public schools in Cambridge is a reason why there have been a small number of private institutions, though, of course, this very quality in the public schools has made it necessary that those private institutions that have been established here should be of an unusually high grade of excellence. The movement in this direction has, therefore, not been so strong as in many other communities, but the reasons for it are the same everywhere. The multiplication of private sch

18 minute read

Read Chapter

Cambridge Journalism

So far as this writer has been able to discover, the First newspaper printed in Cambridge was the New England Chronicle and Essex Gazette, published by Samuel and Ebenezer Hall from a chamber in Stoughton Hall, assigned to them by the Provincial Congress in May, 1775. From this press, says a contemporary, Issued streams of intelligence and those patriotic songs and tracts which so preeminently animated the defenders of American liberty.But when the American army removed from Cambridge a year lat

10 minute read

Read Chapter

The Cambridge Manual Training School For Boys

On November 12, 1887, at a special meeting of the City Council, Mayor Russell read a communication from Mr. Frederick H. Rindge, a former resident of Cambridge, part of which was as follows:— Dear Sir,— It would make me happy to give the City of Cambridge, provided no considerable misfortune happens to my property within Two years from date, Three gifts, which are described herein. Third, an Industrial School Building, ready for use, together with a site for the same in the immediate neighborhoo

7 minute read

Read Chapter

The Public Library

The Public Library had its origin in the Cambridge Athenaeum, which was incorporated in 1849 for the purpose of establishing A lyceum, library, reading-room, etc. The beginning of the library was made in 1855, when Mr. James Brown, of Watertown, bequeathed One thousand dollars to the institution, to be used in the purchase of books; but it was not until November, 1857, that the library was opened to the public. The next year (1858) the Athenaeum sold its building (afterwards used as a City hall)

9 minute read

Read Chapter

The Protestant Churches Of Cambridge

Whoever writes the early history of Cambridge must write of the First churches which were here, and the continuance of the history must include the churches, which have had a goodly part in making the town and the city. The founders of the town were men of the church. The First settlers in these parts had come from a land where the church and the state were closely united, and they intended to keep their places in both while they found homes in this new world. They were loyal to the institutions

22 minute read

Read Chapter

The Catholics And Their Churches John's Parish, And Church Of The Sacred Heart

For more than tenscore years and Ten after Governor Winthrop and his associates sailed up the Charles River and found a suitable spot on which to plant their fortified Newe Towne, the Catholics had not attained sufficient numbers to erect a church within its limits. Up to the year 1842 our citizens of that faith were obliged to attend either the cathedral on Franklin Street in Boston, erected in 1803, or the church in Charlestown, which followed it in 1828. While the original Puritan settlers of

19 minute read

Read Chapter

The Episcopal Theological School

The group of buildings on Brattle Street, between the Washington Elm and Craigie House, reminds many visitors of the beauties and delights of Oxford, or of that other Cambridge from which this takes its name. The green quadrangle, with the chapel and the refectory on One side, the library at the end, and Lawrence Hall on the other side, and with the great tree in the midst, about which Mr. Longfellow wrote a sonnet, has all the academic quiet and scholarly seclusion of those fair gardens of the

4 minute read

Read Chapter

The New-Church Theological School

This institution was First suggested at the convention of the New-Jerusalem Church in 1866. Up to that time the ministry had been supplied almost wholly by accessions from other religious bodies, but it was then found that young men were growing up with a desire to be thoroughly prepared in a distinctive school. Beginning with a summer class, and going on very modestly without a place of its own until 1889, the school then took its present position. The commodious residence of the late President

3 minute read

Read Chapter

The Associated Charities Of Cambridge

The Associated Charities of Cambridge owes its beginning to Dr. Charles E. Vaughan, who, being an overseer of the poor, and also interested in other benevolent work, saw the need and the opportunity for an organization which should investigate applications for relief, record the results of such investigation, furnish the information thus obtained to those who were engaged in relief work, and should also endeavor to improve the condition of the unfortunate through the suggestions and advice of vo

5 minute read

Read Chapter

The Avon Home

The Avon Home For children found destitute within the limits of Cambridge was founded by the generosity of a resident of Cambridge in accordance with a long-cherished plan. It was opened on May 30, 1874, in a house on Avon Place near Linnaean Street, which, with its furniture and what was expected to be an ample endowment, was transferred to the corporation of the Avon Place trustees in November of that year. The original Board of trustees consisted of Mrs. Henry W. Paine, president; Rev. D. O.

4 minute read

Read Chapter

The Prospect Union

The object of the Prospect Union is to bring as many as possible of the advantages of Harvard University within the reach of workingmen through evening classes taught by Harvard students, and through lectures by members of the Harvard Faculty and other persons. There is in Cambridge, particularly in Cambridgeport, a large population of wage-earners. In Cambridge reside also a large number of Harvard students. Students were formerly often regarded with unfriendliness by workingmen, and the life o

3 minute read

Read Chapter

An Old-Time Society

The Cambridge Humane Society is One of the most venerable institutions that our city can boast. It held its Eighty-first annual meeting in November, 1895, having been founded in 1814, apparently by Dr. Abiel Holmes, whose name leads the list of subscribers in the book of records which has served all the secretaries from that day to the present. In the middle of the Heated term, as the degenerate sons of the present time speak of the season, the fathers began their beneficent labors with an Addre

14 minute read

Read Chapter

East And Christian Union

In October, 1875, Mr. W. G. Clapp began missionary work in the easterly part of Cambridgeport, and established the next year a Sunday-school, which gradually increased. In order to build a suitable hall for the enlarging work, a fair was held in 1888, and about $2000 was raised. The present corporation was formed in 1889. Mr. John H. Walker became superintendent of the Sunday-school in 1890. The building was erected in 1891 at a cost of about $4000, and is free from debt. In September, 1892, it

1 minute read

Read Chapter

The Cambridge Hospital

Cambridge has not been wanting in its charities even in its earliest times. The Church, which was then the State, charged itself with the care of the sick poor. Some were aided, in a small way to be sure, in their own houses. Dr. Paige in his history gives us a list of charges, quaintly expressed, from which it appears that Brother Towne has £ 1 toward his expenses in sickness; Sister Banbrick, being sick, Had a breast of mutton; Sister Albone 7lbs. of venison, some physic, and a bottle of sack,

6 minute read

Read Chapter

Freemasonry In Cambridge

The history of Freemasonry in Cambridge begins with the organization of Amicable Lodge, for which the preliminary steps were taken as early as February 6, 1805. Even at this early period Masonry held an honored place in the community. It had been of importance still earlier, in the days of the Revolution, and had assisted materially in the struggle which transformed a group of dependent colonies into a nation. The quarter-century which had passed since the surrender of Cornwallis had not obliter

8 minute read

Read Chapter

Odd-Fellowship In Cambridge

Of the many fraternal organizations which exist among us, none occupies a more commanding and reputable position than that of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. From its early inception in this country— Seventy-seven years ago— it has steadily gained in strength and popularity, until now it is One of the most powerful, numbering over One million Two hundred thousand members. While it is a secret society, yet its good works are so manifest, and, in a public way, it has so moved in and among th

3 minute read

Read Chapter

The Grand Army In Cambridge

If faith is to be judged by works, then must the faith of those who regard Cambridge as One of the most patriotic of towns find abundant justification. The history of the settlement, from its earliest beginning, is rich in testimony to this point. Every page is illumined with patriotic achievement or endeavor, the somewhat limited patriotism of the village expanding into a broader regard for the colony and State, and later comprehending the whole country. While the patriotic spirit should mark e

8 minute read

Read Chapter

Knights Of Pythias

St. Omer Lodge, No. 9, Knights of Pythias, received its charter April 11, 1884, and with a list of nearly 100 names entered upon the work of the order. For Twelve years it has done a large amount of charitable work in this city, and to-day, with a membership of over 200, ranks among the First in the grand domain of Massachusetts. Recognizing as it does the universality of human brotherhood, and embracing the world within its jurisdiction, its fundamental principles are solely for the cultivation

55 minute read

Read Chapter

Improved Order Of Red Men

On May 24, 1887, there assembled a number of citizens of this city for the purpose of forming an association, or what is now called a Tribe, of Red Men, under authority and by consent of the Great Council of the Improved Order of Red Men of this Reservation (Commonwealth of Massachusetts), and to further the principles of freedom, friendship, and charity in this vicinity. The gathering was effected by One who was a leading society man, and who took a great deal of interest in the organization. O

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Cambridge Clubs

Cambridge is famed for the many social clubs connected with the university and the town. Their purposes are varied, the musical, literary, scientific, and social tastes of its people are fully provided for. Among those organized for social purposes, the most unique, perhaps, is the colonial Club, which combines both town and gown; for the professor in the university and the business man of the city are included in its membership. This club was organized in 1890 by J. J. Myers (its promoter), Cha

4 minute read

Read Chapter

The Citizens' Trade Association

The Citizens' Trade Association of Cambridge was incorporated in 1892 by John H. Corcoran, Oliver J. Rand, George G. Wright, John S. Sawyer, Fred L. Beunke, Herman Bird, E. Burt Phillips, T. H. Raymond, Edwin H. Jose, David T. Dickinson, Daniel E. Frasier, C. W. Kingsley, George D. Chamberlain, Farwell J. Thayer, Charles Bullock, Henry O. Marcy, G. W. Burditt, Edmund Reardon, and George W. Gale. The object of this association is to establish and maintain a place for friendly and social meetings

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Financial And Manufacturing Financial

It was not until the year 1826 that Cambridge had any banking facilities of its own, although it had long been a wealthy town. In March of that year the Cambridge Bank was chartered. The First meeting of its stockholders was held in Ebenezer Kimball's tavern, March 22, 1826. William I. Whipple was elected moderator, and Thomas Foster clerk. The act incorporating the Cambridge Bank had been passed by the General Court, March 4, and at this meeting the charter was accepted. Subscriptions for the s

4 hour read

Read Chapter

Government Of The City Of Cambridge, 1896

Mayor. Hon. William A. Bancroft. Board of aldermen. President, John R. Fairbairn. Russell Bradford. Marshall N. Stearns. Henry White. Charles M. Conant. Peter F. Rourke. Peter P. Bleiler. Clarence H. Douglass. Charles P. Keith. Watson G. Cutter. James A. Wood. Clerk, Edward J. Brandon. Common Council. President, John L. Odiorne. Ward One. Melville C. Beedle. William F. Brooks. George E. Saunders. Walter C. Waudwell. Ward Two. Sedley Chaplin. William R. Davis. Charles H. Montague. Clement G. Morg

7 minute read

Read Chapter

General Index

Abbot, Ezra, 68. Agassiz, Louis, excites the spirit of research, 74; his school for young ladies, 74, 209-211; his personality, 74. Agassiz, Mrs. Louis, plans her husband's school, 200; president of Radcliffe College, 180. Aldermen, 401. Allston, Washington, 41. Allston Street, fort at foot of, 27. Almshouses, 17, 32, 276. American Lodge, K. of P., 292. Amicable Lodge of Masons, 280-283. Amity Rebekah Lodge, 286. Andover, college library and apparatus moved to, 26. Anniversary committees, 406-40

40 minute read

Read Chapter

Index To Manufactures Barrels

Goepper Brothers, 392. Boston Woven Hose and Rubber Co., 366. David W. Davis, 395. William Campbell & Co.. 355. Edward Kendall & Sons, 345. Rawson & Morrison Manufacturing Co., 348. Riverside Boiler Works, 352. Roberts Iron Works Co., 355. J. H. H. McNamee, 341. Riverside Bindery, 383. Carlos L. Page & Co., 393. George G. Page Box Co.. 3S4. Charles Place, 391. Bay State Metal Works, 352. Standard Brass Co., 352. Bay State Brick Co., 388. N. M. Cofran & Co., 388. D. Warren De

6 minute read

Read Chapter