Harvard College Founded

Massachusetts Hall
Harvard Yard
Cambridge, Mass.

On October 28, 1636 the Great and General Court of the Masachusetts Bay Colony voted to establish a "New College" to train the next generation of scholars. It was decided to locate the new college in New Towne or Newetowne, a village on the banks of the Charles River. In 1638 minister John Harvard of nearby Charlestown died leaving his library of 400 books and a sum of money to the new school. The college was then named Harvard in his honor. Also in 1638 the village was renamed Cambridge after the famous university in England.

Today Harvard College is just one of the schools that make up
Harvard University. Considered one of the most prestigious universities in the world, having started with humble beginnings, it is also the wealthiest. Harvard University is still managed under its original charter by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, making it the oldest corporation in the New World.

Wadsworth House

Wadsworth House
1341 Mass. Ave.
Cambridge, Mass. 02138

Wadsworth House was built in 1726-1727 to house the Presidents of Harvard College. Its first occupant was Benjamin Wadsworth, Harvard's eighth President. A total of nine Harvard Presidents have lived in the home. Edward Everett, the last President to reside here, was President of Harvard from 1846 - 1849.

In July of 1775 General George Washington arrived in Cambridge to accept his new appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Gen. Washington stayed briefly in Wadsworth House while more spacious accommodations were cleaned and prepared for him. Washington and his "family" moved into the Vassal-Craigie-Longfellow house that same month.

Located right in the middle of bustling Harvard Square, Wadsworth House is a throwback to the past, a reminder of what the village of Old Cambridge looked like in the 18th century. A quiet village where on nearby Brattle Street you might find the blacksmith (or smithy) of Longfellow's famous poem The Village Blacksmith.

Wadsworth House is currently used by Harvard University for faculty and administrative offices.

Longfellow House - Cambridge, Mass.

Longfellow House
105 Brattle St.
Cambridge, Mass. 02138

The Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House was built in 1759 by John Vassall, a wealthy planter and a Loyalist. Like many of his neighbors on Brattle St. he left Cambridge for Boston in 1774 as the politics of the day forced him to choose sides. His home was then confiscated by Provincial/Revolutionary authorities.

General George Washington began using the Vassall house as his headquarters after arriving in Cambridge and assuming command of the Continental Army in 1775. He resided here from July, 1775 to April of 1776 and it was from here that he planned and led the siege of Boston. When the British Navy finally sailed out of Boston (along with approximately 1100 Loyalists) the war then moved on to New York and General Washington went south.

After the war Andrew Craigie, who was the Apothecary General of the Continental Army, purchased the Vassall home and lived here from 1791. Craigie was a wealthy real estate speculator and made a lot of improvements to the property. It was Craigie who added on the wings to the home and added an addition onto the back. Craigie lost his fortune and after that the house fell on bad times, eventually being broken up into rooms for rent.

In 1837 the home was purchased as a wedding gift and it's most famous literary occupant moved in - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow, originally of Portland, Maine, was a Professor of Modern Languages at Harvard College. Living in such an historic home certainly inspired Longfellow and it is reflected in his works. One of his most famous poems is "Paul Revere's Ride", which tells the tale of the events that occurred locally April 18-19 in 1775. Longfellow lived here until his death
in 1882.

The Longfellow House can be found just outside of Harvard Square and is owned and managed by the National Park Service. From June 4 to September house tours are offered @ 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. and on the hour from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The grounds are open to the public from dawn to dusk. (The property at one time extended as far as the Charles River).

Rev. War Memorial on Cambridge Common

Cambridge Common
Harvard Square
Cambridge, Mass.

There is a minor mystery associated with these three British cannon that have been sitting on the Cambridge Common for over one hundred thirty years: where exactly did they come from and what role did they play in the American Revolution?

The easy answer is the one provided on the small cement marker next to the cannon. It simply states that the three cannon had been emplaced in Fort William and were left behind when the British forces left Boston in March of 1776. But this marker is fairly new and as I have stated before in this Blog, I have learned over the years that you can't always believe what you read.

I know from my visits to the Cambridge Common many years ago that this site used to be much simpler, with fewer monuments and the cannon used to be arrayed a little differently. I seem to remember reading a marker that stated the cannon were part of the artillery train brought to Cambridge by Col. Henry Knox in his haul from Ft. Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Also, one of the cannon is French in origin, which having been captured in Cnanda during the French and Indian War, could have been transported to one of those two places.

Now I know you can't always rely on your memory, so I investigated further. I've checked a number of sources - both off and on-line - and the sources, so far, all seem to tell the same narrative. In 1875 the Massachusetts State legislature gave these three cannon to the City of Cambridge to place on the Cambridge Common and to hold in perpetuity (as long as they were properly maintained) from stocks held at the State Armory. (John Fiskes account refers to them as "three huge war dogs").

The sources also agree with my memory that these cannon were originally brought down to Cambridge from Crown Point by Col. Henry Knox to help bring to an end the siege of Boston. That puts a different spin on things and certainly makes the cannon all the more important historically. I'm going to investigate further, but for now I'm going to side with historian John Fiske (among others).

Statue of John Harvard

John Harvard Statue
Harvard Yard
Cambridge, Mass.

In any guided tour of historic Harvard Yard in Cambridge, Massachusetts one of the obligatory stops is the statue of John Harvard. This life-size bronze statue portrays a seated man dressed in a Puritan style of the early 17th century. Inscribed on the large pedestal supporting the statue is "John Harvard - Founder - 1638." The inscription is barely legible - perhaps purposely not repaired.

The tour guide will most assuredly point out - usually with glee - that this statue is commonly referred to as the "statue of the three lies". The first lie is John Harvard wasn't the founder of Harvard College. The college was already in existence when he died in Charlestown, Mass. in 1638, leaving the college his library and a sum of money. The second lie is the incorrect founding date - Harvard College was founded by the Massachusetts Great and General Court in 1636. The final lie is not so obvious. As no likeness of John Harvard existed the sculptor, Daniel Chester French, simply used a Harvard student as his model. The statue bears no resemblance to the real John Harvard.

One other thing of note about John Harvard's statue. It is considered good luck to touch his left foot, so over the years that foot has assumed a shine that the rest of the statue lacks. You can draw your own conclusions about what this might say about Harvard - but it does lead me to one definite conclusion. When researching history you can't always believe what you read, even in Harvard Yard.