Cambridge

Cambridge Common

Landmark · Massachusetts Avenue & Garden Street, Cambridge, MA

The site where George Washington took command of the Continental Army on July 3, 1775. Under an elm tree (since fallen), Washington drew his sword and formally assumed leadership of the forces besieging British-held Boston. The common served as an encampment for thousands of soldiers during the siege.

Harvard Yard

Landmark · Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA

The historic center of Harvard College, established in 1636. During the Revolution, college buildings housed Continental soldiers and served as barracks and hospitals. Massachusetts Hall (1720) quartered troops, and commencement exercises were suspended from 1775 to 1781. The intellectual community at Harvard contributed political philosophy and practical support to the revolutionary cause.

Tory Row (Brattle Street)

Landmark · Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA

The stretch of Brattle Street between Harvard Square and Elmwood was home to wealthy Loyalist families before the Revolution. When these families fled, their elegant mansions were confiscated and used by Continental officers. The street retains its colonial character with several surviving 18th-century homes.

Old Powder House

Landmark · Powder House Square area, Cambridge/Somerville line

A stone tower that served as a gunpowder magazine for Cambridge and surrounding towns. Similar to the Powder House in Somerville (then part of Charlestown), colonial powder stores were a source of tension with British authorities who sought to control ammunition supplies.

Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

Historic House · 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA

This Georgian mansion served as George Washington's headquarters during the Siege of Boston from July 1775 to April 1776. Built in 1759 for Loyalist John Vassal, the house was confiscated when he fled. Washington planned the Continental Army's operations here and celebrated his wedding anniversary with Martha in these rooms.

Massachusetts Hall

Historic House · Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA

Harvard's oldest surviving building (1720). During the Siege of Boston, it served as barracks for 640 Continental soldiers. The building has continuously served Harvard for over 300 years and now houses the university president's office.

Wadsworth House

Historic House · 1341 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA

Built in 1726 as the home for Harvard presidents. George Washington briefly used this yellow clapboard building as his first headquarters upon arriving in Cambridge in July 1775, before moving to the larger Vassal-Craigie house (now Longfellow House).

Hooper-Lee-Nichols House

Historic House · 159 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA

One of Cambridge's oldest houses, with portions dating to 1685. The house museum is operated by Cambridge Historical Society and interprets three centuries of Cambridge history, including the Revolutionary period when the surrounding area served the Continental Army.

Elmwood

Historic House · 33 Elmwood Avenue, Cambridge, MA

Built in 1767 for Thomas Oliver, the last royal Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. When Revolution came, Oliver was forced to renounce his position by an angry crowd. The mansion later became home to poet James Russell Lowell and now serves as the official residence of Harvard's president.

The Read House

Historic House · 55 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA

A well-preserved Georgian house (c. 1772) on Brattle Street. During the Revolutionary period, it exemplified the architecture of prosperous colonial Cambridge. While not as famous as Washington's headquarters, it represents the residential character of pre-war Cambridge.

Christ Church Cambridge

Church · Zero Garden Street, Cambridge, MA

The oldest church building in Cambridge (1761). When British soldiers worshipped here before the Revolution, the congregation was largely Loyalist. After war began, Continental troops used the building as barracks. Martha Washington attended New Year's Eve services here in 1775, and the church was rededicated in 1790.

First Parish in Cambridge

Church · 3 Church Street, Cambridge, MA

The congregation dates to 1636, making it one of the oldest in the United States. The current building (1833) is not Revolutionary-era, but the congregation played an active role in the independence movement. The meetinghouse that stood during the Revolution was used for town meetings that debated colonial resistance.

Old Burying Ground

Cemetery · Garden Street at Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA

Cambridge's first cemetery, established in 1635. Several Revolutionary War soldiers rest here, including two African American soldiers of the Continental Army. Harvard presidents and early settlers also lie in this compact graveyard adjacent to Christ Church.

Cambridge Historical Society

Museum · 159 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA

Located in the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House, the society maintains archives and collections documenting Cambridge history from its founding through the present. Research materials include documents from the Revolutionary period and the Siege of Boston.

Washington Elm Site

Monument · Garden Street at Cambridge Common, Cambridge, MA

A monument marks the approximate location where George Washington took command of the Continental Army on July 3, 1775. The original elm tree, under which tradition says Washington stood, fell in 1923 after storm damage. Seedlings from the tree have been planted throughout the country.

Dawes Island

Monument · Massachusetts Avenue at Garden Street, Cambridge, MA

A small traffic island with a memorial to William Dawes Jr., who rode from Boston to Lexington on April 18-19, 1775, alongside Paul Revere. Dawes took a different route through Roxbury and Cambridge, helping to warn colonists of the approaching British troops.

Fort Washington Park

Battlefield · Waverly Street, Cambridge, MA

Site of a small earthwork fortification built by Continental forces during the Siege of Boston. Part of the defensive ring around Cambridge, the fort helped protect Washington's headquarters and the encamped army from any British attempt to break out of Boston.

Lechmere Point (East Cambridge)

Battlefield · East Cambridge area, near CambridgeSide

During the Siege of Boston, fortifications were constructed at Lechmere Point, overlooking the Charles River and Boston. The position was part of the Continental Army's encirclement of British forces. The landscape has been dramatically altered by landfill and development.