As part of our year of focus on North Cambridge, History Cambridge is hosting a pop-up history center at 2322 Massachusett Ave. there between Frank’s Steakhouse and Le French Club. During the months of April and May, this space will serve as a venue for learning, listening and getting to know the history of the neighborhood. From 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday we will host an opening party at which longtime residents, new arrivals and anyone interested in North Cambridge history can gather to share memories of growing up in the neighborhood as well as questions and hopes for a shared exploration of the area’s past. What we hear from you will inform our programming for the rest of the year.
The area now known as North Cambridge was once covered in more than a mile of ice that, as it gradually melted, left vast deposits of sand, gravel and clay, as well as a large area of marshland that the Massachusett people and other local Indigenous groups used for fishing and foraging. The European colonists who arrived beginning in the 17th century tried to farm this area, but the marshland was high in salt content, which meant that the surrounding soil did not produce very well. When they found the clay, the colonists used it for small-scale building and pottery. Two hundred years later, in the mid-1840s, when the industrial revolution was in full swing, there was a huge demand in New England for nonflammable building material, so New Englanders turned to brick to build their factories, mills, workers housing and buildings for the Harvard campus.
The rise of the clay and brick industry was accompanied by an influx of workers, many of whom were immigrants – first from Ireland and later from areas of French-speaking Canada, Italy, Lithuania and Poland. Black migrants from the American South also came. As ethnic and religious groups arrived in North Cambridge, they brought with them aspects of their cultures of origin and established churches, schools, businesses and social organizations that have defined the character of the neighborhood. Changing demographics and development have affected the area in positive and negative ways, but residents’ sense of neighborhood identity remains strong.
History Cambridge staff and volunteers have been busy getting our pop-up space ready for this Thursday’s opening party – our walls are decorated with historic photographs, advertisements and newspaper articles about North Cambridge’s past, and we have many opportunities for visitors to share their memories and questions about the neighborhood. Have a photo of you and your friends playing in the street as kids? Bring it! Wondering about the environmental history of Jerry’s Pit? We’ve got answers! This is the place to connect with other curious friends and neighbors.
Visit our website for information, and click here to let us know you’re coming. Over the next two months, our Neighborhood History Center will be open for drop-in hours and also host several events, including History Cafe programs and a Community Exhibition – sign up for our newsletter to learn more about these events and the neighborhood in our North Cambridge History Hub. We look forward to making North Cambridge history with you!
About History Cambridge
History Cambridge started in 1905 as the Cambridge Historical Society. Today we have a new name and a new mission. We engage with our city to explore how the past influences the present to shape a better future. We recognize that every person in our city knows something about Cambridge’s history, and their knowledge matters. We listen to our community and we live by the ideal that history belongs to everyone. Throughout 2023, we are focusing on the history of Cambridgeport. Make history with us at historycambridge.org.
History Cambridge is a nonprofit organization. Our activities rely on your financial support. If you value articles like this one, give today.
Beth Folsom is programs manager for History Cambridge.
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