An 1849 Lithograph by Nathaniel Currier showing Lady Suffolk, one of the racing horses that competed at Trotting Park. (Image: New England Auctions)

At the opening party Thursday for our pop-up North Cambridge Neighborhood History Center, a guest playfully suggested bringing back horse racing to North Cambridge. While the commercial and residential development that has taken place in the neighborhood in the past century and a half means there is no longer room for such a large-scale enterprise, we were inspired to take a look back at the history of racing at the site known as Trotting Park.

In the early part of the 18th century, much of North Cambridge was open land. The Great Swamp (now known as Alewife), farmland and orchards made up most of the area, with the occasional residence dotting the landscape. The Indigenous residents, and later the European colonists, used the vast clay deposits in the soil for material to make houses, pottery and other items, but when the first large-scale clay pits were developed beginning in the 1840s, North Cambridge became the brick-making capital of the region for the next century.

Francis Kidder opened a trotting racecourse in 1837 that spanned a full mile loop bounded by Rindge, Harvey, Clifton and Cedar streets. The open spaces still present in the neighborhood provided an ideal venue, and the clay-rich soil was ideal for a hard-packed racecourse that was flexible enough to absorb the impact of horse hooves. Charles A. Mason, a resident, engineer and surveyor, designed the layout for the track, and for nearly two decades from 1837 to 1855, Trotting Park was the premier racing ground in the Boston area.

Kidder and his business partner, Samuel Reed, built a hotel next to the racecourse in 1847 in an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of horse racing. Although the park’s name implies its exclusive use as a venue for horse racing, its proprietors also offered other kinds of amusements to bring in audiences. In a 2019 article for the Cambridge Historical Commission, Dan Sullivan reports finding “descriptions of a greased pig chase, two boxing matches and multiple mixed event ‘handicapped’ races. In addition to these, there was one event that came close to what we would call a track and field meet today. It consisted of a hammer throw, a mile run and the 100–yard dash with other less traditional events.”

An H.F. Walling & Co. map of Northwest Cambridge from 1854. (Image: Cambridge Historical Commission)

Although races and competitions of various sorts were the main attractions at Trotting Park, much of the coverage of the racetrack in local newspapers focused on what many saw as its negative influence on the people of Cambridge. Reports of public intoxication, gambling and the spilling over of “racing fever” into the city’s streets before and after meets led to police intervention, and many felt that the racetrack was corrupting the morals of Cantabrigians, particularly the young.

A snippet from the Cambridge Chronicle of July 9, 1853. (Image: Cambridge Public Library)

Despite Kidder and Reed’s best efforts, Trotting Park proved to be unprofitable and, in 1855, the land was divided into 275 home lots and sold in what was the largest subdivision in Cambridge history. After the sale of the racetrack, Reed continued to operate the Trotting Park Hotel until 1870 as a boarding house for single men working at the brickyards. In 1870, the hotel was remodeled and became a tenement housing the many French Canadian immigrants who were moving to North Cambridge and taking over brickyard jobs from the Irish workers who had moved into other sectors of industry.

To learn more about Trotting Park and other aspects of North Cambridge history, visit our North Cambridge History Hub. To stay-up-to-date on our events and programs, sign up for our newsletter. We look forward to making (North) Cambridge history with you this year!

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.

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Beth Folsom is programs manager for History Cambridge.