History 

When the Massachusetts Bay Colony was formed by the Puritans in 1630, settlers formed many small villages around the bay area, one of which was Newtonwne. Newtowne, founded by John Winthrop, was laid out in an orderly grid of streets, bounded on its south side by the Charles River. Eventually Newtowne would become Cambridge in 1638, named such in honor of Cambridge, England.  

By the time of the American Revolution, Cambridge was a quiet farming village clustered near Harvard College. The majority of residents were descendants of the original Puritans -- farmers, artisans, and tradesmen, whose lives focused on Cambridge. But distinctly different were a small group of Anglicans who lived apart from village affairs, relied on outside incomes, and entertained lavishly in grand homes along Tory Row (now Brattle Street). The Tories' houses and their church, Christ Church, still survive. 

In 1793 the Longfellow Bridge was constructed, giving residents a direct route from Cambridge to Boston. Cambridgeport became the area along the roads that lead to the bridge. During this period, residential neighborhoods spread out from Massachusetts Avenue and Central Square increasingly became the city’s true downtown. Margaret Fuller, women’s pioneer as the first women to be allowed to use the Harvard Library, was a resident of Cambredgeport.  

East Cambridge was opened in 1809 when the Canal Bridge was constructed. This area was mainly a glass and furniture industrial center. Andrew Craigie, a leading Cambridge entrepreneur, enticed the county to build its courthouse and jail in East Cambridge, offering a number of new buildings. This became the site where Dorothea Dix focused prison reform campaign in 1841. Between 1845 and 1855 East Cambridge became home to an increasing population of Irish, seeking refuge from the Potato Famine devastating their native country. By 1855 close to 25% of East Cambridge was Irish-born.

A small population of African Americans had lived in Cambridge from the earliest Colonial days, and in the early nineteenth century Cambridge's integrated schools attracted many families from Boston. Educator Maria Baldwin held home study classes for Harvard's black students, including W.E.B. DuBois. Maria Baldwin was appointed headmaster of the Agassiz School in 1889 becoming the first African American to hold such a position in the North.
Today, Cambridge is a city with over 100,000 people located in a 6.5 square mile area, Cambridge is a unique community with a strong mix of cultural and social diversity, intellectual vitality and technological innovation.  

The Squares of Cambridge 

Cambridge is the City of Squares. Each square, rich with diversity and cultural offerings, acts as unique town centers.  

--Kendal Square is formed by the junction of Broadway, Main Street, and Third, just over the Longfellow Bridge from Boston. Kendal Square is home of most of Cambridge’s larger office towers, making it more of office park serving the biotech industry.  

--Central Square is formed by the junction of Massachusetts Ave., Prospect Street, and Western Ave. Central Square is what many refer to as downtown Cambridge. Central offers a variety ethnic restaurants and lounges. During the 1990’s Central Square went through a gentrification process which today, continues to grow and expand. 

--Harvard Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Ave, Brattle St., and JFK St, is where Harvard University calls home. Red brick walkways lead visitors to hundreds of restaurants, top notch retailers, museums, entertainment venues, bookstores, architectural landmarks, and an ever-changing outdoor arena of street performances. It has become a hang out for many of Boston’s sub-cultures, but remains one of the most inviting and casual areas in the Boston-Cambridge neighborhood. 

--Porter Square is located about 1 mile north from Harvard Square on Massachusetts Ave. Porter Square borders Somerville, and is considered by residents to be the “utilitarian” square offering a supermarket, hardware store, and other convenience stores. Close by is Davis Square which part of Somerville.  

--Inman Square is at the junction of Cambridge and Hampshire Streets. Inman Square offers a number of Brazilian and Portuguese restaurants and shops, as well as an eclectic array of bars, coffee shops and stores.  

--Lechmere Square is home to the Cambridge Side Galleria shopping center, and also the final stop on the MBTA Green Line.  

Higher Education 

In 1636, Harvard College was founded as an institution to train young men for the Puritan Ministry, at avert having to rely in importing graduates from Oxford University and Cambridge University in England. Harvard College was named after John Harvard, a young clergyman who bequeathed a number of books that became the core of the college library, as well as a few hundred British pounds. Harvard College was also an institution created to spread the Puritan belief to the American Indians. In fact, the first bible printed in America was printed at Harvard, in a Native American language, by John Eliot.  

Charles W. Eliot, who served as president from 1869 to 1909, transformed the relatively small provincial institution into a modern university. During this period, the Law and Medical schools were revitalized along with the Graduate Business and Dental programs. Enrollment tripled, and endowments skyrocketed to three times Yale’s, and five times the combined endowments of Amherst and Williams. In 1879, the "Harvard Annex" for women's instruction by Harvard faculty was founded, and was later annexed as Radcliff College.  

Harvard University has since become one of the world’s foremost research and educational institutions having graduated over 50 Nobel Prize winners, and seven U.S. Presidents. It stands as the icon of Cambridge, Massachusetts.  

Another academic institution that Cambridge is famous for is MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). MIT was founded in 1861 while America was becoming increasingly industrialized. William Barton Rogers, it’s founder, developed a curriculum that generated focus on the science and engineering fields. Also located in Cambridge, it was seen as a perfect neighbor to Harvard University, that excelled more in the liberal arts than in the natural sciences. MIT has long been renowned for being a school of inventions and laboratory instruction. Research at MIT is leading the way for inventions in the fields of aerospace, biomedical research, nuclear technology, nanotechnology, computer sciences and many others.  

Cambridge is also home to Lesley University, Cambridge College, and the Longy School of Music.  

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