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HISTORIC 
 CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 By 
 Charles C. Farrington 
 
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 Bedford, Massachusetts 
 1918 
 
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 Copyright, 1918 
 Bv CHARLES C. FARRINGTON 
 
 The Bedford Print Shop, Bedford, Mass. 
 
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 I 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 History is repeating itself in Cam- 
 bridge in 1918. Its famous Common 
 has once more become a war camp. 
 
 The United States Government 
 has taken possession of the Common 
 for the period of the war, or such 
 time as its use is necessary, and here 
 is located a part of the Radio School, 
 now being conducted at Cambridge 
 by the Navy Department. 
 
 Known world-wide as the place 
 where the first American army was 
 organized, and trained under General 
 Washington, in 1775, to fight for 
 American liberty, it is most fitting that 
 the same site should be used to play a 
 part in the great war now being 
 waged for the liberty and freedom of 
 the world. 
 
 No plot of public ground in the 
 Country is more historic, and probably 
 
 3 
 
Fore word 
 
 no other, with the exception of Boston 
 Common, has been for so long a time 
 devoted continuously to public uses. 
 It certainly has no other rival in the 
 associations w^hich connect it insepar- 
 ably with the early and most vital 
 periods in our National history, and its 
 occupation now as a part of the exten- 
 sive training- system of the present war 
 will add still another link in the chain 
 of events that has already given it re- 
 nown. 
 
IN EARLY TIMES 
 
 From the earliest days of the Massa- 
 chusetts Bay Colony g^reat importance 
 was attached to military training- and 
 up to the year 1681 it was compul- 
 sory for all able-bodied men over six- 
 teen years of age. In making their 
 plans of the "New Towne"^ the pioneer 
 settlers of Cambridge reserved a large 
 tract of land for "town commons," 
 primarily, however, as a training-field 
 for the militia. 
 
 It is to that wisely-made provision, 
 then, that the Cambridge of today is 
 indebted for its beautiful Common 
 with its long train of cherished mem- 
 ories spanning nearly three centuries ; 
 a spot in which all Cambridge takes a 
 just pride and one that is reverenced 
 b}^ the thousands of tourists who every 
 
 1. Newtowne was settled in 1631. The 
 name was changed to Cambridge in 1636. 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 year come to visit the historic shrines 
 of Boston and vicinity. 
 
 The Common as it stands today, con 
 taining about ten acres, is but a part 
 of the original tract which extended 
 as far north as Linnaean Street, em- 
 bracing^ the land between Massachu- 
 setts Avenue and Garden Street^; and 
 to the south, taking in the open space 
 now known as Harvard Square. 
 
 The northern, and much the largei 
 part, was fenced in for the safe pas- 
 turage of cows, it being necessary to 
 protect them at night against the 
 depredations of Indians and the incur- 
 sion of wild animals. This portion was 
 known as the **Cow Common." At the 
 extreme upper end was the "gallows 
 lot," — an acre or so of rising ground 
 which was separated from the rest of 
 the enclosure. Here was located the 
 
 1. Until the later part of the eisrht'^enth 
 century Garden street was known as Wash- 
 ington street from the associations con- 
 nected with the now famous Washing-ton 
 Elm. 
 
 6 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 g"allows and on this spot executions 
 took place publicly for many years. 
 
 In 1724 the "Cow Common" was di- 
 vided into lots and sold to individuals, 
 the part remaining — that below the 
 line of Waterhouse Street — being left 
 as it was originally. The Common 
 thus reduced in size was held as the 
 property of the Proprietors of Com- 
 mon Lands until 1769, when it was 
 granted to the town of Cambridge, 
 with the provision that it lie undivided 
 for use as a training field, and remain 
 so forever. It served as a general 
 meeting place for the town's people on 
 occasions of public celebration or fes- 
 tivity, and not the least important of 
 all, for political gatherings. 
 
 "Training days," as they were first 
 called, and in later times "muster 
 days," were features of life in the 
 Colony for more than a century and 
 might be called the first New England 
 holidays, for such they were. Elec- 
 
 . 7 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 tion day was in reality another holi- 
 day and many local customs were ob- 
 served. An "election sermon" was 
 preached and "election cake" had its 
 place on the day's bill-of-fare. Com- 
 mencement day was also observed gen- 
 erally throughout the Colony, but to 
 Cambridge, people flocked from all 
 parts of the State to participate in the 
 festivities of this, the great gala day 
 in the College year. The Common was 
 the principal scene of activities on all 
 of these recurring events, and great 
 crowds were always in attendance. 
 
 Commencement day, coming in mid- 
 summer, was perhaps the crowning 
 festival of the year. The Common was 
 then covered over with booths and 
 tents from which refreshments were 
 served and wherein sideshows and 
 various forms of entertainment were 
 given. The Governor was always 
 present on these occasions and the 
 bright uniforms worn by his military 
 
 8 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 escort served to enhance the already 
 picturesque scene. 
 
 The Common was the rendezvous of 
 the Middlesex yeomanry in times of 
 public emergencv and here civic af- 
 fairs were discussed and debated. 
 x\fter the English custom the early 
 elections in the Colony were held out- 
 of-doors and there were times on elec- 
 tion days when stirring scenes were 
 enacted on the Common. One of the 
 most memorable of these occasions 
 was in 1637 when the youthful gov- 
 ernor, Sir Henry Vane, a strong sup- 
 porter of the religious views ex- 
 pounded by the famous Anne Hutch- 
 inson, was being opposed by Ex-Gov- 
 ernor John Winthrop. Such excite- 
 ment prevailed that violence was 
 feared, the contest resulting in Vane's 
 defeat. 
 
 The elections were held under an 
 oak tree which stood on the easterly 
 side of the Common. 
 
 9 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 In 1740, the celebrated English 
 clergyman, Rev. George Whitefield, 
 visited Cambridge, and being refused 
 the use of the meeting house, preached 
 in the open air on the Common. The 
 evangelist gathered his audiences un- 
 der a large elm tree in the northwest- 
 ern part of the field and the crowds 
 which heard him preach were esti- 
 mated at thousands. The tree was af- 
 terward known as the "Whitefield tree." 
 
 On September 2, 1774, the Common 
 was the scene of one of the many 
 stirring events which preceded the 
 Revolution. The day previous, a de- 
 tachment sent out by General Gage 
 had seized 250 half-barrels of powder 
 stored in the magazine at Charles- 
 town (now known as the Old Powder 
 House, in Somerville) and had also re- 
 moved two field pieces from Cam- 
 bridge. These acts aroused great in- 
 dignation and two thousand Middlesex 
 freeholders collected on the Common 
 
 10 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 to discuss their ^g^rievances. Excite- 
 ment ran high and the resignations of 
 three councillors — Lieutenant Gov- 
 ernor Oliver, and Judges Danforth 
 and Lee, residents of Cambridge — 
 were demanded. The determined at- 
 titude of the assemblage was not to 
 be misunderstood and all three 
 deemed it wise to comply with the 
 request. 
 
 11 
 
IN 1775-1776 
 
 It is in the Cambridge, and there- 
 fore the Common, at the time of the 
 Revolution, rather than in the earher 
 years, in which there is manifested a 
 more general interest, as the events 
 occurring in that period are a part of 
 our National history in which all citi- 
 zens of the country share alike. 
 
 In 1775, Cambridge was a town of 
 about sixteen hundred inhabitants. 
 Harvard Square and vicinity, known as 
 "Cambridge Village," was the resi- 
 dential centre. There were two routes 
 to Boston — one by the way of Wood 
 Street (Boylston) and the "Great 
 Bridge," through Brighton, Brook- 
 line and Roxbury, a distance of eight 
 miles ; the other, by way of the 
 Watertown Road to Charlestown, con- 
 necting with the ferry. The Concord 
 Road, or turnpike, (Massachusetts 
 
 12 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 Avenue) ran northward from the vil- 
 lage, crossing- at the lower part of the 
 Common, the Watertown Road. The 
 latter road crossed what is now Gar- 
 don Street near the Washington Elm 
 and continued by way of the present 
 Mason and Brattle Streets. 
 
 In the neighborhood of Harvard 
 Square and the Common were many 
 fine estates not a few of which were 
 owned by wealthy loyalists, who, 
 early in 1775, abandoned their luxuri- 
 ous homes and left with their families 
 for more congenial localities. Most 
 of these refugees were later banished 
 by the Legislature and never returned 
 to Cambridge. The commodious man- 
 sions thus left vacant were confis- 
 cated and made use of for hospitals, 
 the quartering of troops and various 
 other army purposes. Brattle Street, 
 where a number of these estates were 
 situated, was known in pre-revolu- 
 tionary days as "Tory Row." 
 13 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 The Common in 1775 was practi- 
 cally the same in extent as it is today. 
 The turnpike formed the eastern 
 boundary on which bordered the Col- 
 lege yard, and on the southern side, 
 across Garden Street, was the ancient 
 burying ground, Christ Church and the 
 schoolhouse. What is now Water- 
 house Street formed the northern, and 
 the Concord Road, the northeastern 
 boundary. On Waterhouse Street was 
 the residence of William Vassall^ and 
 beyond this, at the corner of the Con- 
 cord Road, stood the Red Lion Inn. 
 East of the Concord Road, about mid- 
 way of the Common, on what is now 
 called Holmes Place, were four 
 houses, one of which, in 1775, was 
 owned and occupied by Jonathan Hast- 
 
 1. Vassall left with his family for Eng- 
 land in 1775 and did not return. The house 
 was boug-ht after the Revolution by Dr. Ben- 
 jamin Waterhouse, who is noted as having 
 introduced the use of kine pox for vaccina- 
 tion into America. 
 
 14 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 ing"s, Jr., for many years steward of 
 Harvard College.^ 
 
 There were four Halls within the 
 Colleg-e yard : Massachusetts, Har- 
 vard, Hollis and Stoughton (the first 
 of that name) also the president's 
 residence — "Wadsworth House " and 
 Holden Chapel. A little to the west 
 of the president's house, facing the 
 turnpike, was the First Parish meet- 
 ing-house, and across the turnpike 
 stood the new Court House. 
 
 After the breaking out of hostili- 
 ties at Lexington and Concord on the 
 nineteenth of April, Cambridge at 
 once became the centre of actual 
 and active preparations for war. 
 The Provincial Congress had already 
 met here on two different occasions 
 and transacted important business. 
 
 1. This house became later the home of 
 Rev. Abiel Holmes, pastor of the First 
 Church, and here his son, Oliver Wendell 
 Holmes, the poet, was born. It was torn 
 down in 1883 when the new law school, Aus- 
 tin Hall, was built. 
 
 15 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 At its first session (October, 1774) a 
 Committee of Safety and Supplies 
 was chosen. This committee estab- 
 Hshed its headquarters in the house 
 of Jonathan Hasting-s, opposite the 
 Common, and to it was entrusted the 
 task of raising- an army and the col- 
 lecting- of military stores. General 
 Artemas Ward, who was then in com- 
 mand, took up quarters, also, in the 
 Hasting-s house. 
 
 Immediately following- the events 
 of April 19 began the sieg-e of Boston. 
 A call for volunteers, issued by the 
 Committee of Safety, was sent out all 
 through New England, and men were 
 now hastening toward Cambridge 
 from every direction. They left their 
 fields, their herds and flocks, and tak- 
 ing with them only such weapons as 
 they possessed, they answered the 
 first call to arms in the Revolution, 
 eager to enlist in the cause of liberty. 
 Within a week upwards of 8,000 men 
 
 16 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 had responded. On Cambridge Com- 
 mon were pitched the camps of this 
 first American Army. 
 
 Dorothy Dudley, an eye-witness to 
 what transpired in Cambridge during 
 this history-making period, has given 
 some vivid descriptions as recorded 
 in her diary .^ April 21 she writes: 
 "Our little town is the seat of war. 
 An army is gathering in our midst. 
 Volunteers come from all quarters, 
 many with nothing but the clothes on 
 their backs, no money, no provisions. 
 The Common is the rendezvous for 
 the military, and a busy scene it is, 
 with its groups of excited minutemen 
 and thousand signs of warlike prepa- 
 rations." A few days later she 
 writes : "There is great want of pow- 
 der, muskets and other necessaries. 
 All possible efforts are being made to 
 supply the needs of clothing, tents 
 and firearms." 
 
 1. "The Cambridge of 1776." 
 
 17 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 It was impossible to accommodate 
 in camps the great number of men 
 who had now arrived in Cambridge 
 and quarters had to be provided for 
 them wherever they could be ob- 
 tained. It was necessary to take 
 possession of the College buildings 
 and convert them into barracks. 
 Christ Church was used for a similar 
 purpose, while many of the troops 
 were quartered in the unoccupied 
 houses of the loyalists who had left 
 the town. 
 
 On the fifteenth of June the Con- 
 tinental Congress at Philadelphia 
 chose George Washington of Virginia 
 as Commander-in-Chief of the united 
 armies of the Colonies and he was 
 soon on his way to Cambridge. The 
 president's house, in the College yard, 
 had been designated by the Provincial 
 Congress as the quarters of the new 
 Commander and was being prepared 
 for his reception. 
 
 18 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 On the night of the sixteenth of 
 June there went forth from Cam- 
 bridge Common a detachment of 1,000 
 troops, commanded by Colonel Pres- 
 cott, to fortify Bunker Hill, where it 
 was expected that an attack by the 
 British might be made. Before leav- 
 ing, they were drawn up opposite the 
 Hastings house, from the steps of 
 which prayer was offered by Rev. Dr. 
 Langdon, president of Harvard Col- 
 lege. The troops were provided with 
 intrenching tools and at about nine 
 o'clock began their march, silently, 
 toward their destination. The follow- 
 ing day occurred the memorable bat- 
 tle of Bunker Hill. 
 
 On the second of July General 
 Washington arrived in Cambridge. 
 He was met at Watertown by a cav- 
 alcade of citizens and a troop of 
 light horse, and escorted into town, 
 where he received an enthusiastic 
 welcome. The quarters assigned to 
 
 19 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 him not being in readiness that day 
 he repaired to the Hastings house. 
 
 The day following his arrival Wash- 
 ington assumed command of the 
 army, on the Common, in the presence 
 not only of the troops, but thousands 
 of spectators, who had gathered to 
 witness the inspiring sight. General 
 Ward, at the head of the troops, read 
 the commission of the new com- 
 mander. Washington, who was 
 mounted, rode forward a few paces, 
 drew his sword, accepted the office 
 to which Congress had appointed 
 him and thereby took command of 
 the army. 
 
 Dorothy Dudley writes under date 
 of July 3 : "General Washington is 
 here. Today he took command under 
 one of the grand old elms on the 
 Common. It was a magnificent sight. 
 The majestic figure of the General, 
 mounted upon his horse, beneath the 
 wide spreading branches of this pa- 
 
 20 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 triarch tree ; the multitude thronging 
 the plain around, while the air rung 
 with shouts as he drew his sword and 
 declared himself Commander-in-Chief 
 of the Continental Army." 
 
 The quarters which had been pro- 
 vided for General Washington did 
 not prove altogether satisfactory and 
 after only a few days' occupancy he 
 took possession of the house of John 
 Vassall^, where he resided during his 
 stay in Cambridge. 
 
 From now on the Common was the 
 scene of the greatest activity. Every 
 efifort was put forth to provide the 
 necessary equipments, and the task 
 of organization of the army was be- 
 gun. There was daily drilling and 
 columns of men were constantly 
 marching about to the music of fife 
 and drum. Washington, immediately 
 upon assuming charge, inspected the 
 
 1. Afterward the home of the poet. Henry 
 W. Long-fellow. The house is still standing 
 on Brattle Street. 
 
 21 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 camp, to acquaint himself with its 
 needs, and within a week made his 
 first report to Congress. Rev. Wil- 
 Ham Emerson, a chaplain, gives a 
 graphic description of the camp at 
 this time. 
 
 He says : "There is great overturn- 
 ing as to order and regularity. The 
 Generals, Washington and Lee, are 
 upon the lines every day. New or- 
 ders from His Excellency are read to 
 the regiments every morning after 
 prayers. The strictest government 
 is taking place, and every distinction 
 is made between officers and men. 
 Thousands are at work every day 
 from four until eleven o'clock in the 
 morning. It is surprising how much 
 has been done. The lines are ex- 
 tended almost from Cambridge to 
 Mystic river. It is very diverting to 
 walk among the camps. They are as 
 different in their form as the owners 
 are in their dress; and every tent is 
 
 22 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 a portraiture of the temper and taste 
 of the persons who encamp in it. 
 Some are of boards, and some of sail- 
 cloth. Some partly of one and partly 
 of the other. Ag-ain, others are made 
 of stone and turf, brick or brush. 
 Some are thrown up in a hurry, 
 others are curiously wrought with 
 doors and windows, done with 
 wreaths and withes in the manner of 
 a basket. Some are your proper tents 
 and marquees, looking like the regu- 
 lar camp of the enemy." Thatcher's 
 Military Journal describes General 
 Washing-ton's personal appearance as 
 follows : "It is not difficult to distin- 
 guish him from all others. His ap- 
 pearance is truly noble and majestic, 
 being- tall and well proportioned. 
 His dress is a blue coat with buflf- 
 colored facing-s ; a rich epaulette on 
 each shoulder ; buff under-dress, and 
 an elegant small-sword ; a black cock- 
 ade in his hat." 
 
 23 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 During- the autumn the camp was 
 prepared as far as possible against 
 the approaching winter. A barracks 
 building was erected at the north- 
 western part of the Common, but it 
 was not ready for use until after 
 snow had fallen, early in December. 
 The winter was a severe one and 
 great hardships were endured by the 
 soldiers in their various quarters. 
 The supply of firewood was so re- 
 duced that groves of valuable timber 
 in the vicinity had to be cut down for 
 fuel. Ammunition was so scarce that 
 everything that could be found which 
 could be molded into bullets was 
 used. The organ pipes from Christ 
 Church, the leaden roof of Harvard 
 Hall, door knobs and other metal fit- 
 tings of the College buildings, found 
 their way into the melting pot. 
 
 The early spring of 1776 brought 
 relief in more ways than one. The 
 hardships of winter were ended and 
 24 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 ammunition had now become more 
 plentiful. Signs pointed to an early 
 evacuation of Boston by the British, 
 and General Washington was prepar- 
 ing to hasten their departure. 
 
 The winter had been equally as hard 
 for the troops penned up in Boston, 
 as it was for those in the American 
 camps which surrounded it, and all 
 their supplies were at a very low ebb. 
 The fortifying of Dorchester Heights 
 by Washington proved to General 
 Howe the impossibility of longer hold- 
 ing the town, and on the seventeenth 
 of March he sailed with his troops 
 for Halifax. 
 
 There was great rejoicing when the 
 siege of Boston was raised, and espe- 
 cially, when on the day following the 
 evacuation, Washington with his vic- 
 torious army entered the town. 
 Soon afterward the troops left Cam- 
 bridge for New York, and the Com- 
 mon ceased to be a military camp. 
 
 25 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 In October, 1777, the captured sol- 
 diers of Burg-oyne's army were 
 brought to Cambridge and quartered 
 there in various houses for more than 
 a year. The Common did not play a 
 part in this chapter of the town's 
 military history except, perhaps, that 
 it was used by the soldier-prisoners 
 as a place for exercise and recreation. 
 
 In 1789, when he was President of 
 the United States, Washington made 
 his last tour through New Eng-land 
 and visited Cambridge Common. 
 There he was accorded a welcome 
 such as the high office he then filled 
 demanded. 
 
 26 
 
BECOMES A PARK 
 
 In 1830, after considerable opposi- 
 tion, the Common was fenced in and 
 laid out as a public park, with walks 
 and shade trees. By the widening of 
 Garden Street many years ago the 
 "Washington Elm" and the "White- 
 field tree," once included in the Com- 
 mon, were separated from it. The 
 former now stands in a little en- 
 closure in the middle of Garden 
 Street, while the "Whitefield tree," 
 which was considered an obstruction 
 to travel, has been removed. 
 
 The soldiers' monument which 
 stands on the Common was erected 
 by the City of Cambridge and dedi- 
 cated in the summer of 1870. It was 
 designed by the famous Cobb 
 brothers, Cyrus and Darius, then both 
 residents of Cambridge and veterans 
 of the Civil War, and is considered 
 
 27 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 one of the finest structures of its 
 kind in the country. The three can-i 
 non which flank the base of the monu- 
 ment are relics of the Revolution, 
 having- been captured by Ethan Allen 
 at Crown Point, in 1775, and brought 
 to Cambridg-e with other spoils, on 
 ox sleds, by General Knox. They 
 were used during- the siege of Bos- 
 ton. 
 
 At the lower end of the Common is 
 a beautiful memorial gateway, of pink 
 granite, erected by the General So- 
 ciety of the Daughters of the Revo- 
 lution. Bronze tablets on either side 
 of the entrance are inscribed as fol- 
 lows : On the left, "Near this spot on 
 July 3, 1775, George Washington took 
 command of the American Army"; 
 on the right, "In memory of this 
 event, this gateway was erected A. 
 D. October, 1906." 
 
 The statue of John Bridge, which 
 stands at the northern end of the 
 
 28 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 Common, portrays one of the early 
 settlers of the town who held many 
 positions of honor and trust. 
 
 Surrounding the Common there 
 remain, beside several of the buildings 
 of Harvard, but few reminders of the 
 Revolution. Christ Church on Garden 
 Street, the Waterhouse house on 
 Waterhouse Street, and the "Wash- 
 ington Elm, are now the only other 
 nearby objects that witnessed the 
 scenes on the Common when Wash- 
 ington's army was encamped there, 
 nearly a century and a half ago. 
 
 "Training days" in Cambridge are 
 a thing of the past. Commencement, 
 is, of course, observed each year at 
 Harvard with the customary literary 
 exercises, the celebration of the day 
 otherwise, however, is no longer a 
 public afifair as in the early years, be- 
 ing confined altogether to graduates 
 and those immediately connected 
 with the University. 
 
 29 
 
AS IT IS TODAY 
 
 Today, the Common, once more a 
 war camp, presents a busy scene. Its 
 surface is largely covered with the 
 building's of the Radio School, and the 
 whole park is enclosed by high board 
 fence. The buildings include bar- 
 racks, which are constructed around 
 the sides of the Common, a recitation 
 hall, administration building and 
 power plant. The main entrance to 
 the enclosure is on Massachusetts 
 Avenue opposite Holmes Place. The 
 buildings are all of the same style of 
 construction, neat and attractive in 
 appearance, and are equipped in every 
 particular for the welfare of the 
 students. 
 
 The camp has been so planned that 
 no harm will come to the beautiful 
 shade trees or any of the structural 
 features which adorn the Common. 
 
 30 
 

HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 Of the 5,000 men who are at this 
 Radio School the camp on the Com- 
 mon will accommodate in its barracks 
 only 1,800. The larger portion are 
 still occupying- for barracks and in- 
 struction purposes several of the 
 Harvard University buildings as they 
 have done for nearly a year. In all 
 departments the regulations of the 
 Navy are strictly observed. 
 
 While the Common long ago ceased 
 to be used as a training field, the sol- 
 diers' monument and the grim old 
 cannon give to the place a permanent 
 touch of the military atmosphere 
 which belongs to it, and, forming as 
 they do, in the centre of the camp, a 
 group of silent reminders .of two 
 former wars, they will serve the pur- 
 pose of an impressive object lesson 
 in patriotism to the hundreds of 
 young men who are now training 
 there for service in still another — the 
 greatest of all wars in history. 
 
 31 
 
HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 
 
 But the Common, notwithstanding 
 the fact that the requirements for 
 which it was orig-inally designed long 
 ago ceased to exist, still belongs to 
 the people of Cambridge, and always 
 will . 
 
 When the war is over and the site 
 no longer needed by the Govern- 
 ment, the buildings removed, and the 
 grounds restored to their former 
 beauty, the Common will be all the 
 more appreciated by the people of 
 Cambridge for its having been used 
 in such a glorious cause ; and for the 
 sacrifice they have made in relin- 
 quishing it they will have been well 
 repaid. 
 
 32 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 014 013 419 3