history Archives - Cambridge | Somerville Independent

For a summer staycation, Cantabrigians flocked to Mount Auburn Cemetery

by Beth Folsom of History Cambridge August 17, 2026

Most Cantabrigians couldn't afford summer travel – except to their beautiful cemetery, where the public did not always agree on appropriate etiquette.

DID YOU KNOW

Cambridge once had 66 candy makers, and tours in August show how an industry formed and melted away

by Beth Folsom of History Cambridge August 10, 2026

History Cambridge gives guided tours Wednesday and Sunday that highlight the rich and complex history of candy making in Cambridge.

DID YOU KNOW

The Magazine Beach bathhouse debate and the politics of public hygiene

by Beth Folsom of History Cambridge August 3, 2026

Many Cantabrigians at the turn of the 20th century lacked bathing facilities at their homes, so a swimming beach and bathhouse were not just for leisure.

NEWS

Larry Aaronson, progressive educator at CRLS, is reported dead at 86

by Marc Levy August 1, 2026

Larry Aaronson, an educator retired from the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, died peacefully in his sleep at 7:11 a.m. Saturday, according to friends.

DID YOU KNOW

Fresh Pond was a Revolution refuge and smallpox hospital, Civil War soldiers’ barracks and World War I training ground

by Beth Folsom of History Cambridge July 27, 2026

Fresh Pond has most often been seen as a place of natural beauty. Its role in three major wars is an important if largely overlooked part of its history.

NEWS

‘Quite something’: U.K.’s speaker of the House of Commons visits Harvard’s 1215 Magna Carta

by Marc Levy July 23, 2026

Tucked away at Harvard Law School is a 1215 copy of the Magna Carta. Librarians took it out for a special visitor from the U.K. Parliament's House of Commons.

BUSINESS

Clover shrinks to five restaurants, opening a historic Harvard Square location to new tenants

by Marc Levy July 23, 2026

The healthy fast food chain discovered during 2015 renovations that the original tile walls and floor were intact from the Waldorf Lunch diner, opened in 1916.

DID YOU KNOW