Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

To mark the 250th anniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, a coalition of local non-profits and government agencies will present Washington in American Memory, a seven-part speaker series. All events take place at the Cambridge Public Library, and will also be livestreamed.

Explore how Americans have remembered, reinterpreted, and reshaped the meaning of the American Revolution from 1776 to today, featuring: 

• Colin Gordon Calloway, author of The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans, and the Birth of the Nation and the John Kimball, Jr. 1943 Professor of History and Professor of Native American Studies at Dartmouth College

This speaker series is made possible through the generous support of America's National Parks, a nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. It is presented in partnership by the National Park Service/Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, History Cambridge, Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge Historical Commission, and Cambridge MA250. 

Mark the 250th anniversary of the return of the Knox expedition with fresh perspectives on its significance from historian and author J.L. Bell. On January 18, 1776, Gen. William Heath wrote, “Col. Knox, of the artillery, came to camp. He brought from Ticonderoga a fine train of artillery.” Those 54 guns would nearly double the size of the Continental artillery force. But Gen. George Washington and his commanders still had to figure out the best way to use their new ordnance before they could drive the British military out of Boston.

J.L. Bell is the author of The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War and proprietor of Boston1775.net

This event is funded through the generous support of America's National Parks, a non-profit partner of the National Park Service.

To mark the 250th anniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, a coalition of local non-profits and government agencies will present Washington in American Memory, a seven-part speaker series. All events take place at the Cambridge Public Library, and will also be livestreamed.

Consider how Americans understand atistic depictions of Washington and the Revolution, featuring: 

• Zara Anishanslin, author of The Painter’s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution and Associate Professor of History and Art History at the University of Delaware
• Erica E. Hirshler, Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

This speaker series is made possible through the generous support of America's National Parks, a nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. It is presented in partnership by the National Park Service/Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, History Cambridge, Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge Historical Commission, and Cambridge MA250. 

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States' founding - and the 219th anniversary of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's birth - join us for a timely reexamination of Longfellow's beloved 1861 poem, Paul Revere's Ride.

This event will begin with a reading of Paul Revere's Ride, and remarks by the staff of Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site. Kristin L. Peszka, Interpretation & Visitor Services Director at the Paul Revere House, will then address the historical ride in comparison to Longfellow’s version, and reflect on Revere's lasting legacy.

The reading will be followed by birthday cake and, weather permitting, a visit to the Longfellow family tomb for a brief wreath laying ceremony.

10:00-11:00 AM Remarks

11:00-11:30 AM Coffee and cake reception

11:30-12:00 PM Walk to the Longfellow grave site and wreath laying

This program is presented by Mount Auburn Cemetery and Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, and is funded through the generous support of America's National Parks, a non-profit partner of the National Park Service.

To mark the 250th anniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, a coalition of local non-profits and government agencies will present Washington in American Memory, a seven-part speaker series. All events take place at the Cambridge Public Library, and will also be livestreamed.

Retrace George Washington’s post-inaugural journeys and explore how he sought to unite a fragile new nation, featuring: 

• Peter Drummey, Chief Historian of the Massachusetts Historical Society (Ret.) 
• Nathaniel Philbrick, author of Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy, along with many other New York Times bestselling books

This speaker series is made possible through the generous support of America's National Parks, a nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. It is presented in partnership by the National Park Service/Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, History Cambridge, Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge Historical Commission, and Cambridge MA250. 

On March 17, 1776, the British military pulled out of Boston, giving General George Washington his first victory of the Revolutionary War. Already, however, he was positioning the Continental Army for the redcoats to return. Meanwhile, the political atmosphere had changed, sending the thirteen colonies in a new direction. This year's annual Evacuation Day talk at Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters NHS explores how much changed during the siege and what lay ahead as the Washingtons left Cambridge.

J.L. Bell is the author of The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War and proprietor of Boston1775.net.

The annual Evacuation Day Lecture is made possible by the Friends of the Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters, Inc.

How prevalent were tattoos in the 1800s, how widespread were they, and who had them? Charles Longfellow, the oldest son of the poet Henry Longfellow, was extensively tattooed in Japan in the early 1870s. He was likely not the only tattooed Cantibrigian of his day.

Join traditional hand poke tattoo artist Owen Payette McGarry for a conversation on methods of tattooing in the 1800s, what motivated people to get tattoos, and what designs were popular. We’ll also discuss Charley Longfellow’s tattoos and the context of Japanese tattooing in the late 1800s.

This program will feature a living history tattoo demonstration.

Owen Payette McGarry is a traditional hand poke tattoo artist specializing in historically inspired maritime work. Part of his practice is living history tattoo demonstrations to educate people on the history of tattoos and the lives of people who got them.

This program is presented by History Cambridge in partnership with Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site.

To mark the 250th anniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, a coalition of local non-profits and government agencies will present Washington in American Memory, a seven-part speaker series. All events take place at the Cambridge Public Library, and will also be livestreamed.

Explore how Americans have remembered and forgotten Washington’s involvement with slavery over the past 250 years, featuring:  

• Kelli Racine Barnes, ACE Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow
• John Garrison Marks, author of Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory (forthcoming) and Vice President of Research and Engagement at the American Association for State and Local History 
• Kyera Singleton, Executive Director of the Royall House & Slave Quarters and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Tufts University Center for the Humanities

This speaker series is made possible through the generous support of America's National Parks, a nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. It is presented in partnership by the National Park Service/Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, History Cambridge, Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge Historical Commission, and Cambridge MA250. 

This event honors Rhina Espaillat, beloved Dominican diasporic poet and English crossover poet. Espaillat will read favorite selections from her work, alongside readings by the acclaimed Dominican diasporic poet and author, Leonardo Nin; and a reading by the award-winning Dominican poet, José Enrique Delmonte, with translations by Shira Zohara Dickey.

Co-presented by the New England Poetry Club and Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site.

Poets

Dominican-born Rhina P. Espaillat has published twenty-four full-length books, four chapbooks, and two CDs comprising her own poetry collections, essays and short stories in both English and her native Spanish, as well as numerous translations, from and into both languages, of work by other authors. Her work appears in numerous anthologies, journals and websites, and has received many national and international awards

Espaillat is a founding member of the Fresh Meadows Poets, the Powow River Poets, The Melopoeia musical Trio, and the musical quintet known as The Diminished Poets. She has earned many national and international awards, including the T. S. Eliot and Richard Wilbur Awards, several from the Poetry Society of America, the New England Poetry Club, The Robert Frost Foundation, the Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Salem State College.

José Enrique Delmonte is a poet, essayist, historian, PhD in linguistics and literature, and architect. He has received several literary awards, including the 2014 Poetry Prize from the Universidad Iberoeramericana, the Ibero-American Poetry Prize at the 2014 Madrid Book Fair, the 2016 León Felipe International Poetry Prize (Zamora, Spain), and the 2024 Editorial Project Award from Sial Pigmalión Publishing House, Madrid, Spain. He has published the poetry collections Alquimias de la ciudad perdida (Alchemies of the Lost City), Once palabras que mueve tu mundo (Eleven Words That Move Your World), and several others. José Enrique is a member of the Organizing Committee of the Santo Domingo International Poetry Week. His poetry has been translated into English and French.

Shira Zohara Dickey (translator) is a US-born architectural historian, author, lecturer, and former academic society director. She also translates and writes poetry and makes fine art. Fluent in multiple languages, she has translated two Spanish poetry books by the renowned Santo Domingo poet, essayist, and architect, José Enrique Delmonte into English. Shira's forthcoming projects include publications in architectural history, a translation of another poetry collection by Delmonte, and a chapbook with her illustrations dedicated to memories of her loving companion, deceased MIT atmospheric physicist, Ralph J. Markson.

Leonardo Nin is a writer, novelist, poet, and independent researcher in the fields of cultural anthropology and sociolinguistics. One of the main voices of Dominican literature in the United States and Latin America, his published works include: Paid Space (poetry, El Salvador, 2019), That is why I will never go back (Short Stories 20202), I Only Know They Called her, Shadow; At the Blue Side of Nothingness, and many others. He is currently the director of the Taino Museum of Magua, Dominican Republic, and editor of Ivy Editorial of Randolph, Massachusetts.

To mark the 250th anniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, a coalition of local non-profits and government agencies will present Washington in American Memory, a seven-part speaker series. All events take place at the Cambridge Public Library, and will also be livestreamed.

Explore the 19th century origins of preservation at Mount Vernon, current conservation work, and the estate’s future, featuring: 

• Doug Bradburn, President and CEO of George Washington’s Mount Vernon and co-founder and editor of the book series, Early American Histories 
• Andrea Sahin, Vice Regent for Massachusetts to the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association

This speaker series is made possible through the generous support of America's National Parks, a nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. It is presented in partnership by the National Park Service/Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, History Cambridge, Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge Historical Commission, and Cambridge MA250.