Cambridge African American Heritage Trail

Cambridge African American Heritage Trail – Discover Cambridge’s history as one of the nation’s oldest African American communities. Walk the African American Heritage Trail, 20 historic markers that honor notable blacks who were abolitionists, authors, educators, and office holders in Cambridge dating back to 1840. With the allure of Harvard, desegregated public schools, and Massachusetts’ abolishment of slavery in 1783, skilled blacks flocked to Cambridge – making it a refuge for freedom. Highlights on the trail include the local residence of W.E.B. DuBois, the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard and founder of the N.A.A.C.P. See plaques marking the historic homes of Maria Baldwin, the north’s first African American headmaster of an all-white school (Cambridge’s Agassiz Grammar School); and William H. Lewis, the first black U.S. assistant attorney general. Also view the abode of remarkable author Harriet Jacobs, who hid in a crawl space for seven years to escape slavery, and then when freed, ran a boarding house for Harvard students. The borders included Cornelia Willis, the woman who bought Jacobs’ freedom; and Harvard Law School dean Christopher Langdell, inventor of the case teaching method. To visit these and other significant Cambridge sites, pick up an illustrated guide at the Historical Commission. The booklet contains the complete text of each trail marker, a map, and a brief history of African Americans in Cambridge. Though the locations are spread out throughout the city requiring a car to view them all, and you can’t enter the homes, the trail still gives a rare glimpse into Cambridge’s unique history.
African American Heritage Trail, Cambridge Historical Commission, 831 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-349-4683.
http://www.cambridgema.gov/historic/aahtrail.html
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