Harvard Historical SocietyDiscover Your Town
The Old Millstone A Town Marker on the Common
The old millstone on the Common was first dedicated in 1948 as a “town marker” honoring the founders of the town.
Event Registration
Event registration post. Used when clicking on “Register” button on an Event post.
The Harvard Historical Society Website Gets a Makeover!
We are excited to announce the opening of the Harvard Historical Society renewed website! After months of dedicated work, we’ve enriched the online experience to provide you with a more engaging and informative journey through the rich history of the town of Harvard.
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Ida Harris
Ida was active in the Harvard Woman’s Club and in the Harvard Historical Society. She chaired a committee to gather material to update the history of Harvard from 1880 to 1940. That manuscript was only recently published.
Fruitlands
The Fruitlands Museum was founded, expanded, and curated by Clara Endicott Sears, a member of a wealthy Boston family and among the best known and most accomplished of Harvard’s summer residents.
Ned Quist
A retired academic librarian, Ned is a researcher specializing in the history of the Harvard Shaker Village.
The Harvard Shakers, their barns and the worst agricultural land in Harvard
Robert C. Anderson in his “Directions of a Town” wrote: “The first task of the Shakers at Harvard in their growing years was the cultivation and improvement of the tracts of land they had acquired, probably the worst agricultural land in Harvard.”
Bellevue Cemetery
In March 1893 the town approved a new cemetery site; Henry Warner named it Bellevue.
Contact
How to contact us.
Local Register of Historic Places
The Harvard Historical Commission’s ‘Local Register of Historic Places‘ includes a detailed architectural description and the history of the property and of its owners.
Shaker Cemetery
The Harvard Shaker Cemetery, also known as the “Lollipop Cemetery,” is a unique burial ground located in the Shaker Village of Harvard, Massachusetts.
Back to School Memories
At one time Harvard had nine school districts, each with its own schoolhouse. Districts merged, and in 1905 there was one grammar school.
Elvira Scorgie
A woman of many talents, Elvira Scorgie was an authority on the history of the town of Harvard. Her research is archived at the Harvard Historical Society.
250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party
Elijah Houghton, a Boston Tea Party participant, is buried in the Center Cemetery off the Harvard Common. We are celebrating the Tea Party and Elijah Houghton’s part in the “Destruction of the Tea.”
How the Harvard Historical Society moved into the Baptist Church of Still River
The Harvard Historical Society’s connections to the former Still River Baptist Church.
Five Churches, One Site
A history of five churches on one site, given in 1967 by Miss Elvira Scorgie
The Harvard Historical Society Meeting House
In 1966, the Harvard Historical Society purchased the former Still River Baptist Church. Until then, the Historical Society had been using the Hapgood Room and attic of the public library.
Shakers South Family Stone Barn
The Shaker Stone Barn was built in 1835. Located at 101 South Shaker Road, the barn is now a ruin, but some of its most significant and striking masonry features still remain.
Dried Apple Cake
Dried apple cake is a delicious dessert made with dried apple pieces as one of its main ingredients. It’s a popular treat that combines the sweet and slightly tangy flavor of dried apples with the moist and spiced cake batter.
In Memoriam Doug Cregar
Doug Cregar died on Sept. 26, 2021, at the age of 56 at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston. A lifelong resident of Harvard, Doug was knowledgeable and passionate about the town’s history. His contributions to the society as a board member and as president were numerous and significant.
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Othello
Othello, who had been given his freedom, remained a faithful servant to Colonel Henry Bromfield.
Simon Stone
Simon Stone, born c.1686, was a founding father of Harvard and served in town government.
Peter Atherton
Peter Atherton was Harvard’s first town clerk, and in that role, he entered the first records in the town books.
Houses now and then
In 2022, Bromfield senior Julian Iverson took current pictures of historical houses in Harvard, framing the pictures as close as possible to old photographs from HHS archives.
Hildreth Second Graders Become Town Historians
In June, the Hildreth Elementary School second-graders, their teachers, and some parents came to the Harvard Historical Society’s Meetinghouse and to the Harvard Common to do some hands-on learning about town history.
Museum Shop
Support the Society by purchasing cards, prints, and other items related to Harvard’s history.
Membership, donations, volunteering and more…
About Harvard Historical Society membership, donations, volunteering, and more…
Museum
In our main building, formerly a Baptist church, we have a large collection of furniture, textiles, paintings, and artifacts, all illustrative of Harvard’s past.
Florence (Burt) Haskell
Flora was inspired to join the Civil War effort as a nurse and serve under Dorothea Dix, who was recruiting for an all-female corps of nurses.
Rev. Daniel Johnson
Rev. Daniel Johnson, Harvard’s third minister, added more than 90 members to the church.
William Henry Hall
William Henry Hall, a person of color, born in Harvard on March 26, 1842, worked as a farmer and day laborer. He served in the Union Army.
Center Cemetery Tour
This tour explores the town through the graves of some of the people who shaped its history: Founding Fathers Simon Stone and Peter Atherton, the manservant Othello, Civil War soldier William Henry Hall, stonecutter Isaac Stone, philanthropist Margaret Blanchard, and adventurer William Savage.
About The Harvard Historical Society
About the Harvard Historical Society, its mission, history, directors, differences from the Historical Commission ,and more…
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