Oak Ridge Observatory

The establishment of the Harvard University Oak Ridge Observatory placed the town in the astronomical world, attracting visitors of high professional reputation from all over the world.

Useful shortcuts

Useful shortcuts such as Ctrl Z, Shift click, etc… Both for Mac and Windows.

Cucumber Salad

“It does not seem generally known that the cucumber is one of the most valuable vegetables we raise. It can be dressed in more palatable and suitable ways than most any other vegetable except tomatoes.”

Adding a Topic

How to add a new Topic with the equivalent Featured taxonomy.

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.

Corn Relish

Corn relish is a type of condiment made from corn kernels that are typically mixed with various other ingredients. It’s known for its sweet and tangy flavor.

Adding a Help file

How to add a new help page, set the specific help categories, what about topics, etc…

Formatting Styles

Formatting help and tricks. Includes style examples: Title, Headline, Highlighted,…

Prefabs (advanced)

Learn about Prefabs, blocks that are ready to be inserted. See all the ones available.

Pictures and Images

How to insert pictures in content with the different formatting options, how to make a picture clickable to show the full size version, what sizes to use,…

Galleries

Gallery examples, including sliders, panoramic sliders, slide shows and Envira galleries.

Boxes

Blocks are available in the post types Blocks or Full, which are expert-level by default. In all other post types, blocks are available when checking advanced/expert mode.

Christmas Cards

Christmas Cards from the Harvard Historical Society archives
and a little history…

Reviewing posts

How to find the posts that need to be reviewed, how to enter notes and update the review status…

Headline/Separator

Add or reduce space between blocks, add Headlines in various styles and more…

Author basics

The basics for authors: logging in, adding a new post, editing a post, deleting a post,…

Columns

Help for Columns in the Columns Section or Block.

Content

Shows the options for a Content Section or Block with several examples.

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.”

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.

Harvard Shaker Village

Harvard Shaker Village Historic District is a historical Shaker community located on Shaker Road, South Shaker Road, and Maple Lane.

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.

Shaker Recipes

The Harvard Historical Society organizes open houses regularly. In June 2022, the members prepared a few Shaker Recipes that could be tasted during a special “Shaker Open House”.

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.

Historical Places

A tour of the historical places in Harvard: the Common, the Shaker Village, Fruitlands, and more…

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.

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.

Harvard Cemeteries

There are three cemeteries in Harvard: the original burying ground, known as the Center Cemetery, the Bellevue Cemetery, and the Shaker Cemetery, also referred to as the Lollipop Cemetery.

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.