Harvard Historical Society
Discover Your Town
The Frozen Water Trade: Ice in Harvard
Severe cold and clear freshwater ponds produced hard, compact, valuable ice for an expanding industry.
The Hazards
Joan Blue, a board member of the Harvard Historical Society, tells the history of her family and the town together.
Temperance Movement and Harvard
“…saturnalia at the taverns on Harvard Common were gross, but they were cheap and open to public scrutiny. Men of all sorts and conditions resorted there every day and evening to guzzle until stupid or half-crazed. There are traditions of more vicious, secret, and costly orgies at which Harvard citizens figured in the old brick taverns of North Lancaster.”- Henry Nourse in “History of Harvard, Mass. 1732-1893”
Shakers and Animal Husbandry
“My first dinner at the Shaker Community was at noon that Friday. That was a traumatic meal for me. I had been brought up in the Catholic Church at a time when it did not accept eating meat on a Friday.”
Sister Frances A. Carr, “Growing Up Shaker”
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.
Samuel H. Houghton
Samuel H. Houghton invented and manufactured his “Safety Egg Carriers” next to his home on Harvard Common and Littleton Road. The building has had several uses, including the Red Cross Tea Room, a butcher shop, and an antiques shop.
Unitarian Church Fire December 13, 1964
Once again, the church at the top of the Common was ablaze. Firefighters tried valiantly to save the building. Fires have shaped the town’s beautiful center.
Harvard Historical Society Completes Balustrade Restoration
On Monday, August 26, the Harvard Historical Society celebrated the successful completion of a major restoration project with the installation of a newly reconstructed balustrade atop the belfry of the 1832 Baptist Church in Still River.
The Great Ragweed Campaign of 1939
In the summer of 1939 the Garden Club of Harvard organized a special ragweed eradication campaign. It was carried out by a group of school children under the leadership of Mrs. Frank Cummings…
The Old Bromfield School
Because of Margaret Bromfield Pearson Blanchard’s generosity, Harvard got a high school for the town, to educate girls as well as boys. Now the building is part of the Harvard Public Library.
Oak Ridge Observatory
The establishment of the Harvard University Oak Ridge Observatory placed the town of Harvard in the astronomical world, attracting visitors of high professional reputation from all over the world.
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.
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
Harvard in the First Half of the 20th Century
A living history program presented by the Harvard Historical Society in which former citizens tell stories about their lives and events that took place during the first half of the 20th century. Based on manuscripts collected by Ida Harris, recently edited by Joe Theriault.
Elijah Houghton Sr.
Elijah Houghton Sr. was a farmer who lived in Still River his entire life. He participated in the Boston Tea Party.
150 years of social distancing in Harvard
When the Covid 19 pandemic hit us in early 2020, observing social distancing became a way to protect against the virus. But, as Doug Cregar humorously depicts in this video with pictures from the Historical Society’s archives, social distancing had long been observed by town residents.
The Baptists of Still River
A history of the Still River Baptist Church, 215 Still River Road, now home of the Harvard Historical Society. This account was written in 1993.
