News & Events
Guided House Tours
Through October 28
Visit 105 Brattle Street and see the latest conservation work The Friends have supported in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s study.
Tours are available Friday through Monday until October 28, 2024.
The house will re-open in the spring of 2025 ahead of the 250th celebration of General George Washington’s arrival in July of 1775 to take command of the Continental Army.
NPS Photo
Fall 2024 Longfellow Speaker Series
2024 Longfellow Speaker Series
"The Past and Present Here Unite..."
From November through April, a series of conversations with scholars, poets, and community leaders will explore the ways in which the histories of this 265-year-old house resonate today. The Longfellow Speaker Series (formerly Fall Lecture Series) takes place annually and is free and open to the public.
Free and open to all; registration required
Most events in the 2024 Speaker Series will be hybrid events, held in-person and streamed online. See event descriptions for registration links.
Powder Alarm
September began with a BANG celebrating the 250th anniversary of the “Powder Alarm” seven months before “the shot heard ‘round the world.”
On September 1, 1774, the royal governor sent soldiers to Somerville and Cambridge to seize gunpowder and other militia supplies.
In response, on September 2 thousands of Middlesex County farmers marched into Cambridge and demanded resignations from all royal appointees in town. By the end of that day, it was clear that the governor no longer commanded any authority in most of Massachusetts. In the fall, towns set up an independent legislature and started to prepare for war.
– J.L. Bell, boston1775.net
Photos by NPS Photo/Charlie Gould and Denise Provost
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A Dawn Raid
British soldiers showed up at the Powder House in what is now Somerville on the morning of September 1.
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Prepare Arms
Re-enactors attach bayonets to their rifles to keep the mob at bay.
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The Redcoats
British soldiers take a powder.
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Throwing a Kegger
Kegs of gun powder are seized in the re-enactment of the raid.
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March Along Brattle Street
On September 2 thousands of militia men streamed into Cambridge along the same street where J. L. Bell leads a walking tour.
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Loyalists Lived Here
The crowd demanded a resignation from Judge Joseph Lee, whose house is now the headquarters of History Cambridge.
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Stories of Tories
Scores of local history lovers turn out to enjoy tales from J. L. Bell, Robert J. Allison, and Michele Gabrielson.
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Rebellion Along Tory Row
The uprising on September 2 made Loyalists John and Elizabeth Vassall move out of their home, leaving it empty for General Washington.
Listen to J.L. Bell talk about the events of September 1, 1774 on WBUR / Radio Boston
Read more about the Powder Alarm 250 from our friends at:
Friends & Neighbors
A Play by Debra Wiess
A Revolutionary Encounter in London: Phillis Wheatley meets Benjamin Franklin
Christ Church Cambridge