Cambridge 400

The year 2030 marks the 400th anniversary of Cambridge, Massachusetts (originally settled as New Towne in 1630 by the Massachusetts Bay Company). This momentous occasion is an opportunity for the people of Cambridge to reflect on our past, celebrate, and establish plans for sustaining our history into the future.

We acknowledge that Indigenous people have inhabited the place we call Cambridge for many thousands of years. Cambridge 400 recognizes that Indigenous voices are vital to this project and will be included to provide greater context, fullness, and accuracy to the larger Cambridge story.

Why celebrate? Cambridge is a city rich with history that many already celebrate. While history can and should be used to promote feelings of pride, it is also a tool to help us create a better city. We can use the lessons of the past to inform all aspects of our civic life. By critically examining the history we have collected and shared in the past, we can better recognize that there are significant gaps in our understanding. Many histories have been left out of the historical record. Cambridge 400 is a movement to include as many diverse voices across the city as possible in order to properly celebrate and learn from our past, then use this collective wisdom to better understand the issues Cambridge faces going forward.