Home Intro
Welcome to my newly redesigned website
|
|
As you may have heard, my server crashed so I was forced to rebuild my website. My old website focused on content not esthetics (some would say "it was ugly, Ken!"). So I took this opportunity to redesign the entire website. Bear with me as I migrate material over to the new format. When you see a set of small images that indicates a photo album. Click on any photo to drill down. All content on the web site is accessed by the menu. You can now also do text search. If you have any questions or comments, please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Enjoy, Ken 15-Sep-2016
|
Mark Twain Visits Cambridge, 1870
Lecture series were a major form of entertainment in the late 1800s. The photo shows Ackley Hall on the south side of West Main Street where Samuel L. Clemens (better known by his pen name, Mark Twain) lectured on 13-Jan-1870 at the age of 34.
Below is a recount of his visit based on the letters he wrote to his fiancé, Olivia (Livy) Langdon. The letters were published by the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley. All letters to Livy are signed “Sam’ while letters to others are signed “Mark”.
The following letter was written on 14-Jan1870 from Troy, the next stop on his lecture tour. I have interjected comments from footnotes and from our local history files using the markings “[ed:]”
History of Cambridge Schools
Formal education in Cambridge started in 1799 with a vote to open a private school. It was built on Academy Street and eventually became Cambridge Washington Academy. In the 1870's we had the Union Schools. In 1891 we finally united into a single school today referred to simply as "the Old School". In Sept-1951 the current Cambridge Central School opened. Along the way, the townships of White Creek, Cambridge, and Jackson were home to 39 one-room schoolhouses. Below is my presentation about the journey.
