Dexter Pratt House

A sculpture of the "spreading chestnut tree" and anvil mark the site of the blacksmith shop.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

54 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA

Designation:

National Register

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

MANAGED BY:

Cambridge Center for Adult Education

Amenities

2 listed

Benches/Seating, Cellular Signal

Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

This lot was the site of the “spreading chestnut tree” and the smithy’s workshop, which were a source of inspiration for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “The Village Blacksmith.”