Event
The End of Tory Row: The Departure of the Cambridge Loyalists in 1774
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As of September 1, 1774, a prosperous community lived in grand houses along the road from the center of Cambridge toward Watertown, linked by bonds of family, religion, and politics. The anchors of this community were John Vassall and his brother-in-law Thomas Oliver, recently
appointed the royal lieutenant governor of Massachusetts.
On September 2, five thousand militiamen marched along their street, demanding that royal officials resign. By the end of the month most of those families had moved out, never to return.
In a presentation designed to be enjoyed online, J. L. Bell will trace the roots, development, dramatic end, and next act of the colonial neighborhood around Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters.
J. L. Bell is author of "The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War," which begins with the confrontation in Cambridge in September 1774, a decisive step toward the Revolutionary War.