Wadsworth House

Wadsworth House faces out onto busy Massachusetts Avenue.

NPS Photo / Kate Hanson Plass

Quick Facts

Location:

1341 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA

Designation:

Harvard Yard National Register District

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

MANAGED BY:

Harvard University

Amenities

1 listed

Public Transit

Originally built in 1726, Wadsworth House was used as the place of residence for the president of Harvard until 1849. During the colonial era, the house was also a site of enslavement for Titus, Venus, Juba, and Bilhah, enslaved in the households of Harvard presidents.

For a brief period nearly fifty years after it was constructed, however, Wadsworth House served a very different purpose. When General George Washington first arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 2, 1775 to take command of the Continental Army, it was here that he first set up his headquarters. George Washington spent about two weeks here before moving into the Vassall estate several blocks away, on July 15, 1775.

Although Washington’s time at Wadsworth House was short, he certainly kept busy during his stay. The day after arriving in Cambridge, Washington rode from here to Cambridge Common to officially take command of the troops. At the end of his first week in Cambridge, on July 9, 1775, Washington convened the first Council of War, and they are believed to have held their meeting in Wadsworth House. Washington also entertained a number of notable people here, including Abigail Adams. In fact, their interaction here at Wadsworth House is believed to be the only time they met throughout the entire Siege of Boston, which lasted for nearly a year.