Pillars & Foundations

Union Baptist Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts Situated on Main St. in Cambridge in a rapidly changing community, Union Baptist Church has been an institution of the city certainly contributing in many ways to the well being of its citizens. As someone who has worked nearby for many years, it is remarkable what you can walk by frequently, take for granted, and never take time to appreciate. This unusual church, a mostly wooden structure with gothic features and a slate roof hides amongst the remnants of a past industrial age, triple decker tenement buildings, and a growing skyline of glass and metal, bohemian boutiques and cafes, all in the shadow of MIT. I like to write a bit about these community anchors on these posts rather than simply sharing photographs. The history is always fascinating and Union Baptist has great resources to this regard on their website . In the late 1800s this congregation had its beginnings in the basements of residents, and it evolved into a promin...

Porter's Burial Ground, Danvers, Massachusetts On another one of my weekend walks I stopped into Danver's town center, did some exploring and took a break for a drink. While wandering around I came upon Porter's Burial Ground , which is also known as High Street Cemetery. This cemetery is the resting spot for veterans of several wars including the French & Indian War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, and the Spanish-American War.  Information on some of these older cemeteries is actually quite extraordinary. People have taken time to catalogue graves, photograph them, and occasionally write some details about the individuals. Sites such as Findagrave, and Gravematter provide links to these. Next time I am in a cemetery with history such as this, I really should take time to do research while I'm there. In a google search to find discussion points for this posting I came across one interesting story about a lost Revolutionary War Grave of Army P...

Jacobs Family Cemetery, (Revolutionary War Cemetery) Peabody, MA My second posting of 2020 is another spontaneous, unplanned post, and only my second post entirely dedicated to a cemetery. I was walking on the Independence Greenway which connects Peabody to Middleton with two fantastic, long rail trails. On the eastern most portion, parallel to Lowell Street, I could barely make out this tiny gravesite in the woods. With a marsh in between the bike/walking path and the tiny overgrown lot, there is not an obvious pathway to access, and I'm divided on whether this is a good or a bad thing. I found a trail through the forest off of the rail-trail, followed it and found that ultimately it led far behind where the cemetery should be. Exasperated, I decided to take care of this winter day and head through the dead leaves and bramble, knowing that thankfully it would be too cold for ticks and that the poison ivy was dormant (and from the vines on the trees, there's plenty of it!)...