Historical event · 1630

Founding of Newtowne (1630)

The site for Newtowne was selected on December 21, 1630, and the settlement was named on December 28; its grid was laid out the following spring.

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Why it matters

This record dates to 1630. Its public description and date are retained only where the cited evidence and review state meet the shared publication standard.

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01The right next stopHarvard UniversityClose enough to feel spontaneous, different enough to change the texture of the visit.7 min walk 02Hidden in plain sightMemorial HallA quieter stop nearby that rewards a second look.Building / Landmark 03Same story, different centuryCambridgeA time jump that keeps the civic argument going.City 04The connection you would miss on a mapNewtowne Becomes Cambridge (1638)A civic relationship that is easier to understand once you see the graph.Historical event

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Human recommendations

Durjoy Ace BhattacharjyaLocal History EditorLook for the older layer before you move on. This object is connected to more than its facade suggests.Harvard University →

Civic memory

What this meant before

16301630Founding of Newtowne (1630) enters the civic record here.1638Newtowne Becomes Cambridge (1638)On May 2, 1638, the settlement founded as Newtowne in 1630 was formally renamed Cambridge, establishing the name the city still uses today.

Date: 1630
Public connections: 3
Sources: 2

In the public graph 3 typed relationships

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Historically related

Cambridge

Newtowne Becomes Cambridge (1638)

Located in

Cambridge

Nearby what sits within a few minutes’ walk

Historical event · 1 min walk

Newtowne Becomes Cambridge (1638)

Building / Landmark · 6 min walk

Memorial Hall

University · 7 min walk

Harvard University

Historical context

Newtowne Becomes Cambridge (1638)1638 Founding of Harvard College (1636)1636 The Mark I Computer (1944)1944

An unexpected connection

Founding of Newtowne (1630) is linked, through the graph, to Cambridge — city, 1 min walk away. The kind of thread you only find by following the connections.

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NearbyA few minutes’ walk away

Newtowne Becomes Cambridge (1638)Historical event Memorial HallBuilding / Landmark Harvard UniversityUniversity Harvard YardBuilding / Landmark Founding of Harvard College (1636)Historical event

More historical eventsOther historical events in the graph

Washington Takes Command (1775)Historical event First Printing Press in British America (1638)Historical event Radcliffe College Founded (1879)Historical event The Mark I Computer (1944)Historical event

Visitors also exploreReached through the same connections

Harvard SquareNeighborhood East CambridgeNeighborhood Longfellow House–Washington’s HeadquartersBuilding / Landmark

One identity, 2 editorial lenses one canonical entity URL

Cambridge400.com · you are here GuideToCambridge.com

How we know graph confidence — we explain our certainty, not just assert it

Reviewed byDurjoy Ace Bhattacharjya

High confidence

How this is scored →

✓Source qualityBest source is primary / institutional

✓Independent corroboration2 resolvable sources

✓Review stateReview attributed to durjoy-ace-local-history-editor

✓Institutional backingCites a primary or institutional source

✓Record completeness80% of canonical fields present

Sources, by tier

Cambridge Historical Commission: Frequently Asked Questions Primary / institutional

Cambridge Historical Commission Primary / institutional

Review date: 2026-08-23

Graph scores — our north star is relationship density, not page count

Relationship density35

3 connections

Record coverage66

metadata completeness

Graph authority70

centrality + reach + trust

Schema.org JSON-LD — what answer engines read

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