Abstract Biography Note: The Cogswell family began living at 61 Kirkland Street May 1882. Edward R. Cogswell, a physician, and his wife Sarah moved into the house with their four children: Charles N., George P., Margaret E., and Edward R. Jr. Charles Northend Cogswell was born July 11, 1864, moving to the Kirkland house when he was 18. Charles went to Joshua Kendall’s School in Cambridge and graduated from Harvard in 1886. He went on to study architecture at M.I.T. and the Ecole de Beaux Arts, Paris. He...

Abstract Biography Note: The Mellens were a very prominent family in Cambridge, and their soap business, Curtis Davis & Co., became the American branch of Lever Brothers, the largest soap manufacturer in the world at the time.

Abstract Collection Description: Scrapbook pages detailing the saga of the Inner Belt campaign. Pages contain maps and plans regarding the Inner Belt, as well as letters, news clippings, and ephemera recording opposition to the highway project. Clippings come from the Boston Globe, Cambridge Chronicle, Record American, and other area newspapers of the time. All pages have been scanned and are available in digital format.