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Cambridge.

Cambridge. 1. City (1990 pop. 11,514), seat of Dorchester co., E Md., Eastern Shore, a port of entry on the Choptank River at its mouth on Chesapeake Bay; founded 1684, inc. as a city 1884. It is a fishing and yachting center. The city has shipyards, seafood and vegetable canneries, and electronic, clothing, and printing industries, and tourism is also important. Nearby Old Trinity Church (c.1675; restored 1960) is said to be the oldest church in the United States still in use. 2. City (1990 pop. 95,802), seat of Middlesex co., E Mass., across the Charles River from Boston; settled 1630 as New Towne, inc. as a city 1846. A famous educational and research center, it is the seat of Harvard (founded 1636), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lesley College, and several theological seminaries. Its printing and publishing industry dates from about 1639, when Stephen Daye established the first printing press in America. Cambridge was a gathering place for American Revolutionary troops; there, on July 3, 1775, Washington took command. It was the first seat of the Massachusetts constitutional convention of 1780. Its numerous historic houses and sites include the Cooper-Frost-Austin house (c.1657); Harvard Yard, the old center of the university campus; and Mt. Auburn Cemetery, where Lowell, Longfellow, Mary Baker Eddy, and other notables are buried. The city's neighborhoods include fashionable Harvard Square; Kendall Square, a computing and biotechnology hub near MIT; and working-class East Cambridge. 3. City (1990 pop. 11,748), seat of Guernsey co., E central Ohio; settled 1798 by immigrants from the Isle of Guernsey, inc. 1837. It is the trade and manufacturing center for a dairy and livestock area. Lakes and parks surround the city. The large Salt Fork State Park is nearby.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Political Geography

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