Cambridge as Village and City 297 



the distance was eight miles, as we still read upon 

 the ancient milestone in God's Acre. To complete 

 our outline of the village, we must recall the prin- 

 cipal public buildings. The meetinghouse, a little 

 south of the site of Dane Hall, was used both as 

 church and as townhouse until 1708, when a build- 

 ing was erected in the middle of Harvard Square 

 to serve for town meetings and courts. A little 

 eastward, near the " east gate," stood the parson- 

 age. The schoolhouse was behind the site of Hoi- 

 yoke House. The jail stood on the west side of 

 Winthrop Square, which was then an open market. 

 Between this market and Harvard Square, in the 

 sanded parlour of the Blue Anchor Tavern, the 

 selectmen held their meetings ; and on the corner 

 of the street which still bears the name of Har- 

 vard's first president was something rarely to be 

 seen in so small a village, the printing press now 

 known as the University Press, established in 

 1639, the only one in English America until 

 Boston followed the example in 1676. 



Until the beginning of the present century these 

 outlines of Cambridge remained with but little 

 change, save for the building of noble houses on 

 spacious estates toward Mount Auburn in one di- 

 rection, and upon Dana Hill in the other. The oc- 

 cupants of many of these estates were members of 



