132-824: The Talloires Network of Engaged Universities is an international association of institutions which aims to foster higher education civic engagement. Its secretariat is based at Tufts University . The network began in September 2005 with a global conference involving 29 higher education heads from 23 countries who gathered at the Tufts University European Center in Talloires , France. The Network has over 400 member institutions in 78 countries. The Network hosts conferences, produces publications on university civic engagement, provides financial and technical support to regional university networks, and awards
264-598: A "dress rehearsal" for the Battles of Lexington and Concord seven months later in the famous "shot heard 'round the world", and inflamed already heated feelings on both sides, spurring actions by both British and American forces to remove powder and cannon to secure locations. After the raid on the Powder House, the colonists took action to conceal arms and munitions of war in Concord . When General Gage found out, he
396-543: A $ 10 million (~$ 12.4 million in 2023) donation over four years for the creation of the Allen Discovery Centers at Tufts and Stanford . The centers would fund research that would read and write the morphogenetic code. Tufts biologist Michael Levin will lead the center with research focusing on communications between cells and the causation of birth defects, cancer, traumatic injuries and degenerative diseases. In 2020, Tufts announced that it would pay
528-792: A 634-acre (2.57 km ) campus. The school also maintains the Ambulatory Farm Clinic in Woodstock, Connecticut and the Tufts Laboratory at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole on Cape Cod . Tufts has a satellite campus in Talloires, France at the Tufts European Center, a former Benedictine priory built in the 11th century. The priory was purchased in 1958 by Donald MacJannet and his wife Charlotte and used as
660-647: A City in 1872. These improvements included the opening of the Middlesex Canal through Somerville in 1803, various turnpikes such as Medford and Beacon streets, built during the 1810s and 1820s, and especially the introduction of rail lines. In 1841, the Fitchburg Railroad was built between Boston and Fresh Pond in Cambridge, paralleling the route of Somerville Avenue. This led to the establishment of industries along its path. Soon after, in 1843
792-523: A Tree", which he then realized were two British officers stationed on Washington Street. They immediately pursued him, and Revere galloped up Broadway towards Winter Hill and eventually eluded them. His warning gave the militia enough time to prepare for battle, and launch the American Revolution. Shortly after Paul Revere set out on his ride, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith and 700 British Army regulars landed near Lechmere Square . As it
924-458: A city in 1872. The population growth was due in part to improvements in pre-existing transportation lines, as well as a new rail line, the Lexington and Arlington Railroad , introduced through Davis Square in 1870. At its height, Somerville was served by eight passenger rail stations. Somerville's buoyant economy during this period was tied to industries that tended to locate at the periphery of
1056-422: A decade after John Winthrop moved to the farm in 1631, there were enslaved Native American prisoners of war on the property. Each successive owner of Ten Hills Farm would depend upon slavery's profits until the 1780s, when Massachusetts abolished the practice. In a short time, the settlers began laying out roads in all directions in search of more land for planting and trade with various Native American tribes in
1188-555: A family member what he intended to do with the land, he said "I will put a light on it." His 20-acre donation (then valued at $ 20,000) is still at the heart of Tufts' now-150-acre campus, straddling Somerville and Medford . It was also in 1852 that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts chartered Tufts College, noting the college should promote "virtue and piety and learning in such of the languages and liberal and useful arts as shall be recommended." During his tenure, Hosea Ballou spent
1320-418: A few students were even taking [the entrance examinations]." By 1925 Tufts set an admission quota of 650 males; the examinations were of a similar length of the 1905 ones but the entry requirements decreased in size to a level comparable of that of the 1856 ones. Standardized testing, admissions interviews, and other features of current university admissions processes were in place by 1946. Students can pursue
1452-560: A five-year program with the New England Conservatory . The Cosmology department also offers joint seminars with MIT. Organized by Alan Guth and Alexander Vilenkin , the seminars are open to all students. The Fletcher School also operates dual degree programs with Harvard Law School , Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth , and UC Berkeley School of Law , among others. Several academic consortiums allow for research collaboration between local schools. Examples exist with
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#17327877132681584-459: A formal ceremony on October 6, 2023. Tufts is organized into ten schools. Each school has its own faculty and is led by a dean appointed by the president and the provost with the consent of the board of trustees. The School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering are the only schools that award both undergraduate and graduate degrees. The schools offering undergraduate education are
1716-458: A hold in the area after the railroads first arrived in the 1830s, Somerville's brickyards boomed through 1870. Meatpacking soon displaced brickmaking as the primary industry in the city, dubbed "The Chicago of New England". Additionally, Somerville's location adjacent to Boston and proximity to rail and road transportation made it an ideal location for distribution facilities. It was in this period that Irish immigrants moved to Somerville to work in
1848-642: A landing point near Winter Hill. From there they marched about one mile (1.5 kilometers) to the Powder House, and after sunrise removed all of the gunpowder. Most of the regulars then returned to Boston the way they had come, but a small contingent marched on to Cambridge , seizing two field pieces from the Cambridge Common . The field pieces and powder were then taken from Boston to the British stronghold on Castle Island , then known as Castle William (renamed Fort Independence in 1779). In response to
1980-590: A list of relevant textbooks. By 1905 the admissions requirements became lengthier, and the examinations became more complex; the latter required students to write essays and translations. Julia Ryan of The Atlantic wrote that because students certified by the New England College Entrance Certificate Board, ones who attended private preparatory schools in New England, were exempt from the examinations, "perhaps only
2112-431: A living. From the 1780s until Somerville's separation from Charlestown in 1842, material progress was continuous, if a bit slow. As transportation infrastructure gradually transformed the area, new industries sprang up, such as brickmaking, quarrying and dairy farming. Transportation improvements in the early to mid-1800s factored significantly in the growth of a more urban residential form and Somerville's incorporation as
2244-645: A major industrial center as automobile assembly surpassed meat packing as Somerville's most important industry. By 1930, 70% of Somerville residents had either been born outside of the United States or had parents who were. The population was then estimated to be 60% Catholic. Although Union Square and Davis Square continued to be the largest commercial areas during the first decades of the 20th century, smaller, less-developed squares grew as well. Ball Square , Magoun Square and Teele Square were developed with one- or two-story masonry commercial buildings, and
2376-524: A new library named Wessell Library. Additionally, the demand for more square footage prompted the expansion of Wessell. In 1995, with the addition of 80,000 square feet (7,400 m ), the library was renamed Tisch Library . Today the Tufts University Library System contains over three million volumes. The main library, Tisch Library, holds about 2.7 million volumes, with other holdings dispersed at subject libraries including
2508-561: A number of squares that are centers for business and entertainment, as well as a number of other neighborhoods: Somerville has experienced dramatic growth since the Red Line of Boston's MBTA subway system was extended through Somerville in 1985, especially in the area between Harvard and Tufts. This was especially accelerated by the dot-com bubble of the late 90s, rising incomes, and concomitant rises in demand for urban housing. This growth did not, however, translate into an increase in
2640-658: A primary encampment for American forces after General Israel Putnam 's retreat from the Battle of Bunker Hill . It is believed that on January 1, 1776, the Grand Union Flag flew for the first time at the Citadel, the first official raising of an American flag. With the Revolutionary War over, the residents of Somerville were able once again to devote their energies wholeheartedly to the business of making
2772-527: A retreating colleague, "I am too old to run." Somerville occupied a conspicuous position during the entire Siege of Boston , which lasted nine months, and Prospect Hill became the central position of the Continental Army's chain of emplacements north of Boston. Its height and commanding view of Boston and the harbor had tremendous strategic value and the fortress became known as the "Citadel". Originally occupied by just 400 men, Prospect Hill became
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#17327877132682904-498: A separate township continued to spread, and by 1841, becoming impatient at the neglect of the government to adequately provide for their needs, the inhabitants again agitated a division of the town, and a meeting in reference to the matter was held November 22 in the Prospect Hill school house. A petition was accordingly drawn up and signed by Guy C. Hawkins and 151 others, and a committee deputed to further its passage through
3036-503: A specific location in Somerville (then part of Charlestown). The location was the site where the executed body of a local enslaved man known as " Mark ", owned by John Codman, was publicly gibbeted and displayed for several years after his execution. The location is probably near the site of the present day Holiday Inn on Washington Street. Revere wrote "nearly opposite where Mark was hung in chains, I saw two men on Horse back, under
3168-614: A summer camp site for several years before the MacJannets gave the campus to Tufts in 1978. Each year the center hosts a number of summer study programs, and enrolled students live with local families. The Tufts Summit Program is for American high school students during the month of July. Tufts in Talloires is a 6-week program for Tufts undergraduates that extends from the middle of May until the end of June. Additionally, Tufts in Annecy
3300-775: A wide range of community service, civic engagement programs, research, and teaching initiatives across the university. The university runs on a semester-based calendar with most undergraduate students finishing within four years, however, Tisch College provides an innovative 1+4 Bridge year program where students have the opportunity to take a community service-based gap year before starting in Tufts. Current projects undertaken by Bridge Year Fellows involve serving as mentors and teachers to children, caring for rescued wild animals, contributing to renewable energy and sustainability projects. Current projects are based in Brazil, Nicaragua, and Spain. In
3432-577: A year travelling and studying in the United Kingdom. The methods of instruction which he initiated were based on the tutorials that were conducted in the University of Oxford and the University of Edinburgh . Now more than 170 years old, Tufts is the third-oldest college in the Boston area. Having been one of the biggest influences in the establishment of the college, Hosea Ballou II became
3564-509: Is Stephen M. Babcock who developed the first practical test to determine the amount of butterfat in milk. Since its development in the college, the Babcock Test has hardly been modified. Expansion of the chemistry and biology departments were largely led by scholars Arthur Michael , who was one of the first organic chemists in the U.S., and John Sterling Kingsley , who was one of the first scholars of comparative anatomy. P. T. Barnum
3696-680: Is Carmichael Hall (1954), designed by Arland A. Dirlam. Dirlam also designed Bendetson Hall (1947) on the academic quad. Adjacent to both quads is the Cabot Intercultural Center designed by ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge, Inc. one of the Fletcher School's buildings. Many points on the hill have noted views of the Boston skyline, particularly the patio on the Tisch Library roof. It has been ranked one of
3828-579: Is a 4-week program which provides French language learners a chance to practice and learn the language. The site is frequently the host of international conferences and summits, most notably the Talloires Declaration which united 22 universities toward a goal of sustainability. The Talloires campus has been ranked as one of the best branch campuses by the National Association of Branch Campus Administrators. Tufts University
3960-434: Is an independent, privately supported, nonsectarian institution of higher education. Its official corporate name is The Trustees of Tufts College . The university is governed by up to forty-one trustees and no fewer than twenty-eight. The board is self-perpetuating, with trustees responsible for choosing their successors. In addition to the president, the university appoints charter trustees (up to 30 members) who are elected by
4092-403: Is elected by the trustees, is the chief executive officer of the university. Assisting the president in administering the university are the provost, the executive vice president, the treasurer, and the secretary, all of whom are appointed by the trustees on the nomination of the president and serve at their pleasure. The 14th president, Sunil Kumar , became president on July 1 and was installed in
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4224-403: Is known for. By mid-century, powerful social and economic forces precipitated a period of industrial and population decline that lasted into the 1980s. The postwar period was characterized by the ascent of the private automobile, which carried significant implications for Somerville. Streetcar lines that had crisscrossed the city since 1890 were systematically ripped out and commuter rail service
4356-720: Is the university's largest interdisciplinary minor program, which offers undergraduate majors and minors in film and media studies. It is affiliated with the Experimental College of Tufts University . Since 1997, FMS has awarded minors to nearly 1,000 students. Additionally, FMS supports student internships for academic credit at various global media companies. FMS also sponsors awards and events, such as The Edward R. Murrow Forum on Issues in Journalism , The Eliot-Pearson Awards for Excellence in Children's Media, and
4488-493: The 2020 United States Census , the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area of 4.12 square miles (10.7 km ), the city has a density of 19,671/sq mi (7,595/km ), making it the most densely populated municipality in New England and the 19th most densely populated incorporated municipality in the country . Somerville was established as a town in 1842, when it was separated from Charlestown . In 2006,
4620-553: The Boston Tea Party . Seeking to prevent the outbreak of war, he believed that the best way to accomplish this was by secretly removing military stores from storehouses and arsenals in New England . Just after dawn on September 1, 1774, a force of roughly 260 British regulars from the 4th Regiment , under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Maddison, were rowed in secrecy up the Mystic River from Boston to
4752-599: The Civil War the college actively supported the Union cause. The mansion of Major George L. Stearns which stood on part of the campus was a station on the Underground Railroad . In addition to having the largest classes spring up, 63 graduates served in the Union army. The first course of a three-year program leading to a degree in civil engineering was established in 1865, the same year MIT was founded. By 1869,
4884-569: The Crane Theological School was organized. Miner's successor Elmer Capen was the first president to be a Tufts alumnus. During his time, one of the earliest innovators was Amos Dolbear . In 1875, as chair of the physics department, he installed a working telephone which connected his lab in Ballou Hall to his home on Professors Row. Two years later Alexander Graham Bell would receive the patent. Dolbear's work in Tufts
5016-737: The Fells Connector Parkways , originally conceived in the 1890s as a means for city residents to reach the metropolitan parks, evolved into congested commuter routes for suburban drivers. Highway projects were advanced in the wake of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 , in some instances displacing entire neighborhoods. The Brickbottom neighborhood was razed in 1950 to prepare for a proposed Inner Belt Expressway , and construction of Interstate 93 resulted in demolition of homes in The States neighborhood during
5148-543: The MBTA $ 2 million (~$ 2.32 million in 2023) over 10 years to rename the adjacent Green Line Extension station from "College Avenue" to " Medford/Tufts ." The Medford Branch opened to Medford/Tufts on December 12, 2022. After twelve years as president, Anthony Monaco retired in 2023. Sunil Kumar , previously the provost of Johns Hopkins University , became the university's 14th president on July 1, 2023. On April 7, 2024, Tufts students joined other campuses across
5280-618: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology are located and near Tufts University , which straddles the Somerville-Medford city line. The city is inhabited by blue collar Irish American , Italian American , Greek American , and Portuguese American families, who are spread throughout the city. In November 1997, the Utne Reader named Davis Square in Somerville one of the 15 hippest places to live in
5412-833: The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum . The late-2022 opening of the Green Line Extension of the MBTA Green Line E branch light rail transit route offers a one-seat direct connection between the SMFA and the main campus of Tufts University in Medford. The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine is located in Grafton, Massachusetts , west of Boston, on
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5544-528: The New England Conservatory , the College of Europe , and Sciences Po Paris . In the 1840s, the Universalist Church wanted to open a college in New England, and Charles Tufts donated 20 acres to the church in 1852 to help them achieve this goal. Charles Tufts had inherited the land, a barren hill which was one of the highest points in the Boston area, called Walnut Hill , and when asked by
5676-583: The Perseus Project , a digital library project that assembles digital collections of humanities resources. In addition to the Barnum Museum of Natural History , Tufts had established a permanent art collection which includes a wide range of art from antiquity to the present. The Collection comprises 2,000 works from ancient Mediterranean and pre-Hispanic cultures to modern and contemporary painting, sculpture, and photography. Notable highlights in
5808-1010: The Program on Negotiation , the ROTC , the Tufts-New England Medical Center , the Center for European Studies , and the School of Engineering. Several exchange programs allow students to study at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and the Sciences Po in Paris. Cross registration exists for undergraduate students with schools in the Boston Consortium. Fletcher and other graduate students may cross register with
5940-689: The Squaw Sachem and her son Wonohaquaham . Though no archaeological sites within Somerville have been identified from this time period, an indigenous settlement near College Hill in Somerville can be inferred from contemporary written records. The Mystic River continued to be an important regional core for the Naumkeag into the period of European colonization in the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1627, Mystic sachem Wonohaquaham reportedly gave permission for English settlement at Charlestown, which then included present-day Somerville. In 1639, his mother
6072-625: The gentrification period the city went through in the 1990s, and an influx of artists to the area, this name has mostly faded from use and the city has instead gained a reputation for its active arts community and effective government, including being named the best-run city in Massachusetts in 2006. Nowadays lobbying by grassroots organizations is attempting to revive and preserve Somerville's "small-town" neighborhood environments by supporting local business, public transit and gardens. For some Somerville residents, some of these efforts, such as
6204-621: The original college . It is classified among " R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity " and is a member of the Association of American Universities . Tufts has a campus in Downtown Boston that houses the medical , dental , and nutrition schools and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences , affiliated with several medical centers in the area. Joint undergraduate degree programs are offered with
6336-528: The seven hills of Rome ): These hills rise from the floodplain of the Mystic River, and generally run west to east, providing for beautiful vistas of Boston to the south and Medford/Everett to the north. Physical boundaries are also defined by prominent waterways: the Mystic River to the north, its tributary Alewife Brook to the west, and the Miller's River to the southeast. Land in early Somerville
6468-726: The "first major university to try such a departure from the norm", Inside Higher Ed also notes that Tufts continues to consider the SAT and other traditional criteria. Tufts accepts illegal immigrant students with and without Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) . Undocumented students are not considered international students, but rather domestic students. In 1856, shortly after Tufts opened, its admissions application asked for statements of good character and for students to complete examinations in Greek, history, Latin, and mathematics. As part of these examinations, they were asked to study
6600-479: The 2022 Green Line extensions into Somerville, present a challenge for balancing accessibility of public transit and the need for affordable housing. According to the United States Census Bureau , Somerville has a total area of 4.2 square miles (11 km ), of which 4.1 square miles (11 km ) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km ), or 2.61%, is water. Somerville is bordered by
6732-479: The 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking , Tufts ranked 37th in the nation. In 2022, Forbes ranked the undergraduate school 32nd among private colleges in its America's Top Colleges ranking, which includes 650 military academies, national universities, and liberal arts colleges. Tufts University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education . Tufts
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#17327877132686864-565: The Fitchburg Railroad commenced passenger service and enabled residential development along the southern slopes of Prospect and Spring hills. By the early 1840s, the population of present-day Somerville topped 1,000 for the first time. Despite the growth, however, discontent was growing steadily outside the "neck". The area's rural farmers paid taxes to the local government in Charlestown, but received little in return. By 1842,
6996-630: The Hirsh Health Sciences Library on the Boston campus, the Edwin Ginn Library at the Fletcher School, and Webster Family Library at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine on the Grafton campus. Students have access to the academic libraries of institutions in the Boston Consortium. Tufts is also a member of SHARES, which allows students to have library access in participating members such as Brown , Columbia , Cornell , Caltech , Dartmouth , Johns Hopkins , Northwestern , Princeton , Stanford , UPenn and Yale . Furthermore, students may apply for privileges to Harvard's Library System . Tufts also runs
7128-435: The MBTA station, with connections to Cambridge and Boston. Retail vacancy rates around the square were close to zero as of 2013. The telecommunication and biotechnology booms of the mid-to-late 1990s significantly contributed to Somerville's revitalization. As with the housing boom a century earlier, the sudden increase in the number of jobs available in the cities of Somerville, Boston, and particularly Cambridge—as well as in
7260-423: The Mayer Campus Center and the Dewick Macphie Dining Hall. Administrative offices also occupy the surrounding neighborhoods and nearby Davis Square , where Tufts makes payments in lieu of taxes on some of its tax-exempt (educational) properties. The School of Medicine , Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences , School of Dental Medicine , and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy are located on
7392-402: The Millers River marsh was turned into railyards , slaughterhouses and other large-scale land uses. Somerville's commercial property is not concentrated in a recognized downtown central business district but instead is spread over many different nodes or corridors of business activity. The difference in character ranges from the vibrant nightlife, live music and theaters of Davis Square to
7524-535: The P.T. Barnum Awards for Excellence in Entertainment. The Tisch College was founded in 2000 "to educate for active citizenship" with the help of a $ 10 million (~$ 16.8 million in 2023) gift from eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam. The school was renamed in 2006 after a $ 40 million (~$ 58.2 million in 2023) gift from Jonathan Tisch . It has been called the "most ambitious attempt by any research university to make public service part of its core academic mission". The college facilitates and supports
7656-548: The School of Arts and Sciences (the liberal arts college offering both the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree as well as the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts), the School of Engineering (which offers the Bachelor of Science degree), and the School of Special Studies. The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service and the Experimental College are non-degree granting. The Film and Media Studies program (FMS) , formerly known as Communications and Media Studies (CMS) ,
7788-468: The School of Engineering, when oversight of graduate engineering programs was transferred from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. As part of the same reorganization the Faculty of Arts and Science became the Faculty of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering (AS&E). Under President Larry Bacow , Tufts started a capital campaign in 2006 with the goal of raising $ 1.2 billion to implement full need-blind admission by 2011. As of December 10, 2010
7920-415: The Squaw Sachem deeded the land that would become Somerville to English settlers. The territory now comprising the city of Somerville was first settled by Europeans in 1629 as part of Charlestown . In 1629, English surveyor Thomas Graves led a scouting party of 100 Puritans from the settlement of Salem to prepare the site for the Great Migration of Puritans from England . Graves was attracted to
8052-416: The Tufts Board of Trustees voted "that the College be opened to women in the undergraduate departments on the same terms and conditions as men." Metcalf Hall opened in 1893 and served as the dormitory for women. At the same meeting, the trustees voted to create a graduate school faculty and to offer the PhD degree in biology and chemistry. In 1893 the Medical School opened and in 1899 the Boston Dental College
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#17327877132688184-437: The Tufts Boston Health Science campus in the Chinatown neighborhood of Boston , adjacent to Tufts Medical Center , a 451-bed academic medical institution. All full-time Tufts Medical Center physicians hold clinical faculty appointments at Tufts School of Medicine. The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (SMFA) is located on the Tufts Boston Fine Arts campus in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston, next door to
8316-399: The Tufts Gordon Institute as the first educational institution created to foster entrepreneurship in the engineering fields. In 1991 the New England Association of Schools and Colleges accredited the institute to confer the degree of Master of Science in Engineering Management and in 1992 the Gordon Institute became part of the College of Engineering. In 1999, the College of Engineering became
8448-515: The United States in protests and setting up encampments in protest against the Israel–Hamas war . The protestors demands included disclosure of University investments and divestment from Israel . The encampment ended after a month with Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine rejecting what it called “a bad-faith deal” offered by the administration. More than 250 members of the graduating class threatened to boycott commencement and called for an end to "Tuft University’s financial complicity in
8580-516: The annual Ma net Media Prize for university student civic engagement initiatives. The Executive Director of the Talloires Network of Engaged Universities is a Dr. Lorelene Hoy. This article about an education organization is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts , United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton , as well as Talloires , France. It
8712-432: The area declined from 68 in 1977 to 56 in 1987. However many non-retail uses, such as beauty salons and real estate offices, had already begun to fill the empty retail spaces. With the Boston area's emergence from its long recession, the area truly began to revive. Clearly, the community's vision of a rebirth of commercial and retail activity has, in the past few years, been fully realized. All benefit from their proximity to
8844-432: The area had no churches, few schools, no taverns, and suffered from poor and impassable roads. For many years after the Revolution the two parts of Charlestown styled "within" and "without the neck" were nearly equal in population; the former had by this time completely outstripped the latter. With this growth of population and trade came the need of city institutions, and consequently greater expenses were involved. Therefore,
8976-425: The area of present-day Somerville was referred to as "beyond the Neck" in reference to the thin spit of land, the Charlestown Neck , that connected it to the Charlestown Peninsula. The first European settler in Somerville of whom there is any record was John Woolrich, an Indian trader who came from the Charlestown Peninsula in 1630, and settled near what is now Dane Street. Others soon followed Woolrich, locating in
9108-413: The area. Laid out as early as the mid-1630s, the earliest highway in Somerville was probably what is now Washington Street, and led from present-day Sullivan Square to Harvard Square . In its earliest days, Washington Street was known as the "Road to Newtowne" (renamed Cambridge in 1638). During the 1700s and early 1800s Somerville Avenue was "Milk Row," a route favored by Middlesex County dairy farmers as
9240-409: The base of Prospect Hill, where a skirmish took place. The handful of rebellious locals, having heard of the storied battles at Lexington and Concord earlier that day, caught an exhausted retreating British contingent off guard. As the story goes, 65-year-old minuteman James Miller lost his life in the scuffle while standing his ground against the British. He was shot thirteen times after famously telling
9372-411: The best way to get to the markets of Charlestown and Boston. Laid out in 1636, Broadway was likely the second highway built in the area. Originally called "Menotomie's Road", it ran from the Charlestown Neck to the settlement at Menotomy (present-day Arlington ). Initially bordered by farmsteads, Broadway would come into its own as a commercial thoroughfare after horse-drawn trolleys were introduced to
9504-436: The board and alumni trustees (up to 10 members) who serve for up to five years. Generally, charter trustees are elected by majority vote of the members and alumni trustees are elected by alumni. The officers of the corporation include the chair of the board, three vice chairs, the treasurer, the secretary, the provost, the president, who serves ex officio, and the executive vice president. The president of Tufts University , who
9636-529: The brickyards and on the railroad. At the same time, older residents of East Boston and Charlestown moved to Somerville to seek a more bucolic setting than that of more densely populated areas. They also worked to maintain political control over immigrant groups, using slogans such as "Keep Somerville Republican" and establishing a local branch of the anti-Catholic American Protective Association . Between 1915 and 1930 population growth slowed slightly as Somerville's industries consolidated rather than expanded, and
9768-741: The campaign raised $ 1.14 billion. Tufts received the largest donations in its history since 2005, including a $ 136 million bequest to its endowment upon the dissolution of a charitable trust set up by 1911 alumnus Frank C. Doble, a $ 100 million (~$ 139 million in 2023) gift from eBay founder Pierre Omidyar to establish the Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund , and a number of $ 40 million (~$ 60 million in 2023)-plus gifts to specific schools. Anthony P. Monaco , formerly of Oxford University, became Tufts' thirteenth president on October 21, 2011. As of October 15, 2015, Computer Science surpassed International Relations as
9900-439: The cities of Cambridge , Medford , Everett , Arlington and the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown . It is located on the west bank of the Mystic River . Millennia ago, glaciation left a series of drumlins running west to east across the landscape of what would become Somerville. These ridges would later become known as the "Seven Hills" of Somerville (like many other cities claiming to be built on seven hills, following
10032-421: The city of Somerville and its neighboring cities of Boston and Cambridge has created an underlying tension between residents that has persisted for multiple generations. Due to Somerville's proximity to various institutions of higher education , the city has a constant influx of college students and young professionals, who reside in sections near Cambridge where Harvard University , Lesley University , and
10164-606: The city of Somerville. The area that would become Somerville was inhabited for thousands of years prior to European colonization , with multiple archaeological sites indicating habitation in the Mystic River watershed as early as the beginning of the Archaic Period (8000–1000 BCE). At the time of English contact in the 1600s, the Somerville area was inhabited by the Mystic Tribe of the Naumkeag people , headed by
10296-404: The city over $ 1 million in annual taxes, were gone. By the late 1970s, Somerville was losing population, revenue and jobs. Somerville also has a history of racial tension. It only hired its first black police officer, a person named Francis Moore, in 1974. Moore subsequently won a suit charging that the police department was "blatantly discriminatory" against him, including an episode in which he
10428-554: The city was named the best-run city in Massachusetts by The Boston Globe . In 1972, 2009, and 2015, the city received the All-America City Award . It is home to Tufts University , which has its campus along the Somerville and Medford border. Tufts, alongside Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , makes up one corner of the Brain Power Triangle, which thus includes
10560-579: The city. Almost thirty years after passenger rail service to Somerville was halted, the Red Line Northwest Extension reached Davis Square in 1984. The city and community used the creation of the new station as a catalyst for revitalizing the faded square, promoting new commercial development and sponsoring other physical and infrastructural improvements. However, when the new transit station opened, business around Davis Square did not immediately thrive. The number of retail stores in
10692-562: The class of 2027, Tufts admitted 10% of 34,002 applicants. The number of places in the freshmen class is set at approximately 1,600 students. For the class of 2024, the interquartile range of SAT scores was 1420–1550 while for the ACT it was 33–35. Since 2006 Tufts has incorporated experimental criteria into the application process for undergraduates to test "creativity and other non-academic factors", including inviting applicants to submit YouTube videos to supplement their application. Calling it
10824-716: The country's oldest graduate school of international relations, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy . The largest school is the School of Arts and Sciences , which includes both the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University , which is affiliated with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston . The School of Engineering offers an entrepreneurial focus through its Gordon Institute and maintains close connections with
10956-459: The earliest buildings and was primarily built from the middle of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. One of Tufts' first buildings, Ballou Hall was constructed from 1852 to 1854 and was designed in the Italianate style by the well-known Boston architect Gridley James Fox Bryant . Ballou Hall was later restored by McKim, Mead, and White in 1955–56, and houses the offices of
11088-429: The engineering school include Bromfield-Pearson Hall (1893), Robinson Hall (1899), and Curtis Hall (1894). Boston architect George Albert Clough is responsible for the design of Curtis Hall and Goddard Hall. Additionally, Arland Dirlam is responsible for the designs of many buildings downhill. These include Cohen Auditorium (1950), Hodgdon Hall (1954), and Jackson Gymnasium (1947). Other notable buildings downhill include
11220-549: The farm. It is also where he launched the first ship in Massachusetts, the " Blessing of the Bay ". Built for trading purposes in the early 1630s, it was soon armed for use as a patrol boat for the New England coast. It is seen as a precursor to the United States Navy . The " Ten Hills " neighborhood, located in the northeastern part of the city, has retained the name for over 300 years. New research has found that less than
11352-535: The first president in 1853, and College Hall, the first building on campus, was completed the following year. That building now bears Ballou's name. The campus opened in August 1854. President Ballou died in 1861 and was succeeded by Alonzo Ames Miner . Though not a college graduate, his presidency was marked by several advances. These include the establishment of preparatory schools for Tufts which include Goddard Seminary , Westbrook Seminary , and Dean Academy . During
11484-723: The graduate schools at Harvard and MIT. Tufts has offered study abroad programs with various universities for the past 40 years. Tufts has semester and year long programs with Pembroke College of the University of Oxford , University College London , Royal Holloway University of London , School of Oriental and African Studies , University of Paris , Sciences Po Paris , École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts , University of Tübingen , Zhejiang University , and University of Hong Kong . Every year more than 500 undergraduate students study abroad, with most doing it during their junior and senior years. Completed in 1908, Tufts' first library building, Eaton Memorial Library (now Eaton Hall),
11616-544: The highway in 1858. Somerville was home to one of the first hostile acts of the American Revolutionary War . The removal of gunpowder by British soldiers from a powder magazine in 1774, and the massive popular reaction that ensued, are considered to be a turning point in the events leading up to war. First built by settlers for use as a windmill in the early 1700s, the Old Powder House
11748-445: The large scale retail and highway access of Assembly Square . This spatial allocation is directly related to the early influence of rail and streetcar systems which caused economic activity to occur at stops. The other key factor in the creation of commercial squares is the area's topography. The numerous hills making up Somerville's landscape determined where road networks would allow neighborhood commercial development. Somerville has
11880-487: The largest major at the university, with 466 declared majors. On December 22, 2015, the university announced that it would acquire the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. The merger was completed on June 30, 2016. One of the key figures in the merger, Nancy Bauer , became the dean of the museum school. In December 2015, the university completed a reconstruction of the Memorial Stairs. A new Central Energy Plant
12012-602: The late 1960s. In 1970, the state authorized rent control in municipalities with more than 50,000 residents. Somerville, Lynn, Brookline, and Cambridge subsequently adopted rent control. Rent control was repealed statewide in 1994 via ballot initiative. At the time, only Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline had rent control measures in place. Industry slowly moved outward to the metropolitan fringes, encouraged by highway access and cheap, undeveloped land. The Ford Motor Plant in Assembly Square , which had been one of
12144-410: The legislature, then in session. A bill incorporating a new town was signed by the governor on March 3, 1842. The original choice for the city's new name, after breaking away from Charlestown, was Walford, after the first settler of Charlestown, Thomas Walford. However, this name was not adopted by the separation committee. Charles Miller, a member of this committee, proposed the name "Somerville", which
12276-466: The majority of the campus is in Medford, the Somerville line intersects it, placing parts of the lower campus in Somerville and leading to the common terms "Uphill" and "Downhill". The "Uphill" portion of the campus comprises the academic and the residential "Rez" quad (built on the former reservoir site) and is enclosed by a wrought-iron fence. Classes that contributed to the building of the fence are commemorated along its length. The academic quad contains
12408-512: The narrow Mishawum Peninsula between the Charles and Mystic rivers, linked to the mainland at the present-day Sullivan Square . The area of earliest settlement was based at City Square on the peninsula, though the territory of Charlestown officially included all of what is now Somerville, as well as Medford , Everett , Malden , Stoneham , Melrose , Woburn , Burlington , and parts of Arlington and Cambridge . From that time until 1842,
12540-465: The neuroscience and environmental science departments. The SEC joins the newly rehabilitated 574 Boston Avenue in the expansion of classroom and laboratory facilities for the engineering school. In the spring of 2022, the university plans to open the newly constructed Joyce Cummings Center, an interdisciplinary academic building which will house the computer science and economics departments, among others. In 2016, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen pledged
12672-416: The number of Teach for America volunteers it produces. Because of its continual growth as an institution, Tufts was ranked as the fifth "hottest school" of the decade from 2000 to 2010. Tufts was ranked the 450th top college in the United States by Payscale and CollegeNet's Social Mobility Index college rankings. U.S. News & World Report names Tufts' undergraduate admission as "most selective". For
12804-565: The ongoing devastation of Gaza". Tufts' main campus is located on Walnut Hill in Medford and Somerville , about 5 miles (8.0 km) from Boston on the site of the original farm of Charles Tufts, the university's namesake. This campus houses all undergraduates in Arts & Sciences and Engineering, the graduate programs at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and all of the graduate programs in Arts & Sciences and Engineering. While
12936-467: The opening of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy , the first graduate school of international affairs in the United States. The Fletcher School began as a joint effort between Tufts and Harvard University , funded by an endowment from longtime Tufts benefactor and alumnus Austin Barclay Fletcher. Tufts assumed full administration of the Fletcher School in 1935, and strong linkages between
13068-442: The other communities immediately surrounding Somerville—led to a new surge in the demand for housing. Additionally, the end of rent control in Cambridge coincided with the economic recovery in 1995, increasing demand for Somerville's affordable housing options. The city also had a very high car theft rate, once being the car theft capital of the country, and its Assembly Square area was especially infamous for this. However, after
13200-579: The period's most important enterprises were meat packing, dairy processing, ice and food distribution. In 1920, 73% of meatpacking in Massachusetts occurred in Somerville. Construction of the McGrath Highway in 1925 marked the turning point of Somerville as an industrial city, which accelerated when the Ford Motor Company built a plant in Assembly Square in 1926. In the years that followed, Somerville would see itself transformed into
13332-567: The permanent collection include works by John Singer Sargent , Albrecht Dürer , Isamu Noguchi , Auguste Rodin , Andy Warhol , Milton Resnick , Salvador Dalí , and Pablo Picasso among others. Exhibitions of the collection rotate annually in the Aidekman Arts Center. According to the Princeton Review the undergraduate student body is ethnically and socioeconomically diverse. The Advocate ranks Tufts as one of
13464-404: The population of the city overall, as seen in the table. Tensions between long-time residents/families and recent arrivals exist (often referred to as “yuppies”), with many of the former accusing the latter of ignoring problems such as drugs and gang violence. Incidents such as anti-" yuppie " graffiti , appearing around town in 2005, highlighting this rift. The economic and cultural clash between
13596-432: The president, the provost, and several vice presidents and deans. Other notable buildings include: Packard Hall (1856), East Hall (1860), West Hall (1871), Goddard Chapel (1882), Goddard Hall (1883), Barnum Hall (1884), and Eaton Hall (1908). The New York firm Whitfield & King was responsible for the design of Eaton Hall. The "Uphill" residential quad contains more modern buildings. The most notable building
13728-477: The prettiest college campuses in the United States. The "Uphill" portion can be accessed with the memorial stairs. Designed by the Olmsted Brothers in the 1920s, the memorial stairs form one of the main entrances to the university and allows direct access to the engineering school from the academic quad. The engineering school is part of the Tufts's "Downhill" portion of campus. Notable buildings around
13860-411: The public green at Gilman Square was surrounded by multiple four-story commercial buildings. Retail development and banking facilities also spread. During this time of industrial prosperity, continuing through World War II, the city of Somerville reached its population apex at 105,883 residents in 1940. The building boom continued until the 1940s, creating the dense residential fabric the "city of homes"
13992-461: The raid, amid rumors that blood had been shed, alarm spread through the countryside as far as Connecticut and beyond, and American Patriots sprang into action, fearing that war was at hand. Thousands of militiamen began streaming toward Boston and Cambridge , and mob action forced Loyalists and some government officials to flee to the protection of the British Army . This action provided
14124-490: The region's largest employers, closed its doors in 1958 with severe consequences for the local economy. From the late 1950s through the early 1970s, Finast Supermarkets used the building that had earlier housed the Ford assembly plant on Middlesex Avenue, but in 1976 it too closed its doors. By 1976, Assembly Square was becoming a ghost town: Finast Stores, the Boston and Maine Railroad , and Ford Motor Company, which had each paid
14256-493: The residential core, near freight rail corridors. By the mid-1870s meat packing plants were the primary employers and profit centers of the community. The Late Industrial Period (1870–1915) was a time of phenomenal growth for Somerville in all spheres including civic and commercial ventures. Infrastructure such as rail, water lines, telegraph and electricity were established and connected to surrounding towns. The population soared from 15,000 to 90,000. While brickmaking had taken
14388-628: The right to pasture a certain number of cows in the area. John Winthrop , the first colonial governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony , was granted 600 acres (240 hectares) of land in the area in 1631. Named for the ten small knolls located on the property, Ten Hills Farm extended from the Cradock Bridge in present-day Medford Square to Convent Hill in East Somerville . Winthrop lived, planted, and raised cattle on
14520-486: The rural part of Charlestown found itself contributing to the paving of the streets, the maintenance of a night watch, to the building of engine houses, and various other improvements from which they derived little benefit. In 1828, a petition was presented to the Legislature asking that a part of Charlestown be set off as a separate town, to be known as Warren. This petition was subsequently withdrawn. The desire for
14652-445: The size of the endowment by a factor of 15. The College of Engineering added graduate study to its curriculum beginning in 1961, with master's degrees available in four departments. It added PhD programs in mechanical engineering in 1963, electrical engineering in 1964, engineering design in 1981, and civil engineering in 1985. In 1984, CEO and chairman of Analogic Corporation and NeuroLogica Corporation Bernard Marshall Gordon founded
14784-471: The top 20 gay-friendly campuses. Of those accepted for admission to the undergraduate Class of 2019, 27 percent are Asian, Hispanic, African American, or two or more races. There were 145 international students and 6 DACA students Of domestic students admitted, some 31 percent self-identified as one or more races other than Caucasian, including Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans. International students make up 15 percent of
14916-591: The trustees voted to formally establish an undergraduate College of Engineering. The Jackson College for Women was established in 1910 as a coordinate college adjacent to the Tufts campus. In 1980 it was integrated with the College of Liberal Arts but is still recognized in the formal name of the undergraduate arts and sciences division, the "College of Liberal Arts and Jackson College". Undergraduate women in arts and sciences continued to receive their diplomas from Jackson College until 2002. Tufts expanded in 1933 with
15048-565: The two schools remain. During World War II , Tufts College was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission. Due to travel restrictions imposed by World War II, the Boston Red Sox conducted spring training for the 1943 Major League season at Tufts College. In 1955, continued expansion
15180-555: The undergraduate student population. Students come from all 50 states and represent 71 countries. The top 10 countries represented are China, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Turkey, Singapore, Canada, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( / ˈ s ʌ m ər v ɪ l / SUM -ər-vil ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston , and north of Cambridge , in Middlesex County, Massachusetts , United States. As of
15312-430: The vicinity of present-day Union Square . In 1639 colonists officially acquired the land in what is now Somerville from the Squaw Sachem of Mistick . The population continued to slowly increase, and by 1775 there were about 500 inhabitants scattered across the area. Otherwise, the area was mostly used as grazing and farmland. It was once known as the "Stinted Pasture" or "Cow Commons", as early settlers of Charlestown had
15444-646: The years of 1842 and 1870 to 14,685. With the sharp influx of immigrants to the Somerville area, industry boomed and brick manufacturing became the predominant trade. Before mechanical presses were invented, Somerville produced 1.3 million bricks a year. Thereafter, production increased rapidly to 5.5 million bricks a year, and the success of the brickyards began to attract numerous other industries. In 1851, American Tubes Works opened, followed by meat processing and packaging plants. Other Somerville factories came to produce steam engines, boilers, household appliances, glass, and iron. Shortly thereafter Somerville incorporated as
15576-600: Was discontinued at the city's eight railway stations, one by one. Passenger rail service along the Fitchburg and Lowell lines had been declining for some time, and stations such as the Winter Hill station at Gilman Square were removed as early as the late 1940s. Passenger rail service stopped altogether by 1958. The number of cars on Somerville's streets continued to rise, and road construction projects proliferated. The Alewife Brook Parkway , Mystic Valley Parkway and
15708-430: Was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. Tufts remained a small liberal arts college until the 1970s, when it transformed into a large research university offering several doctorates . Tufts offers over 90 undergraduate and 160 graduate programs across ten schools in the greater Boston area and Talloires, France . It has
15840-514: Was integrated into the university . In 1890, the Department of Electrical Engineering was created, and in 1892–1893 the course of three-year program in civil engineering was extended to four years. With the advent of the four-year program the degrees granted were bachelor of civil or electrical engineering. Tufts College added the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Chemical Engineering in 1894 and 1898, respectively. In 1898,
15972-569: Was later continued by Marconi and Tesla . Other famous scholars include William Leslie Hooper who in addition to serving as acting president, designed the first slotted armature for dynamos. His student at the college, Frederick Stark Pearson , would eventually become one of America's pioneers of the electrical power industry. He became responsible for the development of the electric power and electric streetcar systems which many cities in South America and Europe used. Another notable figure
16104-538: Was made possible with a donation from Andrew Carnegie . Carnegie's wife requested that the building be named after a Tufts graduate, Reverend Charles Eaton, who had presided over her wedding. The building received an extension in 1950 with the construction of the War Memorial Library in honor of the Tufts alumni who served in World War II . By 1965 the collection outgrew the building and was moved to
16236-556: Was named by Newsweek as one of the "25 New Ivies " in 2006. In The Princeton Review 's 2010–2011 "Best 363 Colleges", Tufts was ranked 14th for the happiest students and its study abroad program was ranked third in the country. According to the October 2010 rankings compiled by The Chronicle of Higher Education , Tufts ranked 12th in the country (tied with both Harvard and Johns Hopkins ) with 17 Fulbright scholars . Tufts also ranks fourth among medium-sized schools for
16368-421: Was nearly high tide, East Cambridge was an island and the troops, skirting the marshes, were obliged to wade "thigh deep" to reach Somerville. They probably came through Prospect Street into Washington Street, and through Union Square. Defeated and in retreat, the British army passed again through Somerville en route back to Boston. Upon reaching Union Square, the British marched down Washington Street as far as
16500-481: Was one of the earliest benefactors of Tufts College, and the Barnum Museum of Natural History (Barnum Hall) was constructed in 1884 with funds donated by him to house his collection of animal specimens and the stuffed hide of Jumbo the elephant, who would become the university's mascot. The building stood until April 14, 1975, when a fire gutted Barnum Hall, destroying the entire collection. On July 15, 1892,
16632-494: Was reflected in the change of the school's name to Tufts University, though the corporate name remains as 'Trustees of Tufts College'. The university experienced some growth during the presidency of Jean Mayer (1976–1992). Mayer established Tufts' veterinary, nutrition, and biomedical schools and acquired the Grafton and Talloires campuses, at the same time lifting the university out of its dire financial situation by increasing
16764-532: Was resolved to take the powder by force if necessary. The Americans learned that the British intended to start for Concord on April 18, 1775, and couriers Paul Revere and William Dawes set out on their famous ride to warn the farmers and militiamen in between Boston and Concord, including Sam Adams and John Hancock . That night, he set out from the North End through Charlestown towards East Somerville . In Revere's own written account of his ride, he mentions
16896-607: Was sold to the colonial government of Massachusetts for use as a gunpowder magazine in 1747. Located at the intersection of Broadway and College Avenue in present-day Powder House Square , the Old Powder House held the largest supply of gunpowder in all of Massachusetts. General Thomas Gage , who had become the military governor of Massachusetts in May 1774, was charged with enforcement of the highly unpopular Intolerable Acts , which British Parliament had passed in response to
17028-468: Was told to patrol the East Somerville neighborhood of Glen Park at night without his issued firearm , night stick, Mace, or communication devices. Moore's name had been written on a barrel in the neighborhood and used for target practice by local youth. In the last years of the 20th century, the situation in Somerville stabilized and growth returned—first to West Somerville, and then the rest of
17160-535: Was ultimately chosen. It was not derived from any one person's name, and a report commissioned by the Somerville Historical Society found that Somerville was a "purely fanciful name". Before Somerville became a township in 1842 the area was primarily populated by British farmers and brick makers who sold their wares in the markets of Boston, Cambridge and Charlestown. As the markets grew, the population of Somerville increased six-fold between
17292-510: Was under construction and set to finish in the summer of 2016. It will replace an aging 60-year-old plant and provide new efficiency boilers which in addition to providing the university directly with electricity, heated and chilled water, will help the university cut emissions. The university also completed construction of the Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) in 2017. The SEC features laboratories and fosters interdisciplinary research between
17424-554: Was used primarily as grazing commons and small farms. After the proliferation of the railroads in the area during the mid-1800s, industrialization transformed the landscape. In the 1800s, the Millers River was used as a sewer and dumping ground for local industry and would be ordered filled by the Commonwealth before the end of the century, for health reasons. As a result of landfill and the elimination of former Cobble Hill,
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