Site of the Village Smithy - Cambridge, MA
Posted by: 
NorStar
N 42° 22.462 W 071° 07.320
19T E 325291 N 4693524
At tbe corner of Story Street and Brattle Street there is a stone marker that locates the site of the Smithy by the Chestnut tree that Longfellow immortalized in his poem, The Village Blacksmith.
Waymark Code: WM7RZN
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 11/28/2009
Views: 7
In the Harvard Square section of Cambridge, at the corner of Brattle Street and Story Street, there is a stone marker embedded in a building. The marker simply states, "Near this spot stood the spreading chestnut tree and the Smithy referred to in Longfellow's poem, the Village Blacksmith".
The text in the American Guide Series book for Massachusetts states:
2. The Site of the Village Smithy immortalized by Longfellow is marked by a stone marker at the corner of Story St.
-- American Guide Series: Massachusetts - A Guide to its Places and People, p. 192.
Nothing else is given in the text. A Wikipedia article on the poem provides some additional information. The 'Smithy' (blacksmith) in Longfellow's poem was likely modeled after Dexter Pratt, who was a neighbor of his. His house was at 54 Brattle Street, which stands today a short walk away. There was a chestnut tree at this location, which was later cut down. A portion of the tree was made into a chair and presented to Longfellow by school children.
Today, there is an Indian restaurant and a clothing store in the building where the marker is embedded. Though the marker is near Story Street, the marker actually faces Brattle Street.
Additional Information:
Wikipedia (The Village Blacksmith):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Village_Blacksmith
Book: Massachusetts
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 192
Year Originally Published: 1937
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