1761 Peter Harrison-designed Anglican church on Cambridge Common, said to be haunted by a British soldier buried beneath the floor.
0 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free public access during services and posted visitor hours. Donations welcomed.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Step-up entrance from sidewalk; ramp access available.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1761 · Oldest church building in Cambridge · Peter Harrison architectural attribution · National Historic Landmark · Quartering of Continental troops during Siege of Boston (1775–76)
Christ Church Cambridge was founded as an Anglican parish in 1759 by Cambridge residents who had previously attended King's Chapel in Boston and wanted services closer to home. The congregation drew primarily from the wealthy Loyalist gentry of Brattle Street's 'Tory Row,' and the church's first rector was East Apthorp. The building was designed by Peter Harrison, the Newport, Rhode Island architect known also for the Touro Synagogue and King's Chapel, and was completed in 1761.
At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775, most of the church's Loyalist congregation fled Cambridge for Boston or for England. Patriots seized the building and used it to quarter Connecticut Continental troops during the Siege of Boston. The organ was reportedly melted down and recast as musket balls. On December 31, 1775, George and Martha Washington attended a special Episcopalian service in the church — a historical detail preserved in the church's own records.
The building was vandalized in the wartime period and was not reconsecrated for regular Anglican services until 1790. Subsequent renovations adapted the interior for 19th- and 20th-century use, but the exterior and significant portions of the interior retain their 1761 Harrison-designed character.
Christ Church is a National Historic Landmark and a contributing structure to the Old Cambridge Historic District. The active Episcopal congregation operates the church today.
Sources
The principal Christ Church ghost story is recounted in the 2012 Boston.com Halloween feature on haunted Cambridge. The lore holds that a British soldier was 'thrown from a wagon during the Revolutionary War and buried under the church.' Because the church was a Loyalist parish — quartering British-allied soldiers and reportedly burying one beneath its floor — the act enraged local Patriots, who rioted and vandalized the building. The soldier's spirit is said to wander the pews 'looking for his regiment.'
The legend is single-source in its specifics — there is no contemporary archaeological evidence of an underground burial — but is grounded in well-documented historical fact: the church was indeed sympathetic to England, its Loyalist congregation did flee, the organ was melted for musket balls, and the building was used to quarter Continental troops. The lore appears regularly on Cambridge walking ghost tours and in regional paranormal compilations.
The story does not include named witnesses or recurring documented sightings; the Patriot-riot detail is the most historically anchored element of the narrative.
Notable Entities
Visit Christ Church, the oldest church building in Cambridge (1761), designed by Peter Harrison and a National Historic Landmark. The interior preserves much of the 18th-century plan; visitors can see the pew where George and Martha Washington worshipped on December 31, 1775.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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