National Council on Public History

This project will complete a Special History Study for Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site focusing on Black History. This study will document and analyze the Black experience during and after John and Elizabeth Vassall’s occupancy in Cambridge, MA. Darby Vassall’s life dates provide rough brackets for this study; born enslaved at the Vassall house in Cambridge in 1769, about ten years after its construction, he died a prominent member of the free Black community in Boston in 1861.

Black History at the Vassall Estate 

Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site
Special History Study
Caitlin DeAngelis, Carla D. Martin, Rayshauna C. Gray, Aabid Allibhai, Eshe Sherley
September 15, 2025

Other resources:

Black History at the Vassall Estate virtual presentation

Virtual presentation in celebration of our latest publication: The Black History at the Vassall Estate. This landmark study documents and analyzes the Black experience at 105 Brattle Street (now Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site) and in the wider international community of Africa, Canada, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom. Research team members: Caitlin DeAngelis, Carla Martin, Rayshauna Gray, Aabid Allibhai, and Eshe Sherley introduce the study, share key findings, and take you behind the scenes of their research and writing process.

“Who are my ancestors?” The Descendants of Cuba Vassall

Before poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow gave the house its name, and long before it was designated Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, the Vassall estate was a pre-Revolutionary War plantation owned by the Vassall family. In the years immediately preceding the abolishment of slavery in Massachusetts, Cuba and Tony Vassall and their six children were enslaved by Vassall and other Massachusetts enslavers; when the family was freed in 1783, they reunited and fought for their rights as free people. As part of the National Park Service’s efforts to better understand this period of the site’s history, the site has recently prioritized bringing together the descendants of Cuba and Tony’s family to reflect on their ancestors’ legacy.

Dr. Caitlin DeAngelis, Project Historian
Dr. Carla D. Martin, Project Historian

Via our cooperative agreement with the National Park Service, the National Council on Public History seeks a qualified historian (or team of historians) to conduct a Special History Study for Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site in Cambridge, MA. Focusing on Black history, this study will document and analyze the Black experience during and after John and Elizabeth Vassall’s occupancy (about 1769-1861). This project will uncover the lives and communities of enslaved and formerly enslaved people who worked at the Vassall House and lived in the surrounding community of Cambridge before, during, and after the American Revolution. The information produced from this study will greatly expand existing baseline information and will influence different aspects of the park, including interpretation and education programming, and influence how the park’s significance is presented to visitors and the public. In addition to a complete, peer-reviewed, edited, formatted, and publication-ready manuscript of a Special History Study, this project will also involve engagement with the site’s known descendant community (about a dozen individuals) and, we hope, identification of more descendants for future outreach. Please read the full narrative in PDF or Word format for the description of the project’s scope of work and timeline, as well as instructions for submitting your letter of interest.

Compensation: $80,650 (This is the total compensation for the principal investigator(s), RAs, Section 508 Compliance, travel, copy editing and formatting, and research expenses)
Deadline for Letter of Interest to NCPH:  November 1, 2022
Expected Date to Award Project:  December 1, 2022
Anticipated Start Date:  January 2023
Timeline for Completion:  September 2025