istory in Boston doesn’t really seem to be all that much of a secret. You’re tripping over it at every corner. George Washington did sleep here, after all, and this is the City Upon a Hill, and I’m sure Benjamin Franklin said lots of witty things about his childhood on Milk Street, and who can keep track of all those President Adamses? So where are the secrets?

Well, it turns out that while George Washington was doing all that internationally important stuff, there was a whole city here getting by day to day, living their lives and occasionally doing extraordinary or innovative or just quirky things. Some of those bits of history that didn’t make it into the text books have survived—if you know where to look. Cambridge, Boston, Somerville, Medford—the whole area is littered with historic spots you won’t find in the guidebooks.

If you’re walking down Main Street in Cambridge, in between the Newtowne Court housing project and the restaurant Cuchi Cuchi, you’ll pass the spot where Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephone call was received, (not to mention the factory where Tootsie Rolls are made), but I bet most people just walk past it wondering why it smells like chocolate. Or, if you’re walking down Main Street in Medford (near George Street) you’ll pass the only known colonial slave quarters still standing in Massachusetts. That’s right—slave quarters in Massachusetts.

For that matter, some of most famous historical sites are not what they appear to be. If Paul Revere came back from the dead, he wouldn’t recognize his house. That’s because, when he lived there, it had a third floor. In the years after Revere sold the house it was used, among other things, as a cigar factory and produce market, until it was purchased and restored to its not-quite-original appearance in the early 20th century by Revere’s great grandson and the architect Joseph Chandler, without the top floor.

You may be wondering who I am and why you should believe these stories. Well, I work for the Cambridge Historical Society and was born and raised here. I know a lot about Cambridge and I’m always learning more about the rest of the area. Send me your ideas and questions. What have you heard that sounds hard to believe? Let me know, and I’ll find out if it holds water. If you’re just walking around and see something that piques your interest, let me know; I’ll check it out. (And, by the way, if you’re looking for a place to walk and see something unusual, try Atherton Street in Somerville. There’s a house that’s round.)

What this blog will be about is the little odd and less-known history that seem interesting to either one of us. The historical society’s archivist and the assistant director also will be helping out, so we’ll have several perspectives to draw from. I love these weird little facts. They’re what make us all feel more connected to our little piece of the “hub of the universe.”