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Frederick Hastings Rindge Collection Finding Aid (pdf version available)
Cambridge Historical Commission
831 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
Tel. (617) 349-4683
Fax. (617) 349-3116
E-Mail: histcomm@cambridgema.gov
Prepared by: Molly Alexander, Gavin Kleespies
Acquisition Date: 1997-1998
Languages: English
Historical Sketch
Frederick Hastings Rindge was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on December
21, 1857. He was the only surviving child of Samuel Baker Rindge, a wealthy
Cambridge textile merchant, and Clarissa Harrington Rindge. He was privately
tutored as a child, and then attended Harvard College, graduating in 1879.
After his graduation he traveled through Mexico and the western United States,
eventually settling in California. His parents died in the early 1880’s,
and Frederick inherited approximately two million dollars. In 1887 he married
Rhoda May Knight and they bought a 23,000-acre ranch in Malibu, California
and had three children. Between 1888 and 1890 he made a series of significant
gifts to the City of Cambridge at the urging of William E. Russell, a friend
from his Harvard College days, who was the Mayor of Cambridge. Rindge funded
the construction of City Hall, Cambridge Public Library, and the Rindge Manual
Training School (now Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School). He was also a
major contributor to the construction of the Harvard-Epworth Methodist Church,
located near the Harvard Law School. Rindge was also an author; he privately
printed five books that were meditative or religious in nature, Can You
Read Your Title Clear to a Mansion in the Skies? (1889); Thoughts Concerning
Ourselves and Our Interests (1890); Meditations on Many Matters (1890); Happy Days
in Southern California (1889); and The Best Way (1902). He was active in business,
civic, philanthropic, and religious endeavors until his death on August 29,
1905.
Scope and Content
This collection includes correspondence, photographs, financial records,
architectural drawings of the library, city hall, Rindge Manual Training
School, and copies of Rindge’s self-published books. The records cover
his East Coast endeavors, such as his major donations to the City of Cambridge,
local churches, and his involvement with American University in Washington,
DC. Rindge’s father made his living in the textile business, and the
family owned a number of textile mills including Clarendon Mills (West Boylston,
MA); Cocheco Mills (Rochester, NH); Gonic Manufacturing Co. (Gonic, NH);
Monadnock Mills (Claremont, NH); Sanford Mills (Sanford, ME); and Sterling
Mills (Sterling, MA or CT?). Some business records and photographs of these
companies are in the collection. Rindge’s involvement in the building
of the Harvard-Epworth Church is documented in the letters to Rindge from
G.H. Cheeney, who was the minister. There are also payment vouchers for the
Cambridge Public Library and letters and plans for a bell tower next to the
library, to be called the “tower of truth,” which was never built.
The correspondence letter books (Shelf #6, A-P, letters) are mostly letters
from William I. Parker or Francis J. Parker, Rindge’s business managers,
to Rindge and detail his local business transactions. There are a large number
of pamphlets and annual reports from various local schools and charities.
It can be assumed that they were sent to Rindge either because he supported
them or to encourage him to donate. There is also a lot of material regarding
Rindge Manual Training School and Camp Rindge. Most notably letters from
Harry Ellis, the first superintendent of the school, detailing the daily
routine and special events that occurred at the school and camp.
Shelf List
Shelf #2 – box titles
Rindge Collection, payment vouchers, #5-2162, 1885-1889, deposit slips, 1890-1898
Rindge Collection, payment vouchers, #2186-4977, 1889-1891
Rindge Collection, payment vouchers, #4979-6938, 1891-1892
Rindge Collection, payment vouchers, #6946-8832, 1893-1894
Rindge Collection, payment vouchers, #8842-11588, 1894-1898
Rindge Collection, cashed checks, #86-3700, loan agreements, #1-345
Shelf #3 – box titles
Rindge Collection, photographs of Cambridge
Rindge Collection, Rindge Manual Training School, specifications for student
projects
Rindge Collection, non-local newsprint
Rindge Collection, Cambridge-Boston area newsprint
Rindge Collection, ledgers: “cash”, “real property maintenance”
Rindge Collection, Cambridge Manual Training School class album, 1897
Rindge Collection, Rindge Manual Training School, photo album of school interior
and exterior
Rindge Collection, Rindge Manual Training School, photographs of Camp Rindge,
NH and Rindge Manual Training School
Rindge Collection, Rindge Manual Training School, unbound photographs and plans,
City Hall
Shelf #4 – box titles
Rindge Collection, Rindge Business Correspondence
Rindge Collection, Rindge family records and correspondence
Rindge Collection, assorted pamphlets and non-Cambridge photos
Rindge Collection, 41/2 x 51/2 and 41/2 x 61/2 photographs
Rindge Collection, Cambridge Manual Training School, school register, 1892-1898,
Rindge Manual Training School register, 1899-1904
Rindge Collection, Rindge Manual Training School, Camp Rindge
Published volumes:
Songs of California and Other Verses by F.H. Rindge
Catalogue of the University of Pennsylvania 1905-1906
Self #5 – box titles
Rindge Technical School: sports photos, Asst. Mellen collection photos
Rindge Collection, pamphlets A, related to Cambridge and Boston
Rindge Collection, pamphlets B and C, clubs, associations, and schools
Rindge Collection, pamphlets D and E, schools and towns
Rindge Collection, information on: City Hall, Harvard Epworth, Public Library,
The YMCA, The Latin School and High School Recorder
Published volumes:
Maritime Stories of Point Dume and Malibu by Judge John J. Merrick and Ronald
L. Rindge
1878-1879 Diaries by Frederick Hastings Rindge
Bound checkbooks:
Checks, #1-500, Frederick Hastings Rindge
Checks, #501-1000, Frederick Hastings Rindge
Checks, #1001-1600, Frederick Hastings Rindge
Checks, #1601-2200, Frederick Hastings Rindge
Checks, #2201-2800, Frederick Hastings Rindge
Checks, #2801-3400, Frederick Hastings Rindge
Shelf #6 – box titles
Letter books in phase boxes:
Rindge Collection, estate, Samuel Rindge
Rindge Collection, A, estate of Samuel Rindge
Rindge Collection, B, estate and letters
Rindge Collection, C, letters, Samuel Rindge
Rindge Collection, D, letters, 1886-1887
Rindge Collection, E, 1887-1888
Rindge Collection, F, letters, 1888-1889
Rindge Collection, G, letters, 1889-1890
Rindge Collection, H, letters, 1890
Rindge Collection, I, letters, 1890-1891
Rindge Collection, J, letters, 1891-1892
Rindge Collection, K, letters, 1892-1893
Rindge Collection, L, letters, 1893-1894
Rindge Collection, M, letters, 1894-1895
Rindge Collection, N, letters, 1895-1897
Rindge Collection, O, letters, 1897- 1898
Rindge Collection, P, letters, 1898
Published volumes:
Happy Days in Southern California by Frederick Hastings Rindge
Happy Days in Southern California by Frederick Hastings Rindge
The Rindge Gifts to the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, published by the
Cambridge City Council
In flat file cabinet drawer-
Rindge Collection blue prints:
City Hall blue prints (mylar copies)
Cambridge Public Library blue prints (mylar copies)
Oversize portfolios
On top of flat file cabinet in blueprint tubes-
Blue Prints- Cambridge Public Library
Blue Prints- Cambridge City Hall (mylar copies in Rindge Collection flat file)
Blue Prints- Rindge Manual Training School
Provenance
Ronald L. Rindge donated this collection to the Cambridge Historical Commission in stages between 1997 and 1998.
Related Sources
Cambridge Historical Commission. “Frederick Rindge” folder, filed under “Biography.”
Cambridge Historical Commission. “Ronald L. Rindge” folder, filed under “Biography.”
Cambridge Public Library. “Rindge Manual Training School collection”,
located in the Cambridge Room.