17th Century (1636-1699)

There are no above-ground remains of the University’s original buildings. There are no extant maps or drawings from the earliest years of Harvard; rather, knowledge of these spaces is informed by the archival record and archaeological surveys in Harvard Yard.

Founded in 1636 as College at Newetowne (later known as Cambridge), Harvard acquired two lots with existing structures from Goodmen Goffe and Peyntree. The structures were used as first College buildings to house president, tutors, and students. In 1639, the Old College--a three-story wooden structure with chambers for students, lecture halls, buttery, and kitchen, covered with red clay roof tiles--was constructed just north of the structure on the Peyntree lot, but was only used until the 1670s, when it was abandoned due to its poor condition.

The College was initially established to provide a learned ministry to the colonies; it was a Puritan institution were young scholars studied to become Puritan ministers. These goals are evidenced in the curriculum and an inflexible daily schedule of lectures, prayer, and dining that kept students busy from 6 am to 9 pm. The 1650 charter dedicated the institution to “…the education of the English & Indian Youth of this Country in knowledge: and godliness.“ Following this, the two-story brick Indian College building (1655) was constructed on Goffe lot, just west of Old College building to house students and the first printing press in the British colonies and was dismantled at the end of the seventeenth century. Harvard Hall (1677) was built closer to Cambridge Common at present-day Johnson Gate.