Here are new photos, quotes, and links since my post last summer (2022) about “Forgotten Souls of Tory Row.”

“Last June, History Cambridge partnered with artists from Black Coral Inc. to create a temporary art installation on the lawn of our headquarters, the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House, at 159 Brattle St. The installation was taken down in April as scheduled, but several of its distinctive blue bottle trees have sprung up along the street, including at First Church in Cambridge and at the Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters.” (quote from Bottle trees are sprouting up in new locations, continuing to honor the enslaved in Cambridge, by Beth Folsom, 6/ 12/23 in Cambridge Day)

Hooper-Lee-Nichols House, at 159 Brattle Street:

“Bottle trees also have a special connection to the venerated dead. According to History Cambridge, which opened an installation of bottle trees in May 2022, called “Forgotten Souls of Tory Row: Remembering the Enslaved People of Brattle Street,” the tradition of bottle trees “was passed down through generations of enslaved and, later, free Black communities, marking the survival of a cultural practice despite the bonds of slavery. The distinctive blue bottles were placed on tree limbs to capture the energy, spirit and memories of ancestors.”” ( quote from Bottle Trees: A Beautiful Tradition With a Spiritual Past by Jesslynn Shields,10/6/22. How Stuff Works)

Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters, 105 Brattle Street:

“A bottle tree can be made of a variety of different materials — posts with dowels driven into the sides, pieces of steel rebar welded together, or a real tree (in the Southeastern U.S., the tree traditionally used for this purpose is the crepe myrtle). The bottles are often made of blue glass, though you see bottle trees sporting glass of all colors and shapes.” ( quote from Bottle Trees: A Beautiful Tradition With a Spiritual Past by Jesslynn Shields,10/6/22. How Stuff Works)

First Church, 11 Garden Street:

“With gratitude to our partners at History Cambridge and the Black Coral Inc. artist collaborative, a bottle tree from “Forgotten Souls of Tory Row: Remembering the Enslaved People of Brattle Street” will be on view on our front lawn from now through Juneteenth, June 19. The installation honors the enslaved adults and children who lived and worked on this land, as well as those whose labor on Caribbean plantations helped finance the grand homes of white Tory Row elites.” ( quote from “Forgotten Souls of Tory Row: Remembering the Enslaved People of Brattle Street” Bottle Tree at First Church May 23, 2023)

Hooper-Lee-Nichols House, February 2023:

“The installation by Black Coral is composed of two circles of “trees” made of iron – an exterior circle and a smaller interior circle. Blue glass bottles are placed on the end of the branches to form bottle trees. The trees are strung with solar lights that illuminate at dusk.”  ( quote from Forgotten Souls of Tory Row: Remembering the Enslaved People of Brattle Street. History Cambridge, 2022)

KEY RESOURCES

Bottle Trees: A Beautiful Tradition With a Spiritual Past by Jesslynn Shields,10/6/22 How Stuff Works)

Bottle trees are sprouting up in new locations, continuing to honor the enslaved in Cambridge, by Beth Folsom, 6/ 12/23 in Cambridge Day

“Forgotten Souls of Tory Row: Remembering the Enslaved People of Brattle Street” Bottle Tree at First Church May 23, 2023

Forgotten Souls of Tory Row: Remembering the Enslaved People of Brattle Street. History Cambridge