Perkins Hall and the Secret Court

A hidden tribunal, a room in this building, and files shut for 82 years.

Collection: Boston: More Stories · USA · Open in OpenStreetMap

How the story begins

"Said he knows fifty names, but won't tell." That note, about a Harvard student named Keith Smerage, sat in a locked filing cabinet for 82 years. The case began in May of 1920, when a student took his own life. His older brother found out about a relationship he had with a man in Boston, beat the man into naming others, and wrote to the acting dean. With the president's consent, the dean formed a group of five that called itself the Court.

The rest is in the app. Peplos plays the full story when you reach the place. You can also listen ahead of time.

Visiting

Perkins Hall, 35 to 39 Oxford Street, Cambridge. A student residence: see it from the street only.

Sources

• Harvard Crimson, The Secret Court of 1920 (2002)
• Harvard Crimson, The Secret Court of 1920, Part Two (2002)
• Harvard Crimson, A Century After the Secret Court (2021)
• Harvard Crimson, column on the Secret Court (2023)
• Wikipedia, Secret Court of 1920

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