Dunster House is one of the first two dormitories constructed under President Lowell's House Plan, and one of the seven Houses given to Harvard by Edward Stephen Harkness. The House was named in honor of Henry Dunster, a "learned, conscionable and industrious man," who became the first President of Harvard College, and was appointed to the Harvard presidency at the age of thirty-one, immediately after his arrival in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay in 1640. He held the office during the early "troublous" years of the Colony, and left the College in 1654 after it had become a well-established institution.

The House was completed in 1930 and began operations in the fall of that year under the leadership of Master Chester N. Greenough ('98), English Professor and former Dean of Harvard College. The tower of Dunster House is inspired by, but somewhat smaller than, the famous Big Tom Tower of Christ Church, Oxford. Above the east wing is the Dunster family crest.

The Early Years
In the fall of 1928, rumors spread across the Harvard campus about a proposed design of the College dormitory system. The so-called "House Plan," conceived by University President Abbott Lawrence Lowell, called for the development of seven dormitories near and along the Charles River to separate upperclassmen from the freshmen, who would remain in Harvard Yard. With a generous gift from Edward Stephen Harkness, the project became a reality.

For help to put the House Plan into operation, President Lowell turned to Chester Noyes Greenough ('98), who had just recently submitted his resignation as Dean of Harvard College to return to his post as English Professor. During his eight years as Dean, Greenough had instituted many significant changes to undergraduate advising and the relationship between students and the rest of the University, including the initiation of "Freshman Week," a week-long orientation for freshmen before the start of their first school year. President Lowell asked Greenough to be Master of one of the Houses; after some hesitation, Greenough decided to accept the position.

Two Houses were scheduled to be ready by the autumn of 1930, and Greenough was to be Master of Dunster House, named after Henry Dunster, the first president of Harvard (1640-1654). Dunster was a graduate of Magdalene College in Cambridge, England. Enriching the relationship between the two universities, two stones were sent from Magdalene College to Dunster House and were placed in the wall near the doors to J-entry.

One of Greenough''s primary concerns was with the Dunster Library. Through a gift of $25,000 in memory of Alexander Moss White (''92), and numerous other donations, Greenough''s hopes were fulfilled. By the end of the first year, the library had 11,000 books, and Greenough was already considering expanding the facility. In honor of the White contribution, a motto was inscribed over the fireplace in the library.