New England - Massachusetts

Concord

Recenter Map To This Location

Today, Lexington and Concord are residential suburbs of Boston, but their place in history has linked them together for over 200 years. It was here, in April 1775, that the Colonial troops fought with the British in skirmishes that eventually led to the American Revolution. That story comes alive in the preservation of the sites and monuments, and in the annual April 19th re-creation of those important events. In areas now designated as national parks, guides relate the events that led to the revolution giving the visitor, young and old, a graphic understanding of what took place during that momentous time. Perhaps the most famous story is that of Paul Revere’s horseback ride from Boston to Lexington and Concord—to warn of the impending attack by the British—which enabled the colonists to meet the challenge and drive them back. The Minuteman National Historic Park between the towns of Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord has a Minuteman Visitor Center showing a movie that re-creates that period.

The Concord Museum, in the town center, houses 19 galleries with furnishings of the revolutionary period and the century that followed. What is particularly interesting in this museum is that each room represents a different period. As you tour these various rooms, guides explain the evolving style of decoration and life as it was lived at the time. Other interesting stops include Orchard House, home of Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, the home of the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Walden Pond where Henry David Thoreau lived and wrote. Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, the ancient burial ground for many of these famous citizens, is a suitable finale to the Concord tour.