HISTORY COMES ALIVE IN LEXINGTON & CONCORD – PART 2
See Part 1
By Debbie Stone
After you’ve explored Lexington, shift your full attention to Concord. Start at the Concord Visitor Center and check out the walking tours offered or request a private tour. There’s quite a variety of tours and depending on your interests, you can delve further into the American Revolution, learn about Concord’s connection to the Civil War, and/or discover the different groups of people who lived here, the contributions they made and the roles they played in history. These include indigenous people, women, African Americans, authors, and more, all who left their indelible marks on the fabric of society.
I opted for a private tour, as I wanted to touch upon a number of themes. My guide, Joe Palumbo proved to be a font of knowledge on all things Concord. He knew just how much information to dispense and never lectured, but rather spoke in a conversational tone, encouraging much back-and-forth discussion.
Joe began the tour with some information about Concord’s indigenous people. He explained that for over 10,000 years, the Nipmuc and Massachusetts peoples called this area Musketaquid, meaning “the land between the grassy rivers.” They found this location desirable, as the hunting and fishing were good, and the waterways also provided a transportation network. But cultures collided once European fur traders and later English settlers arrived. Today, there are more than 15,000 indigenous people living in Massachusetts.
We then headed to the center of town to visit notable sights dealing with different aspects of history. The Civil War Monument, honoring those who served the nation during this war, opened up a discussion on how Concord viewed the issue of slavery. Joe said that for years, the townspeople gave no thought to this issue. However, this changed when a group of prominent women formed the Concord Female Anti-Slavery Society.
Founding members included Lidian Emerson, wife of Ralph Waldo Emerson and her daughter Ellen; Mary Merric Brooks, the society’s primary organizer; Cynthia Dunbar Thoreau, mother of Henry David Thoreau, and her two daughters, Helen and Sophia; Abigail Alcott, mother of Louisa May; Susan Garrison, resident of Concord’s Robbins House and the sole woman of color; and Lucy Brown.
The society hosted noted abolitionist speakers and they held events to raise money for the antislavery cause, attended anti-slavery conventions, disseminated anti-slavery publications, and basically served as “the foot soldiers of reform.” They, more than the men in town, took it upon themselves to try and right these societal wrongs, and helped make Concord famous for its liberal leanings.
Joe directed our attention to the First Parish Church, as well as the First Universalist Church, both of which offered a platform for antislavery speakers. As I gazed at these buildings, I imagined what the scene would be like back then with the likes of Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman and John Brown giving their fiery addresses.
Overlooking the town center is the Hill Burying Ground, the earliest European burial site in Concord. Joe stopped at one grave in particular, that of John Jack, and proceeded to tell us his story. John was born free in Africa but enslaved in Colonial New England. He bought his own freedom over the course of many years, but he was unable to convince the citizens of Concord to honor his “full humanity.” John has the distinction of being the first free black landowner in Concord, as well as the distinction of being one of only three freed black men with a headstone in the U.S.
At the time of the American Revolution, forty out of the 2,000 people living in Concord were enslaved. Joe further noted that four to five thousand enslaved men fought on the patriots’ side, while seven to nine thousand fought for the British for the promise of emancipation.
Other notable sites in the town center include the Concord Town House, circa 1851, which became the center for the community; the Old Jail Site, indicating the place where Thoreau spent a night to protest the expansion of enslavement, leading him to write the essay, “Civil Disobedience,” and Wright Tavern, where a number of key revolutionary events took place, most notably the meeting of the First Massachusetts Provincial Congress.
If you go inside the tavern, which is now a National Historic Landmark, you’ll see some historic information displayed on the walls. Of interest to me was a description of colonial taverns in America and another featuring women who helped defend Concord on April 19, 1775. Taverns were all-purpose establishments. They were used as meeting places for assemblies and courts, destinations for food, drink, and entertainment, and most importantly, democratic venues of debate and discussion.
Regarding the women and their actions on that pivotal April day, the story has it that when the able-bodied males left town for the hills to prepare for battle, the only ones remaining were women, children, and older men. The British Regulars arrived and had orders to search the homes to seize and destroy any weapons or supplies. Their mission failed, however, due to the cleverness and cunning of the women, who hid munitions and told a few tales to prevent the Regulars from accessing certain spaces in their houses.
Concord’s newest attraction, also in the town center, is an acrylic art installation called, “Freedom’s Silhouette.” Created by Liz Helfer, it depicts two 19th-century Concordians, Ellen Garrison and Thoreau. The pair sit across from one another, each anchored to a park bench. You can sit next to them, as I did, and ponder their contributions to history.
Thoreau, who is known to most, needs little introduction. He was a leading transcendentalist (embracing idealism, focusing on nature, and opposing materialism) and advocate of civil liberties. What you might not realize is how deep his fervor went in regard to antislavery. He served as a conductor in the Underground Railroad, gave lectures attacking the Fugitive Slave Law, and supported radical abolitionist militia leader John Brown and his party.
One hundred years before Rosa Parks, there was Ellen Garrison, daughter of Susan Garrison, a charter member of the Concord Female Anti-Slavery Society. Ellen followed in her mother’s footsteps as an antislavery activist and taught freedmen and women post-Civil War. In 1866, she tested the nation’s first Civil Rights Act in court after sitting in a segregating waiting room in a Baltimore train station and being forcibly ejected. Ellen brought suit against the railroad station train officer who assaulted her, but a grand jury dismissed the case.
For more on the Robbins family, visit the Robbins House. A rustic, two-family farmhouse, its occupants included Caesar, Ellen’s grandfather, Peter (Caesar’s son), Susan, Caesar’s daughter and her husband Jack Garrison, and Ellen, Caesar’s granddaughter.
Another of Concord’s interesting links to the past is its literary connection. Famed authors Louisa May Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson all lived here at one time or another. You can tour their former homes, including the Ralph Waldo Emerson House, Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, The Old Manse, The Wayside, and the Thoreau Farm and Birth House.
The Orchard House is where Alcott penned “Little Women,” while Emerson’s first draft of his famous essay, “Nature,” was written at The Old Manse. Hawthorne was also a resident of The Old Manse, who rented the place and lived there with his wife Sophia. As for The Wayside, both the Alcott and Hawthorne families owned the house at different times.
Those interested in Thoreau can visit the Farm and Birth House, and then head to Walden Pond. The pond, or what I would label a lake, is where the author went in an effort to live a simpler life. He built a small cabin in the woods and stayed there for two years, two months, and two weeks, beginning in 1845.
During his stay, Thoreau kept a journal chronicling what he witnessed and learned from nature. His experiences provided the material for his book, “Walden.” His writings inspired an awareness and respect for nature. Because of his legacy, Walden Pond, which was designated a National Historic Landmark, is considered the birthplace of the modern conservation movement.
Now owned and managed by the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation, Walden Pond receives over half a million visitors annually. They come to see a replica of the cabin, hike the trails around the pond and in the woods, and take in the peaceful ambiance of the place. In fall, when I visited, the scenery was resplendent with autumn colors.
Another literary-oriented site is Authors Ridge in Concord’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. For many, this is a place of pilgrimage. People come from all over to pay their respects to these great literary minds. They often leave behind mementos such as pencils, pens, and hand-written notes. At Thoreau’s gravesite, you’ll find pinecones, acorns, and other elements of nature.
The Concord Museum should be on your list, too. Its collection of artifacts is excellent, especially those used on the day the American Revolution began. There’s everything from muskets, flints, and powder horns to one of the two lanterns that Paul Revere put in the steeple of Boston’s Old North Church to signal the patriots of the advance of the Regulars. Other artifacts include Native American stone tools, Thoreau’s desk, furnishings from Emerson’s study, and numerous decorative art pieces.
One of the most dynamic and impactful exhibits is the multimedia presentation of the day the “shot heard ‘round the world” was fired. It’s done as an innovative timeline, using an 18th-century map of the area. You see the events of 24 hours of history told in six dramatic minutes. See Part 1 of this article.
Learn more about Concord at www.visitconcord.org
Debbie Stone is an established travel writer and columnist, and regular contributor for Big Blend Radio and Big Blend Magazines, who crosses the globe in search of unique destinations and experiences to share with her readers and listeners. She’s an avid explorer who welcomes new opportunities to increase awareness and enthusiasm for places, culture, food, history, nature, outdoor adventure, wellness, and more. Her travels have taken her to nearly 100 countries and all seven continents.
