To visit The Old Manse – an elegant, thirteen-room colonial built on the banks of the Concord River in 1770 – is to experience pivotal moments in our nation’s history. Constructed for patriot minister William Emerson, the home was witness to the famous battle of April 19, 1775. Later, some of New England’s esteemed minds found inspiration inside its walls. In the 19th century, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne both called The Manse home for a time. Considered one of the country’s most historically significant homes, it remained in the famous Emerson family from 1770 until it was sold to The Trustees of Reservations in 1939. They have been winding the grandfather clock and inviting tourists to the beautiful, nine-acre estate ever since. For decades, the museum home has allowed visitors an up-close and personal view of all the original heirlooms and artifacts left by the family.

Sophia Peabody Hawthorne

New to The Old Manse is a tour entitled “Flipping The Script,” where visitors learn the home’s history, not from the perspective of a few men, but from the stories of the women who lived, toiled, created, birthed, and died there. It is neither a “behind every great man is a great woman,” story nor an “also ran.” These women, often over-shadowed by their famous and accomplished husbands, have important stories of their own to tell. Ranging in time from the first stewards of this sacred, native land at least 10,000 years ago, to our country’s beginning and right through the Great Depression, their lives tell us a good deal about our history, our country, and the role of women in a society that has failed to record the true stories of the “other half.” 

Often referred to as “The Emerson-Ripley home,” it is Phebe Walker Bliss’ bloodline that runs through the family from 1770 to 1939. Visitors will learn about Mary Moody Emerson, born at The Manse in 1774, who was in her mother’s arms overlooking the North Bridge on April 19, 1775. Mary went on to become one of the seminal influencers in her nephew, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s, life. As he stated at his aunt’s memorial, “She danced to the music of her own imagination.”

Visitors will also be introduced to the amazing talents of Sophia Amelia Peabody – painter, writer, and sculptor as well as Sarah Alden Bradford Ripley, one of the most intellectually accomplished people of the time. The stories of these women and others whose identities have been lost to history – the enslaved and indentured servants –  are, at last, revealed.

Flipping the Script tours can be booked online. Space is limited and pre-registration is encouraged. For more information, visit The Trustees of Reservations website at thetrustees.org/theoldmanse or call 978-369-3909.