In Concord’s center, there is an iconic red building. Having stood for almost 300 years, the Wright Tavern is ready to receive visitors again. Having been closed to the public for more than 30 years, it is now reopening to welcome visitors and rekindle the spirit of taverns as unique places of civic engagement.

In 1747, the township of Concord sold a half-acre of land to Captain Ephraim Jones. The militia’s training grounds were eroding into the nearby Mill Brook, and Jones was tasked to fix that problem as a requirement of the purchase. He was successful and built a large home that also became a tavern. 

During the colonial period, taverns served as important community centers where people could learn current events, hear from travelers, and discuss politics and the latest gossip. The Wright Tavern was ideally located between the Meeting House (now the First Parish in Concord), the town center, and the training grounds for the militia. When the militia was training and churchgoers were attending six-hour Sunday services, the Tavern was a wonderful place for refreshments and relaxation. Since water was often not healthy, beer, ale, rum, cider, and other refreshments were both pleasing and considered to have favorable medicinal properties.

Courtesy of The Wright Tavern Legacy Trust

Thomas Munroe purchased the Tavern from Jones in 1751 and later sold it to Daniel Taylor in 1766. Amos Wright became its proprietor likely in March 1774. He never owned the building and was considered a quiet, gentle, and retiring man. The Tavern was successful, and, in a few years, events would forever associate Wright’s name with this special place.  

In the 1700s, many citizens of the Massachusetts Bay Colony protested the increasingly stringent controls of the British Crown and Parliament. Protests erupted against the Intolerable Acts, including the Boston Tea Party, and heightened tensions. On May 20, 1774, the British Parliament annulled the Massachusetts Charter of 1691, the governing doctrine of the colony, and enacted the Massachusetts Government Act. This Act severely reduced citizens’ participation and the authority of local officials. In response, the Massachusetts General Assembly met in Salem on October 5 and locked the doors to the meeting house. They had been ordered by Major General Thomas Gage, the appointed Governor and military commander, to disband and go home. Instead, the Legislature decided to create itself into a Provincial Congress. They soon left and reconvened in Concord on October 11 to begin their work.   

The Assembly became Massachusetts’ First Provincial Congress to “call together to maintain the rights of the people.” They met in the Meeting House (First Parish), but the in-depth discussions and planning occurred in the Wright Tavern. Important decisions were deliberated in the Tavern and then taken to the Congressional sessions for approval.  

The most important of these decisions was to withdraw Massachusetts from British control and establish an independent representative government. Massachusetts was the first colony to do so. John Hancock was elected president and Benjamin Lincoln as secretary. They became the de facto government for Massachusetts by taking control of the colony outside of Boston, collecting taxes and fees meant for the Crown, and establishing a formal militia. They developed governing committees, yet no one knew where this would lead. These were clearly unlawful and treasonous acts conspired in the Wright Tavern. A strong sense of patriotism grew inside these walls. 

Six months later, Concord would witness another significant historical event. In the early hours of April 19, 1775, on his way home from visiting his girlfriend in Lexington, Dr. Samuel Prescott met up with Paul Revere and William Dawes. As they rode toward Concord, a patrol of British Regulars ambushed them. They captured Revere, but Prescott and Dawes escaped. Because he knew the territory well, Prescott made it to Concord to alert the colonists the Redcoats were coming.

As the Town House bell rang around 3:00 that morning, the militia rose, grabbed their muskets and supplies, and headed to the Wright Tavern, the rendezvous site. The colonial militia leaders met in the Tavern to develop plans for addressing this imminent threat. As the Redcoats approached Meriam’s Corner, the militia leaders moved into the Concord hills. 

A close-up from Amos Doolittle’s engraving shows British regulars gathering in front of the Wright Tavern in 1775. 

| Public domain

Over 700 British Regulars entered Concord at about 7:30. They encountered little resistance. Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith settled into a new command center at the Wright Tavern, and Major John Pitcairn went to the Jones Tavern. They sent troops to search the town, looking for rebel supplies. Because all the able-bodied men were in the hills, the town was protected by the women of the community. As over 400 Redcoats searched the town for rebel supplies, the women deceived and diverted the troops from finding weapons and supplies. The British mission failed to find any meaningful supplies except for two cannons buried near the jailhouse. Weapons remained hidden under beds, in locked closets, or buried in the fields. 

As the British Regulars retreated to Boston and renewed gunfire was heard in the distance, the townspeople met at the Wright Tavern. This was a victorious day, but one also filled with concerns about the future. Amos Wright must have been pleased by the celebrations occurring at the Tavern. Based on the events of that day, the Tavern would forever be known as the Wright Tavern.  

Today’s Wright Tavern is being transformed into a gathering place, a center for civic engagement, and a place for unique refreshments. After receiving significant grants from the Town of Concord and the National Parks Service, the Tavern has become stable, secure, and well-preserved. Generous individual gifts have funded efforts to bring the look and feel to its original character. Now, the building welcomes tourists to experience what it must have felt like on the morning of April 19. Each room is dedicated to some aspect of its history and offers stories and authentic décor that create a unique experience. The building is available for hosting meetings, events, celebrations, entertainment, education, and reenactments. The Refreshment Center will offer non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages and light snacks to visitors. 

The Wright Tavern holds a unique place in the history of Concord, of Massachusetts, and our nation. This building reminds us how a small group of people, whose time had come, put independent representative government into practice. They stood on the battlefield and inside their homes to protect individual rights. Now, it is our time to create the next chapter and new experiences within these walls. For more information, contact the Wright Tavern Legacy Trust at info@wrighttavern.org or visit WrightTavern.org.