Matt Beres currently serves as the executive director of the Arlington Historical Society, located at the Jason Russell House & Museum in Arlington, MA. He also serves as the curator of the Wilmington Town Museum and works as a tour guide at the Concord Visitor Center. Previously, Matt has held positions more locally at the Concord Museum and Thoreau Farm.

Revolutionary Valor: The Stories of David Lamson, Samuel Whittemore, and Hannah Hall Adams

March 28, 2025

Matt Beres

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On April 19, 1775, as the British Regulars retreated from Lexington back toward Boston, they passed through the village of Menotomy, facing fierce resistance from the Provincial forces of surrounding towns. Of the approximately 73 British Regulars and 49 Provincials killed on April 19, 1775, 40 Regulars and 25 Provincials lost their lives along the 1.5-mile stretch between the Foot of the Rocks and Cooper’s Tavern, which is now Arlington’s city center. This village witnessed the largest engagements of the day, with many families caught in the turmoil of battle right in their own homes.

These are three of their stories.

The Fall Issue is Here!

It’s Fall - time to venture out and explore the places, people, and stories that make this region so special. Begin by planning a day out with our special insert, “An Apple Picking Road Trip.” Our second special guide invites you to spend a day exploring West Concord. Discover the fascinating lives Henry David Thoreau lived after leaving Walden Pond and encounter a possible Hawthorne family curse, a forgotten Yankee hero, and Ruth Robinson Wheeler. And of course, concerts, exhibitions, festivals, walks, talks, and family activities await you throughout the season. Turn to “Things to See & Do this Fall” and “Arts Around Town” for all the details. Happy fall.

When Thoreau Left Walden Pond: Several More Lives to Live

I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live and could not spare any more time for that one.On September 6, 1847, Henry David Thoreau left his one-room house at Walden Pond and returned to Concord. Living at Walden for over two years had been a life-changing experience for the thirty-year-old Thoreau. Wanting to be a writer, he went to the pond to write, and while there he did exactly that. He produced two drafts of A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. He wrote one lecture about Thomas Carlyle and another about living at the pond called “A History of Myself.” He also penned an essay titled “Ktaadn” about going to Maine in the summer of 1846. And he wrote in his journal almost daily. But what would he do once he was back in Concord?

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19 Things to Do This Fall

Autumn is filled with amazing things to do this year! Here are 19 of them that you won't want to miss.

Matt Beres

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Revolutionary Valor: The Stories of David Lamson, Samuel Whittemore, and Hannah Hall Adams