Michael Ruderman lives in Arlington and is an author and historian. He is a frequent presenter on topics of local history to community groups and historical societies. His love of history began in grade school, when he discovered many of his Duxbury classmates were descendants of Pilgrims.

The Battle of Menotomy

March 28, 2025

Michael Ruderman

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In 1775, Menotomy was a village of about 400 farmers, millers, tavern keepers, and their families. Located in today’s Town of Arlington, Menotomy stretched along Massachusetts Avenue from “the foot of the rocks” near Lexington to Alewife Brook. On April 19, 1775, the Battle of Menotomy would be the largest, longest, and bloodiest engagement of the day.

The Battle of Menotomy

June 15, 2023

Michael Ruderman

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Menotomy was a village of about 400 farmers, millers, tavern keepers, and their families in 1775. The Battle of Menotomy was one of the bloodiest of the American Revolution.

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.

Michael Ruderman

ARTICLES

The Battle of Menotomy

The Battle of Menotomy