Concord History

On Saturday May 10 from  11am to 3pm your $10 discounted admission to the Wright Tavern Museum comes with the opportunity to play a historical miniatures game of the British retreat from Concord on April 19, 1775. We will be using Muskets and Tomahawks rules which enable players to command British Regulars or minutemen. Children 8 and up accompanied by an adult are encouraged to participate.  Prizes will be awarded for good play. Can you do better than history?

Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House, famously known as "The Home of Little Women," will host a free, family-friendly outdoor event, rain or shine, in honor of the American Revolution's 250th during the afternoon of April 19th.  The original structure of Orchard House – a traditional two-over-two Colonial home – was constructed circa 1650, and then witnessed the Redcoat Line of March to the North Bridge on the 19th April 1775!  Revel in the resilience of this dear old house, and marvel at the courage of its habitants throughout three centuries as you meet Sagamore Strong Bear Medicine, a direct descendant of Nashobah Praying Indians sheltered here in 1675. 

Meet at the Concord Town House to celebrate an auspicious moment in our history as March 29th marks exactly 145 years to the day that Louisa May Alcott -- famed authoress of Little Women and hundreds of other literary works -- became the first woman of Concord to cast a vote in a Town election! Join in the excitement within the very room in the Town House where voting took place, support the brave band of 19 other women who also voted for the School Committee on that triumphant day, and revel in the newfound empowerment these women achieved by actively participating in democracy as never before.

Join renowned author and historian Robert A. Gross for an engaging presentation, “The Minutemen and Their World Revisited.” Nearly 50 years after the publication of his groundbreaking work, Prof.Gross revisits his original interpretation. Does it still hold true? What new discoveries and perspectives have emerged in the past half-century to reshape our understanding?

Join The Friends of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery for a very special presentation by Concord historian Beth van Duzer.  "Rediscovering Our Revolutionary War Veterans" will introduce you to several brave Patriots whose names Beth has recently discovered in her research and who are interred at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Saturday, March 15 (Reservation deadline: March 7)

$ 30.00 includes buffet breakfast. Advance Reservations are needed by Friday, March 7th, 2025. Due to limited seating at the Inn, we cannot host walk-ins that morning.

Are you hosting family and friends for the 250th? Would you like to impress them with what you know about Concord's history? If you want to update the stories you know and learn new ones, you will want to attend this talk. Public historian Beth van Duzer has updated and expanded some well-known stories using primary sources, such as John Jack's, enslaved to a Concord shoemaker Benjamin Barron, able to purchase his freedom, and buried in Concord's Old Hill Burial Ground.

If you’ve ever dreamed of becoming a tour guide in Concord or simply want to delve deeper into the story of our remarkable town, the Concord Town History & Guide Training is perfect for you. Discover not just what happened here in 1775, but why it happened. Feb 24 - Apr 7

Join the Wright Tavern Legacy Trust and Concord250 as they commemorate the Provincial Congress that met in Concord 250 years ago. Enjoy a program of lectures and conversations about popular self-government in Massachusetts. Speakers will include noted scholars, legislators, and others. October 11  WrightTavern.org/programs

Visit Nummeehquantamūmun as nia holley, Nipmuc, reintroduces corn in the Museum’s interior courtyard as a process to reawaken the mortar and return corn to this place. This mortar is one of many mortars held by the Concord Museum that have been used for a variety of purposes by Indigenous communities, including processing food, medicines, and pigments. June 3–September 30. ConcordMuseum.org

Visit Concord Museum’s newest exhibition, “Portrait Mode,” for an up-close look at portraits from the Museum’s collection. Opens September 13. ConcordMuseum.org