Items Tagged with 'henry david thoreau'

More than 160 years after his death, Henry David Thoreau remains one of Concord’s most influential voices. His writings on nature, conscience, simplicity, and social responsibility continue to inspire readers around the world. Helping to preserve and share that legacy is the Thoreau Alliance, an organization dedicated to ensuring that Thoreau’s ideas remain accessible, relevant, and alive for future generations.

The Alliance brings together two organizations with deep roots in Thoreau’s story: Thoreau Farm, his birthplace in Concord, and the Thoreau Society, the oldest and largest organization dedicated to the study of a single American author. Together, they serve as a hub for scholarship, education, public programming, and community engagement centered on one of America’s most influential thinkers.

Few American writers are as closely connected to a place as Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862). The landscapes of Concord and the surrounding towns—today part of Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area—shaped his ideas, inspired his writing, and helped define a philosophy that continues to influence readers around the world. 

This itinerary follows Thoreau’s journey through the places that mattered most to him. From his birthplace at Thoreau Farm to his final resting place in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, these homes, buildings, fields, forests, and waterways reveal the people and topography that helped form one of America’s most influential thinkers.

This year marks the 85th Annual Gathering of the Thoreau Society—the oldest and largest community devoted to an American author. Founded in 1941 by Walter Harding, the Society began with a simple invitation to a “Thoreau Birthday Mecca”:  meet at Walden Pond, share lunch at Concord’s Colonial Inn, and talk about forming a group devoted to Henry David Thoreau. 

HENRY DAVID THOREAU, a new, three-part, three-hour film examines the life and work of Concord’s 19th-century writer in the context of antebellum New England and the larger United States, as well as through the universal themes he focused on in his writings: an individual’s relationship to the state, how to live an authentic life, our connection to nature, and the impact of race on American life. Ultimately, HENRY DAVID THOREAU presents a portrait of a man both rooted in his time and speaking far beyond it. By placing his life and writings within the great moral struggles of the 19th century, the film underscores why Thoreau endures as a guide to the tensions and possibilities of American democracy—offering wisdom and provocation as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary. 

Concord-born Henry David Thoreau is among the town’s most quoted writers. One of his best-known sentiments is telling the reader that you should “endeavor to live the life that [you have] imagined.” But not even he could imagine where part of his life’s work would end up one day.

In 1990, two large commercial development projects threatened the historical and ecological integrity of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Woods, an area of 2,680 acres surrounding Walden Pond. Under the leadership of recording artist Don Henley, the nonprofit Walden Woods Project was founded. The organization launched a successful national advocacy and fundraising campaign to preserve the endangered sites.  

Transcendental author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau knew Concord’s trails intimately. He walked daily “to exercise both body and spirit” and observe nature. He felt human connection to wild places was rapidly deteriorating. “Each town should have a park” he argued, “where a stick should never be cut for fuel, a common possession forever, for instruction and recreation.”

A half-mile section of Battle Road Trail from Meriam’s Corner toward Thoreau’s birthplace offers a chance to consider the landscape, now protected as part of Minute Man National Historical Park, and our own view of the world. Thoreau’s words can be our guide. 

The First Online Thoreau Conference, if briefly presented, could be described as a collaborative effort between students, scholars, and educators based in Brazil, who are dedicated to the study and outreach of Henry David Thoreau’s work. However, such a description wouldn’t do much justice to the interconnectedness of readers of Thoreau across the globe.

At the 2022 Thoreau Gathering, Concord was honored with a visit from the legendary Dr. Jane Goodall. She was awarded the Thoreau Prize for Literary Excellence in Nature Writing in recognition of her lifetime dedication to the study, understanding, and protection of non-human animals, nature, and our planet. Discover Concord spoke with her about her work, her thoughts on climate change, and her surprising message of hope for the future.

Although Concord’s Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), naturalist and transcendentalist, is now a widely read American author, he did not support himself through his writing. In the 1840s, Thoreau became proficient as a land and property surveyor, an occupation that had no licensing requirements at the time and allowed him to spend much time “sauntering” outdoors.