Items Tagged with 'wright tavern'

In colonial America, taverns were commonplace throughout Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area. But these early American taprooms were much more than just watering holes. They served an important purpose in the community as a place for townsfolk to gather and plan. This proved especially important in the years leading up to the Revolution. Taverns became Patriot refuges, where decisions were made about separation from the Crown and what a more democratic form of government would look like. As British-colonial relations finally boiled over, taverns became meeting spots for Patriot militias to assemble and prepare for battle. 

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, built by Captain Ephraim Jones in 1747, was ideally located between the Meeting House (now the First Parish in Concord) and the training grounds for the militia.

As hostilities grew between Massachusetts and the English government in the 1770s, popular opinion was divided. Concord’s “Patriot preacher,” Rev. William Emerson, spoke out for liberty and served as chaplain for Concord’s minutemen. Meanwhile, his brother-in-law, lawyer Daniel Bliss, remained loyal to the King, and would be forced to flee for his life to Canada when war erupted in 1775.

As the 250th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord approaches, a witness house sits at the top of Concord’s Main Street, full of stories of rebels and traitors whose actions shaped the America we know today. It is the Wright Tavern, a red wood building with black shutters; one of the last standing colonial-era taverns from that fateful day of April 19, 1775. 

The tale of this tavern begins with a dangerous hole in the ground.

When did the American Revolution begin? At the North Bridge on April 19, 1775, with “the shot heard round the world”? In Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, with the Declaration of Independence? John Adams thought the Revolution was over by the time the first guns were fired. It “was effected in the minds and hearts of the people.”

Arguably, that crucial turning-point occurred in Concord two hundred fifty years ago, when on October 11, 1774, delegates from all over Massachusetts, roughly 243 representatives from close to 200 towns, including the District of Maine, gathered in the Congregational meetinghouse (now First Parish) to deal with “the dangerous and alarming situation of public affairs” touched off by Britain’s harsh reaction to the Boston Tea Party.

One of the most important decisions we can make is where to spend our time – either on a visit, or when thinking about where to put down roots and build a family and community. One of the aspects of Concord that attracts so many people from around the world to come here – to spend time, or to stay – is the unique essence of ‘place.’

In Concord’s center, there stands an iconic red building. Known as the Wright Tavern, the building is 275 years old and has been closed to the public for more than 30 years (except for a brief time when operated by Concord Museum). That is about to change.