Items Tagged with 'the robbins house'

For the last fifteen years, The Robbins House has proudly told the stories of Black Concord through the lens of the Robbins and Garrison families. Originally located on an isolated farm overlooking the Great Meadows along the Concord River, the house is one of the only known historic sites commemorating the legacy of a previously enslaved Revolutionary War veteran named Caesar Robbins. 

The Robbins House was originally located on an isolated farm overlooking the Great Meadows along the Concord River. The first two families who lived there were descendants of Caesar Robbins, a Revolutionary Patriot of color, and the house is one of the only known historic sites commemorating the legacy of a previously enslaved Revolutionary War veteran. In 1823, Caesar’s son Peter Robbins purchased the new two-room house and over 13 acres for $260. 

For the past decade, The Robbins House has committed to telling the story of Concord’s African American history and culture through the narratives of the inhabitants of the house and their participation in Concord’s rich history of independence, civil rights, and activism. Enmeshed throughout this narrative is the concept of “the long Civil Rights movement,” a conceptual framework that recognizes that the struggle for black and indigenous civil rights began the moment the first African was enslaved on US soil and continues today; it spans both time and place, enslaved and free, White and Black. 

Concord is a town steeped in history. From the American Revolution that began here in 1775, to the beginnings of transcendentalism in the 1830’s. From ground-breaking social justice activists who opposed slavery and supported women’s rights, to authors whose works are pillars of the American literary canon. While we could happily spend a lifetime studying the myriad aspects of Concord’s history and its vibrant contemporary society, here are just a few of our favorite places to visit.