Discover Concord

Discover what's happening this fall!

In the summer of 1842, Concord was like any other New England town. Sitting 18 miles west of Boston, the town of 2,000 souls was still very rural. The railroad wouldn’t come through for another two years, and there was no telegraph yet; only the daily stagecoach and the post office connected Concord to the rest of the world.  

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. 

It remains a moral, political, and economic necessity to understand America’s underground railroad’s origin and legacy.¹ The Wayside in Concord, Massachusetts provides us with an inside view into this history. The Wayside is part of the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program. The NPS program “commemorates and preserves the historical significance of the Underground Railroad which sought to address the injustices of slavery and make freedom a reality in the United States and is a crucial element in the evolution of our national civil rights movement. Inhabitants of The Wayside house have witnessed a dramatic spectrum of American history including the ongoing struggle for freedom and equality.”²

Colonial rebels in Concord did not wait until April 1775 to reject British rule. They did so in October of 1774, a full six months earlier—and a small tax on tea was the least of their complaints.

Earlier that year, as punishment for the Boston Tea Party, Parliament had passed the so-called Coercive Acts. Today, closing the Port of Boston gets all the press, but two different measures actually tipped the scales and led to revolution. The Massachusetts Government Act revoked the 1691 Provincial Charter, effectively disenfranchising the citizenry: no more town meetings, no more say in choosing local and provincial officials. The Administration of Justice Act allowed the Crown to transport accused citizens to Great Britain for trial. Before this, the colonial population was divided between so-called “Whigs” or “patriots,” who protested various acts of Parliament, and so-called “Tories” or “government men,” those more sympathetic to British law. But after these measures, only a handful of diehards dared argue that disenfranchisement was the way forward. Their constitution nullified and their right to a fair trial abrogated, people throughout Massachusetts, more united than ever before and possibly ever since, rose up as a body to say: “No way!”

In the fall of 1774, only months from the confrontation at the North Bridge, the Town of Concord was a thriving farming community and a regional trading hub accessible to Boston via two roads and with a population of nearly 1,500 inhabitants. The Town had grown gradually since its incorporation in 1635. Townspeople actively engaged in Town government and established businesses, schools, and churches to support the needs of its growing population. The inhabitants regularly squabbled over factional conflicts, but the community was harmonious in many respects. 

Museums do not often get to reinvent themselves, but the Concord Museum seized this once-in-a-generation opportunity after renovating their main building and constructing a new Education Center in 2018. Years in the making, the curatorial team took advantage of over a dozen empty galleries and a world-class collection and embarked on a major project that would transform the Concord Museum and visitor experience. This August, that exciting and challenging process concluded with the opening of ten new permanent galleries. 

Concord Center’s beautiful homes are a pageant of architectural history, and among the Federal-era, Colonial-era, and Victorian homes stands this delightful Stick Style home. A rare style in Concord, the home was built in the 1860s for William Munroe Jr.’s gardener. The Stick Style is notable for its functional-appearing but decorative woodwork, such as the diagonal trusses that span the roof’s gable ends.¹

One of the lovely things about living in Concord is the view. From Monument Street overlooking fields of grass to views of Warner’s Pond in West Concord to the dappled light of the forests on ORNAC, the viewer only needs to stand still and look around to notice. Many builders and architects of the 1940s-1960s (the mid-century modern era) understood this and sited homes to take in the surroundings. I feel privileged to be working with a family who bought one of these beautiful houses in the northwest section of town.

It was April 1900, and the First Parish in Concord was putting the finishing touches on a splendid renovation of its historic meetinghouse on Lexington Road. No expense had been spared, for in a few days the parish would celebrate Easter Sunday, and less than a week later, the town would gather in its pews to honor the 125th anniversary of the minutemen’s victory at the North Bridge.

The debut of a new book by Concordian Gregory Maguire is always cause for celebration in our town. His best-selling books, including Wicked, A Wild Winter Swan, Hiddensee, and others are loved by readers around the world. 

This October, Gregory will launch a new spin-off sequel series, Another Day. Expanding on the characters we’ve come to love from his initial series, The Wicked Years (which included Wicked), the first in this series is The Brides of Maracoor, featuring Elphaba’s granddaughter and a few familiar faces from Oz—all in a fantastically new setting filled with a new and compelling cast of characters.

One autumn day in Monument Square, a visitor asked me about Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. “Is that the one in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow?” he wanted to know.

“No, that one is in New York,” I smiled. (I hear that question a lot.) “There’s no headless horseman here.”

“Then who’s that?” he asked, pointing over my shoulder. I spun around to see a figure all in black, strumming a black guitar as he cruised through the roundabout on his bicycle. But the weirdest part was, his head was conspicuously absent.

Concord’s cycling minstrel goes by the name of Slam Dunkle, and he’s irresistibly drawn to novel ideas and opportunities. A couple of years ago, he spotted a broken guitar in a trash barrel, put it back together, and painted it black. Then he painted his beach cruiser bicycle black to match. He found a bargain-priced headless horseman outfit in a costume shop, and voilà, the headless horseman materialized.

Although the setting of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women is Orchard House, The Wayside is where much of the action takes place. The Alcotts owned the property from 1845-1852, naming it Hillside. Because the house has been renovated many times since 1852, it is difficult to imagine how it appeared during the time of the Alcotts. Fortunately, because of the work of Margaret Lothrop and Minute Man National Historical Park, writings describe Hillside in detail, both inside and out. Another vital document by ten-year-old Elizabeth Sewall Alcott provides an eyewitness account of daily life at the home. Her record of the three years she lived there is her only surviving journal and provides another look at how the “little women” lived.

In 1853, American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne crossed paths with the infamous clipper transport ship The Yorkshire. While the man and the ship led separate lives, each was entwined with the sea and their fates were destined to meet again years later in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s final hometown of Concord, Massachusetts. This is that story.

Autumn is a special time in New England. For my family, September means an excursion to a local orchard for apple picking, apple cider, and apple donuts. Then in October, it is off to the farm for pumpkin picking.

For anyone who is new to New England, or somehow has never had a cider donut, let me tell you these are a delicious fall treat! The best donuts are fresh from the fryer, covered in cinnamon sugar. They have a delicate crust and a warm, bready interior that is redolent of apple cider and cinnamon. When you bite into one of these treats, it is heavenly. Yum!  

While the term “park ranger” might bring to mind the brown-hatted, uniformed men and women that we see so often, managing a national park requires a diverse staff of dedicated employees to conduct the many facets of park operations including visitor safety, building preservation and maintenance, landscape restoration, public education, and administrative duties. They may not all wear the brown hat every day, but they are all part of the park ranger system. Here is a snapshot of just a few of the rangers who work at MMNHP.

Discover the art of Jaeok Lee whose three-dimensional practice is deeply influenced by the Korean folk art, traditions, and rituals that she grew up surrounded by. Kaffee Kang's work is firmly rooted in concepts of identity, such as gender roles, minority status, the immigrant mentality, the political divide, aging, and body image.

Test your knowledge with Concord Trivia!

This fall brings an array of arts-related events to the Concord area.

The expression “dead men tell no tales” may not quite ring true. The men, women, and even small children buried in Concord’s three burying grounds have much to teach us about the town’s early colonial history, its revolutionary chapter, and even our literary legacy. Take a stroll, enjoy the stunning fall foliage, and take a trip back in time to learn more about Concord’s British and American history.

The beautiful fall colors of Concord are a sight to behold! Many of you have your own favorite spots, but perhaps I can point  out a couple you have not visited or just need a reminder to go back to again. Be sure to bring a camera or your cell phone.