Discover Concord

Discover what's happening this summer!

What does a life of freedom and fortune mean to you? And what would you do to attain it? 

To find that life, two men from different backgrounds joined the British Army, one as a foot soldier, the other as a commissioned officer. While their upbringings and choices differed, their lives crossed one fiery day in Concord, Massachusetts.

Many people visiting Concord Center for its historical, cultural, and shopping attractions may not be aware of its little sister on the other side of Route 2, West Concord. Fairly recently, buildings on this side of town were falling into disrepair and there was little to tempt a curious traveler. When I encouraged an old friend of my mother’s to join us at a music festival, she remarked, “In West Concord? In my day, we only ventured over there on Sunday afternoons, for charitable work.”

Meet Kristin Canty - entrepreneur, owner of three restaurants and a farm, innovator, busy mother of four, and ardent advocate for reconnecting people to the earth and animals that are the building blocks of our food.

In a quest to help her son who was plagued by severe allergies since birth, Kristin learned about the principles of ancestral health - based on pasturing farm animals, raising crops without pesticides, and placing an emphasis on the consumption of raw and fermented foods. 

Downtown Concord is always a popular destination on summer afternoons, and perhaps nowhere is this more visible than on the porch at the Colonial Inn in Monument Square. “It’s incredible,” says Andy Seidel, the Inn’s General Manager. “Once we put the tables out in the spring and we get those first few nice days, we basically see it full from there on until the end of fall.”  

Concord has a reputation for being the epicenter of both the American and literary revolutions as well as home to classic authors, philosophers, and artists. But this small town of barely 17,000 residents boasts another wonder - Great Meadows, a world-renowned refuge dedicated to the preservation of native plants, insects, fish, birds, and animals.

A simple green desk made in Concord, Massachusetts, in about 1838 by a cabinet-maker who charged perhaps one dollar for it, had a career in America’s intellectual history entirely out of proportion to its humble origin, because it was Henry Thoreau’s desk. Since it entered the Concord Museum collection, the desk has become a cornerstone of the Museum and a treasured American icon. 

Test your knowledge of Concord history!

Ever since its opening in September 2018, Concord Market has been a shopping destination for those in search of high-quality, carefully sourced food. 

More than 3,000 species of plants, animals, fungi, lichen, and moss visit or reside in the Concord area, with tremendous species diversity in Walden Woods, Minute Man National Historical Park, Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Estabrook Woods, Lincoln, Southern Carlisle, and other natural areas. What are these species? Find out by joining the Great Walden BioBlitz on Saturday, July 6, 2019 and follow the project on the app, iNaturalist.  

Among the luminaries buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, few made greater sacrifices for their nation than did Asa, John, and Samuel Melvin.  Their story echoes down the years and reflects the courage, commitment and integrity of one of Concord’s oldest families.