The final stop on our leaf peeping road trip from Boston, was not about leaf peeping, but Part 2 of our American Revolution education. Having finished Part 1 of the Freedom Trail in Boston, we were keen to follow the action by visiting Minute Man National Historical Park, Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. It also fit nicely in our itinerary on our last day before we flew back to the UK. Here’s what we discovered….
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Where are Lexington and Concord?
Lexington is a smart, suburban town in Massachusetts, located 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. It has close links with nearby universities such as MIT and Harvard, so attracting academics, doctors, and researchers. Apparently, the preppy residents of Lexington purchase more LL Bean clothing than anywhere else in the States.
Lexington was originally known as Cambridge Farms when it was established in 1642, and still has a strong agricultural community today with 5 working farms.
Concord is a small town 6-7 miles northwest of Lexington. Both towns are in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. As well as its colonial history, Concord was the home to several famous authors and intellectuals in the 1850s including Louisa May Alcott (Little Women), Nathanial Hawthorne (The Scarlett Letter) and Henry Thoreau (author of Waldon).
The two towns have a friendly rivalry which stems from their colonial history and claims to be the ‘birthplace of American Liberty‘.
Picking up the American Revolution story….
Having completed the first part of The Freedom Trail in Boston, our last stop on the Freedom Trail had been at the Old North Church where patriot, and man of legend, Paul Revere had lit lanterns in the church steeple to signal that ‘the British were coming’ (or rather the ‘army’ was coming, as technically all the citizens were British at this time).
The Redcoats (or “lobsters”) led by General Thomas Gage, were heading to Concord to find an ammunitions store that they wanted to obtain.
From the Old North Church, Boston, on 18 April 18775, Paul Revere embarked on his famous Midnight Ride towards Concord. He stopped first in Lexington, MA, to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams (Founders of the Sons of Liberty group) of the army’s advancement, before continuing towards Concord, MA, although he never made it that far. He was not the messenger to set off on horseback.
Minute Man National Historical Park
The Minute Man National Historical Park runs between the town Lexington and Concord, MA, and follows the route taken by Paul Revere and the Redcoat soldiers. There’s a monument to Paul Revere at the point on the route where he was captured, and his Midnight Ride ended. Although other riders made it to Concord, Paul Revere seems to get all the glory being the person who led the race to inform people of the advancing troops.
Unfortunately for us, the Minute Man National Historical Park was officially closed due to a federal shutdown (in relation to national park funding disagreements with the government). This meant that the two Visitor Centres, Hartwell Tavern, Paul Revere Capture Site and toilet facilities were all closed. Similarly, there were no tours, events, or re-enactments on offer. Hopefully this dispute is sorted out soon so the National Park can fully reopen.
On foot or bicycle, you could walk through the Minute Man National Historical Park, following the Battle Road Trail under your own steam, just without any of the information points being open.
Lexington, MA
We started our day in Lexington with breakfast at the Tatte Bakery and Café on Massachusetts Avenue. There were lots of tables inside and out, so we could fortify ourselves with treats such as roasted peach, raspberry and pistachio overnight oats and pumpkin spiced lattes in the sunshine (delicious).
The horses of Lexington – the town has a series of horse sculptures around town, each decorated artistically with mosaics and bright colours. The one near Tatte Bakery and Café is holding a lantern in its mouth in reference to Paul Revere’s lanterns – a nod (or neigh) to the Midnight Ride.
Lexington Green
Lexington Green was the site where the first shots were fired on 19 April 1775 which kickstarted the American Revolution. Ralph Waldo Emerson later wrote a poem in 1837 which started with the words the “shot heard round the world”, a phrase referring to the opening gunshot of the Battle of Lexington, and subsequent battle at Concord.
When the 700 Redcoats eventually arrived in Lexington, a group of around 70-80 residents (militia) were ready for them and there was a stand-off, until a shot was fired. No-one knows exactly who fired the first shot, but a short battle ensued which resulted in the deaths of 8 Militia Men. Only 1 British Redcoat was injured. The British soldiers then rode on to Concord to continue their search for the stored weapons.
The Lexington Visitor Centre was offering walking tours of Lexington Green, so we booked on and met our guide in historical costume (him, not us) outside.
Lexington Minutemen Statue
At the corner of Lexington Green is an impressive statue called the Lexington Minutemen Statue. The Minutemen were the militia (patriots) who would be ready ‘at a minute’s notice’ to fight the British Redcoat soldiers. They were led by Captain John Parker, who apparently looked nowhere near as handsome as this statue portrays him!
Other sights on Lexington Green include:
- Flagpole – the flagpole which flies the Stars & Stripes 24/7.
- Site of the Old Belfry – from which the alarm was rung on 19 April 1775 to alert the town to the advancement of the Redcoats.
- Monument to the 8 Minutemen – white monument to those killed on Lexington Green, erected by the inhabitants of Lexington back in 1799.
- Two Witness Houses – two houses (now private residences) which stood on Lexington Green back in 1775 and witnessed the battle, hence their name ‘Witness Houses’. A third house existed but is now a vacant patch of land.
- Call to Arms engraving – a stone with an engraved call to arms quote from Captain John Parker (“Stand Your Ground”).
- The Buckman Tavern – where the Minutemen waited for the arrival of the Redcoats.
- Prince Eastabrook plaque – for the first black soldier to fight in the American Revolution. Prince Eastabrook was a slave who fought and died as a Minute Man.
The tour also took us to the Old Burying Ground where there is a joint memorial stone to the 8 Minutemen who perished on Lexington Green (with a crack in it as someone reversed their car over it). Many of the graves had both Head and Foot stones – it was considered bad luck to walk over the graves between a head stone and footer.
Concord, MA
Old North Bridge, Concord, MA
The Old North Bridge site just outside the town of Concord, and is the next piece on the American Revolution timeline. Whilst this is technically within the Minute Man National Historical Park, it can be accessed on foot from the free parking area near the bridge.
Of the militia riders who set out from Boston, it was Samuel Prescott (not Paul Revere or William Dawes) who made it all the way to Concord to warn of the Redcoats imminent arrival. This time there was a much bigger group of around 400 militia assembled to face the Redcoat soldiers at Old North Bridge. Around 90 Redcoats arrived at the bridge, leaving the rest of the group search for ammunitions in Concord itself.
The militia had a better vantage point from the hill overlooking the Old North Bridge, which helped them defeat the Redcoats at the bridge, along with the fact that the Redcoats were tired after their journey and earlier battle at Lexington Green.
The defeated Redcoats returned to Concord, where they joined with the others. No ammunitions could be found, so they had no choice but to retreat to Boston. The Redcoats effectively became trapped in the city and faced a growing army of locals. Eventually the British soldiers evacuated in March 1776, almost a full year after the first shot was fired on Lexington Green.
The Old North Bridge and fields surrounding the river were very peaceful and full of autumnal colours when we visited. It was rather serene and difficult to imagine the carnage that must have occurred.
Louise May Alcott’s Orchard House
Just before you enter the town of Concord from Lexington, you pass Orchard House, where author Louisa May Alcott lived with her family from 1857 and wrote Little Women. She based the four sisters in the book on her own family and their circumstances, with tweaks so it wasn’t too autobiographical.
You can tour Orchard House and the School of Philosophy built by her father who was a Transcendentalist and encouraged education, even for women at the time. He supported Louisa in her writing, and she eventually earned enough money to support him, and the rest of her family. This was despite early attempts to get her book published being turned down by a male publisher who told her to “stick to teaching”.
The tour starts with a video about Louisa and her writing, shown in the School of Philosophy, before moving across to the Cottage. No photography is allowed in the Cottage which is a shame as you see the desk where Louisa sat and penned her novels, which her father had made her, and the beautiful flower and owl paintings her sister May had painted for Louisa when she was recovering from Cholera after her stint in the war as a nurse.
The tour took over an hour but was extremely interesting and there’s a pretty garden outside with flowers representing the sister’s different personalities.
The Alcott’s home, Hillside / Wayside
Orchard House was not the first house the Alcotts had called home in Concord, MA. They had previously lived in a house called Hillside between 1845 and 1852, before selling it to author Nathaniel Hawthorne – he renamed the house Wayside.
Wayside still stands and can be visited in the Minute Man National Historical Park (when it is fully open). As well as being the ‘house of authors’, Wayside is also interesting because it is on the National Underground Railroad Network To Freedom list. During the Alcott family’s time at Wayside, they are known to have helped at least one freedom seeker from the south to escape via the Underground Railway.
The town of Concord, MA
If you want to grab some food in Concord then head to the Food Market, which does brisk business in the cafe area and also for take away options. Expect long waits though as it’s very popular.
Then, if you have more time to spend in Concord, you can visit the Concord Museum or head out of town for 5 minutes to visit Waldon Pond where author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau lived for 2 years in the woods, writing about his experience.
Near to Waldon Pond is the deCordova Sculpture Park near Lincoln, MA. Time to stretch your legs in 30 acres of park land filled with art and sculptures.
TIP – there are at least four towns in the US called Concord, so if you’re using Google or Apple Maps, make sure you pick the Massachusetts version!
Final thoughts…
Originally, we didn’t have Lexington and Concord on our New England road trip itinerary but visiting on our last day and learning about the next part of the American Revolution, brought our holiday full circle – we started with a blast of American Revolution history and ended with a blast of American Revolution history, which helped everything fit into place.
It would have been great if the Minute Man National Historical Park had been open, however, having done the tour at Lexington Green gave us a good baseline of information for the days sightseeing, so all was not lost.
It goes without saying that you need to be interested in history for this type of sightseeing, but the more I learnt about it, the more interested I became, so it was self-feeding. Hopefully I will remember more of this period of history, now I have visual memories of the places where it all happened…
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