The Old Manse
Orchard House
The Wayside
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The Town | The Authors | The Attractions | Visit Concord
The Town of Concord
Concord Authors and their homes
- Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888) was born in Connecticut. He married Abba May in 1830. They had four daughters: Anna Bronson (1831-1893), Louisa May (1832-1888), Elizabeth Sewall (1835-1858) and Abigail May (1840-1879). The Alcotts first moved to Concord in 1840, but their stay was short-lived. In 1843, they attempted to set up a communal experiment at Fruitlands in Harvard, Mass. By 1845, they were back in Concord, living in the home they called the Hillside, better known today as the Wayside. After several years in Boston, the Alcotts finally returned to Concord for good and moved into the Orchard House in 1858. Here Bronson conducted his School of Philosophy sessions, from 1879 to 1887: at first in the Alcott living room, and then in a wooden structure behind the main house. Both can be visited today.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was born in Boston, but he had deep roots in Concord. His grandfather William Emerson built The Old Manse in 1770. Waldo lived there in 1834-1835, and he wrote the essay "Nature" in its study. In 1835, he married Lydia Jackson and moved into a home on the Cambridge Turnpike, now located across the street from the Concord Museum.. The Emerson house is still owned by his descendants, but is open to visitors during the summer months.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was born in Salem. After marrying Sophia Peabody in 1842, he moved his new bride into rented space at The Old Manse. They lived there for three years, and Nathaniel wrote the story collection Mosses from an Old Manse in the same study that Emerson wrote "Nature" in. After working and living in England in the 1850s, the Hawthornes returned to their home at The Wayside in Concord. Nathaniel had the "sky chamber" built above the second floor so that he could use it as an ethereal writer's garret.
- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was the only one of the Transcendentalists who was born in Concord. Thoreau's birth house is located on Virginia Road and is currently being restored. The Thoreau family lived in 12 different homes during Henry's lifetime. Most of them were in Concord and can still be seen from the road today, as they are almost all privately owned. The list includes the Colonial Inn, which was originally three separate structures in Henry's day. The Thoreau family lived in the house to the right of the main entrance of the present-day hotel. That was the home that Henry left to walk to classes at Harvard.
- Harriet Stone Lothrop (1844-1924) was born in New Haven, Conn. She is best known for writing a series of books for children, beginning with The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew. She used the pen name Margaret Sidney. In 1881, Harriet married her publisher Daniel Lothrop, and shortly afterward the two bought a house they adored, The Wayside. It is through Harriet's efforts at preservation that we can still tour the house and see both her influence and Nathaniel Hawthorne's.
Each one of these Concord authors is buried on Author's Ridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
Additional Concord Attractions
Concord Art Association, 37 Lexington Road, Concord, Mass.
http://www.concordart.org
Founded by American impressionist painter Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts in 1917, the Concord Art Association moved to the circa 1750 John Ball House purchased by Miss Roberts in 1922. There, Daniel Chester French, renowned for the Minuteman statue at the old North Bridge in Concord and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was elected the first president and a skylighted gallery was installed on the second floor of the colonial house. Under the leadership of these two Concord artists the association flourished in the 1920s with paintings and sculpture exhibited by Monet, Hassam, Henri, Cassatt, Sargent, Beaux, Benson, Dewing, Hoffman, Grafly, Davies, Bellows, Fechin and many others. The Association continues to encourage, promote and advance the visual arts.
Concord
Museum, 200 Lexington Road, Concord, Mass.
http://www.concordmuseum.org/
Founded in 1886,
the museum serves as a center of learning and cultural enjoyment. Exhibits chronicle the history of the town and honor its esteemed residents. It houses the world's largest collection of Thoreau possessions, including furnishings from his cabin at Walden Pond. Visitors can also see the contents of Ralph Waldo Emerson's study.
Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge, 73 Weir Hill Road, Sudbury, Mass.
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatmeadows/
More than 3600 acres of wetland stretch 12 miles along the Concord and Sudbury Rivers.
The diversity of plant and animal life visible from refuge trails provides visitors with excellent opportunities for wildlife viewing and nature study.
Minute Man
National Historic Park, 174 Liberty Street, Concord, Mass.
http://www.nps.gov/mima/
The opening battle of the Revolution is brought to life as visitors explore the battlefields and witness the American revolutionary spirit through the writings of the Concord authors. Park lands extend from Concord through Lexington and include trails, visitor centers, and historic structures.
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Bedford Street, Concord, Mass.
http://www.concordma.gov/Pages/ConcordMA_Cemetery/sleepy
Concord's largest cemetery can be found one block east of Monument Square, on Bedford Street. It has an estimated 10,000 gravesites, many of local, national, and international interest. It was one of the first cemeteries in the United States to be designed to have a sylvan character and has also been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Two highly visited areas are Authors Ridge, a measure of Concord’s dominance of 19th century American literature, and the Melvin Memorial. If coming on foot, enter at the first gate, and walk parallel to Bedford Street. If coming by car, use the second gate; there are parking spaces next to Authors Ridge.
Walden
Pond State Reservation, 915 Walden Street, Concord, Mass.
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/walden/
Designated a National Historic Landmark and considered to be the birthplace of the conservation movement, Walden Pond was the site of Henry David Thoreau's experiment in natural living in the 1840s. See where he lived and discover what he lived for.
Visit Concord
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