Concord is a town northwest of Boston, Massachusetts. It’s known for the American Revolutionary War sites in Minute Man National Historical Park. A key battle took place at the North Bridge and is commemorated by Daniel Chester French’s Minute Man statue. In the 1800s, Transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson drafted his essay “Nature” at the Old Manse. He and writer Henry David Thoreau also frequented Walden Pond.
Walden Pond State Reservation offers swimming, canoeing and wooded trails. Concord’s literary landmarks include The Wayside, a colonial house that was home, sequentially, to writers Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Margaret Sidney. Alcott later lived in adjacent Orchard House, which inspired the setting of her book “Little Women” and retains many family furnishings. The graves of Hawthorne, Alcott, Emerson and Thoreau are at Authors Ridge, in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Literary and Revolutionary War artifacts are on display at the Concord Museum. The town center, with its quaint Main Street, is known for its restaurants.
When to visit
Concord is a year-round destination. A popular time to visit is during the warm summer months (Jun–Aug) for outdoor activities like hiking, canoeing and swimming. Vivid foliage draws visitors in fall (Oct–early Nov). Winter (Dec–Feb) is cold and often snowy. Patriots’ Day (Apr) marks the first battles of the American Revolution with Minute Men marches and re-enactments in Concord and neighboring Lexington. Some historic sites, like The Wayside, are open only in the warmer months (varies) and/or a few days of the week.
