Things to do / Travel Guide
Address:200 Lexington Rd.
Concord, Massachusetts
Tel:
(978) 369-9763
Puritans, Revolutionaries, Farmers, Transcendentalists, Anti-Slavery Activists, and Mill-Workers are just some of the key figures in Concord's historical make up. It's quite a list, yet it only touches on the rich offering on display here at the Concord Museum. Founded in 1886, the Concord Museum is a center of learning and culture, both for the locals and for the visitors that flock to Concord each year.
The collection is filled with examples of 17th, 18th, and 19th-century decorative arts, from case furniture and seating furniture, to clocks, looking glasses, and metal-ware; each of which have histories linking them to their original owners in Concord and which have borne national significance for over a century. Popular highlights include the "one, if by land, and two, if by sea" lantern, immortalized by Longfellow's poem about Paul Revere's Ride, along with artifacts from the American Revolution, such as muskets, cannonballs, and fifes.
Fans of transcendentalism will be thrilled to find the world's largest collection of Thoreau possessions, including furnishings from Walden, glass, books, photographs, manuscripts, and textiles. Visitors can also see the contents of Ralph Waldo Emerson's study, where he wrote his influential essays. If visiting with kids, pick up a family activity pack when you enter. It includes great games and artifacts that kids can enjoy, such as a quill pen and powder horn. The museum also offers special events, such as story hour and "tea and tour," as well as a great gift shop.
The Concord Museum is located about 20 miles west of Boston and is accessible from Route 495 or Route 128, via Route 2. The Museum is located 1/4 mile east of Concord Center, at the intersection of Lexington Road and Cambridge Turnpike.
From Concord Museum - Massachusetts:
Concord, Massachusetts is a community rich in historical association, renowned as the site of the battle that began the American Revolution and as the home of the most original thinkers and writers of the American literary renaissance. The Concord Museum is the one place where all of Concord's remarkable past is brought to life -- Algonkians, Puritans, Revolutionaries, Loyalists, Farmers, Silversmiths, Transcendentalists, Cabinetmakers, Anti-Slavery Activists, Mill-Workers.