When we think of Concord’s history, images of Walden Pond, the Old North Bridge, Transcendentalists, and Little Women might come to mind. We don’t always think about a remarkable, diverse group of women from Concord’s past dedicated to eradicating slavery. We might not even know their fascinating story. The Concord Female Anti-Slavery Society worked diligently across three decades, becoming important players in the abolitionist cause, and helping to more widely promote its messages.
Like the greased loops on a hangman’s dropped noose, the lives of Concord writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Louisa May Alcott are forever tightly bound together by a tale of witchcraft that began as follows:
In 1883, Lidian Emerson, widow of Ralph Waldo Emerson, hosted a gathering in her Concord home for Sarah Winnemucca, a Native American woman whose book Life Among the Piutes, Their Wrongs and Claims had recently been published. Mrs. Emerson and her friends were stalwart campaigners for human rights, and Sarah was on a mission to win justice for her people. This was just the kind of gathering that might help Sarah’s cause.
When history and inspiration collide, great things happen. And so, when Jennifer Burton and Julie Dobrow, founders of the “Half the History” project at Tufts University, heard the amazing story of Concord’s Ellen Garrison, they knew they had found the perfect subject for their project series, which places a spotlight on the incredible achievements of women and their important contributions to society.
This year, for the first time in 160 years, the town paused to honor and celebrate the story of its Black native son, George Washington Dugan. Dubbed “GLORY for George,” this celebration engaged visitors and locals alike to honor the legacy of George Washington Dugan on the 160th anniversary of his heroic sacrifice as a member of the 54th Massachusetts, the first all-Black regiment of the Civil War.
Living their values—community, joy, and respect for the dignity of every person—is what Kerem Shalom, a progressive synagogue in Concord, MA, is all about.
Thirteen-year-old Tasun quietly slipped away from her father Tahattawan’s clan counsel to sit on the rocky prominence called Egg Rock at the confluence of the rivers to consider how her world was changing.
Henry David Thoreau’s younger sister, Sophia Elizabeth Thoreau (1819–1876), was a botanist, artist, editor, and abolitionist who worked as a teacher and managed the family’s pencil business. She significantly shaped her brother’s legacy to an extent that modern scholars argue was under-acknowledged by Thoreau’s early biographers.
When Sophia Peabody met Nathaniel Hawthorne at her home in Salem, Massachusetts, he had little to offer but his Byronic good looks. He had published two books, but they brought him neither fame nor fortune, and at age 33, he had run out of ideas and motivation.
The William Munroe Special Collection’s mission is to understand and appreciate Concord’s history and culture. One unique collection administered by Special Collections is the Renee Garrelick Oral History Program (also known as the Concord Oral History Program). Its recordings and transcripts add a unique voice to Concord’s storied past.
Under the direction of Marjorie Garrard, in 1976, the Town of Concord’s Historical Commission established an oral history sub-committee “to coordinate and carry out a program for the collection of an oral history of the Town. A large number of residents of diverse backgrounds and interests will eventually be contacted and asked to respond to this program by recording their recollections of the Town as it was.” By 1977, local historian Renee Garrelick had already recorded 30 interviews, which the Commission reported, “are highly professional and the beginning of fulfilling a longtime goal of the Commission and other local historians.”
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