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Home » Topics » Abolitionism in Concord

Abolitionism in Concord

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Agents of Change: The Concord Female Anti-Slavery Society

August 29, 2024
Julie Dobrow
No Comments

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.


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Ellen Garrison: Educator, Civil Rights Activist, Daughter of Concord

March 15, 2023
Jennifer C. Schünemann
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For the first time in 200 years, Concord will publicly honor and celebrate the birth of one of its most inspirational daughters, Ellen Garrison. 


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Emancipation: Abridged excerpt from Patriots of Color at Battle Road

September 15, 2022
George Quintal Jr.
No Comments

How could an enslaved man or woman ever find a path out of bondage? The Emancipation Proclamation, issued in 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln and formally signed and put into effect on January 1, 1863, is well-known throughout the country. Much less well-known are the thousands of emancipations that occurred in New England long prior to 1862, many happening one at a time.


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From Concord to California: Ellen Garrison and Her Fight for Freedom

September 15, 2022
Camille Johnson
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Concord has a reputation for producing people of radical ideas, justice, and bravery. From the minutemen of the American Revolution to transcendentalist writers like Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, the town of Concord has an ability to grow a sense of social justice in all its citizens. The story of Ellen Garrison Jackson Clark, an African American woman born and raised here in Concord who went on to fight for freedom at a national level, is a less well-known example—an injustice that The Robbins House and the Concord Museum are seeking to rectify.


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The Founding of Concord’s Robbins House and a Debt of Gratitude

June 15, 2022
Maria Madison
No Comments

In 1976, Concordians and school administrators Barbara Elliot and Janet Jones published the text Concord: Its Black History, 1636-1860 through the Concord Public Schools. The text included photos of Black and White children visiting places associated with 19th century [and earlier] Black residents. 


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Elizabeth Freeman: A Free Woman on God’s Earth

June 15, 2022
Victor Curran
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It was cold outside, but the glowing fire in the brick oven warmed the kitchen as Elizabeth busied herself baking the week’s bread for her enslavers, Col. John Ashley and his wife Hannah. Her younger sister Lizzie, also enslaved in the Ashley household, was too frail for heavy labor, so she watched as Elizabeth stirred the fire with an iron shovel. A


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Friend of the Poor and Needy: The Life of Reverend Daniel Foster

March 15, 2022
Richard Smith
No Comments

The list of Concord abolitionists is long, and the names of Thoreau, Alcott, Bigelow, and Brooks are assured in the town’s history. But for every famous name involved in abolitionism, many more remain forgotten. One of Concord’s heroes, while not exactly lost to history, is certainly not a household name: he was the Reverend Daniel Foster. 


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The Underground Railroad: Black Heroes at The Wayside

September 15, 2021
Maria Madison
No Comments

It remains a moral, political, and economic necessity to understand America’s underground railroad’s origin and legacy.1 The Wayside in Concord, Massachusetts provides us with an inside view into this history. The Wayside is part of the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program. The NPS program “commemorates and preserves the historical significance of the Underground Railroad which sought to address the injustices of slavery and make freedom a reality in the United States and is a crucial element in the evolution of our national civil rights movement. Inhabitants of The Wayside house have witnessed a dramatic spectrum of American history including the ongoing struggle for freedom and equality.”2


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The Bell: A Resounding Symbol Comes to The Robbins House

September 15, 2021
Robert Munro
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For the past decade, The Robbins House has committed to telling the story of Concord’s African American history and culture through the narratives of the inhabitants of the house and their participation in Concord’s rich history of independence, civil rights, and activism. Enmeshed throughout this narrative is the concept of “the long Civil Rights movement,” a conceptual framework that recognizes that the struggle for black and indigenous civil rights began the moment the first African was enslaved on US soil and continues today; it spans both time and place, enslaved and free, White and Black. 


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“Invested in Treason” Concord and John Brown’s Secret Six

June 15, 2021
Richard Smith
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On May 8, 1859, John Brown was back in Concord. The tall, humorless abolitionist had grown a flowing white beard, making him look like an Old Testament prophet. Like he did during his first visit in 1857, Brown spoke on his anti-slavery activities in Kansas to a large crowd at the Town Hall; he had come east in the hope of raising money for those activities. As in 1857, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau were again in the audience, and they supported Brown; intellectually, philosophically, and monetarily.  


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    The spring issue is here!

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    Concord Sketches: Emerson House

    Simplicity weaves a rich tapestry of beauty and a sense of quietness in the landscapes surrounding Concord. Among them is Emerson’s humble potato garden, where a solitary tree is bordered by a weathered fence. This sketch evokes a meditative calm, capturing moments of stillness that remind us of the profound experiences that often stem from the simplest things, drawing attention to the elegance found in the everyday. And as Ralph Waldo Emerson poignantly expressed, “The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.” It might be in the gentle rustle of leaves, the serene play of light across a quiet room, or the unassuming bloom of a wildflower that we find a deeper connection to the world around us.
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    Everyone Deserves a Chance to Fly: Concord’s Gregory Maguire Soars High

    On a spring evening in early April, Concord’s creative community gathered under a starscape of giant whimsical poppies decorating the ceiling of The Umbrella Arts Center for an event that celebrated the arts and honored the acclaimed author of Wicked and a long-time Concord resident, Gregory Maguire. There was much to celebrate as Maguire is actively supporting the rollout of a film adaptation of Wicked, as well as touring for his fifth book in the Wicked series, Elphie.

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