In 1859, militiamen were a common sight in Concord, having had a presence in the town for over two centuries. Uncommon, however, was the entirety of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia descending on the town in early September 1859.
The Old Hill Burying Ground certainly lives up to its name, with its first marked gravestone dating back to 1677 and its last not reaching the twentieth century. The headstones are so old that they jut out of the ground in jagged positions, with most of their writing illegible.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, Concord had just turned 200 years old and had a population of around 2,000. Always a farming town, by the 1840s, Concord’s agricultural economy was in flux, and the crops and farms that had been so important to the town in its first 200 years were evolving. By the dawn of the twentieth century, Concord agriculture had changed in many ways, from the people who were farming to the crops they were growing.
In the early 1600s, the first taverns opened in New England to serve refreshments, specifically alcoholic beverages, to locals and travelers. Many taverns also served food, and some, designated as inns, provided shelter and beds to travelers passing through.
The test of a true classic is its longevity and influence. Louisa May Alcott could never have imagined that Little Women, the novel for girls she didn’t want to write, would have such an impact.
Ralph Waldo Emerson lived in Concord for most of his life and probably explored almost every inch of it on foot. As he once said, “I go through Concord as through a park.” Today, we can follow in the footsteps of the “Sage of Concord.”
On April 22, 2023, we have many reasons to celebrate. Led by Henry D. Fairfax, Concord Academy’s 11th head of school, the school is observing its 100th year of educating young people. It’s our birthday—and it’s also Earth Day!
On August 31, 1922, Headmistress Elsie Garland Hobson placed an advertisement in the New York Times. It read: “Concord Academy: A small boarding and day school for girls in the historic town of Concord, Mass., situated on the beautiful Samuel Hoar estate. The school life is planned to develop the qualities of initiative and self-reliance, to stimulate intellectual curiosity, and to give a thorough preparation for college.”
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.
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