Discover Concord

Discover what's happening around town this spring!

Each year in Concord, Lexington, and other nearby towns, thousands of people from around the world gather to commemorate the events that led to the American Revolution. Here are a few of the highlights of this year’s events.

What happened on April 19, 1775? Explore this timeline for the full story.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the globe come to Concord, Lexington, and the surrounding towns to witness the time-honored traditions, tactical demonstrations, and festive commemorations that pay tribute to the first battle of the American Revolution.

Antique treasure hunters are in for a treat with the arrival of Bobbi Benson Antiques and Estate Jewelry in Concord Center. A Concord resident of more than 25 years, Bobbi Benson is a talented generalist in the field of antiques.

One May morning in 1775, two men set out from Cambridge, bound for Lexington and Concord. The older one, Ralph Earl, was just shy of his twenty-fourth birthday, but was already an artist of some note. He lived in New Haven, Connecticut, but he had come to Boston to paint portraits. 

On April 19, 1775, an estimated twenty to forty colonists of African or Native American descent fought in the first battle of the American Revolution. On that historic day, those men, often termed “Patriots of Color,” joined approximately 4,000 other men fighting British Regular soldiers along the “Battle Road” from Concord to Boston. 

Objects can sometimes carry meanings beyond their original purpose. For Ezekiel Davis of Acton, a peculiar hole in his old hat told a very big story!

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. 

This spring marks the 180th anniversary of Samuel Melvin’s birth on April 9, 1844. While the entire family would be deeply and tragically affected by the Civil War, Samuel, the fourth child and third son, went through a particularly hard time while serving in the Union Army. This is the story of his Civil War.

Each year in April, scores of marchers, many dressed in colonial garb, make their way on foot from several towns in central Massachusetts to the Old North Bridge in Concord. These men, women, and children walk  in the footsteps of the American colonists who made this journey on the same morning in April over two centuries ago. 

It was nearly twelve hours since the Elizabeth ran aground on a sandbar in a raging hurricane. Returning home from Italy in July 1850, after years abroad as a foreign correspondent, Margaret Fuller huddled before the ship’s mast, clutching her two-year-old son, as waves violently washed over the deck. Fuller had given her life preserver to a sailor, who swam to shore for help.

Readers of Walden will remember Thoreau’s account of chasing a loon across the surface of Walden Pond and his observation, “I rejoice that there are owls. Let them do the idiotic and maniacal hooting for men.”

Those passages grew from the close observations of birds he made in his Journal from 1837 to 1861. Thoreau once said his Journal could be called “Field Notes,” and most of it is devoted to descriptions of his daily walks in Concord, including descriptions of dozens of species of birds. 

How do you remember heroic souls who have died? In the second century, Greek astronomer Ptolemy did so by taking the memories of those who (to paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson) had “shuffled off their corporeal jackets” and slipped them into the stars. Ptolemy named stars and connected them with invisible lines to form the storied constellations known to many in the past and today. 

Fans of Marimekko fabrics and clothing will remember that Design Research in Cambridge brought these midcentury designs to the US in the late 1950s. Founded in Helsinki, Finland, the loose, colorful, and whimsical graphics of these unique pieces were made famous when future first lady Jacqueline Kennedy bought eight Marimekko dresses and wore them throughout the 1960 US presidential campaign.

Plan your visit here. Find opening dates/hours, websites, and more. Please check the website before visiting, as sites may be closed on holidays or for private events.

There’s nothing like getting wrapped up in a good cozy mystery. For the Agatha Christie lover, true crimes close to home are particularly enlivening. At Concord’s Old Manse Museum, home of the famous Emerson family and witness house to two revolutions, there lurks an unsolved puzzler.

April 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution, and you can be a part of this historic moment.

Some folks visit Concord for its role in the American Revolution, while others are on a mission to see a favorite author’s home. If you are eager to visit sites related to Concordians who influenced American culture thanks to their connection to Transcendentalism, here is a nice way to turn that interest into a pleasant walk in Concord, Massachusetts.

Meet Carole Rabe and Christiane Corcelle. For Carole Rabe, painting is a dialogue between the artist and the “spaces, shapes, colors, and light observed.” “Remarkably,” says Christiane Corcelle, “the way I create my artwork mirrors how I live—a potpourri of diverse elements that may seem unrelated but come together harmoniously.” 

Find out what's happening in the arts this spring!

Test your knowledge with Concord trivia!

Welcome spring with the nature photography of Dave Witherbee.