Located in Concord, MA, it is the first permanent home in the largely rural community of Ralph Waldo Emerson after his marriage in 1835. Ralph Waldo Emerson is known as transcendental philosopher, poet, and lecturer. This house was a place that he composed his most important written works including Nature in 1836 and Self Reliance in 1841. 
In 1835, Ralph Waldo Emerson purchased the property which included the house, the house, a barn, and two acres of land. After that he conducted the renovation to add two more rooms, and expand this property to nine acres. He was used to do his reading and writing in the right of the main entrance of the house. The house was located on the stagecoach run, this is convenient to direct guest to the door. 
On July 24, 1872, the roof and much of second floor of his house was destroyed by fire. Fortunately, townspeople had saved his books and manuscripts. After the fire, his friends gave a hand to pay for the restoration of his house. Emerson spent his life in this house until his death in 1882. The Emerson family owned this house until Emerson’s son Edward died in 1930. To maintain and manage the Emerson house and property, the Ralph Waldo Memorial Association was established.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, c. 1884
Library of Congress

 


Ralph Waldo Emerson House
Courtesy of Ann Chapman

 


Video

Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary Massachusetts Conservation

More Info

This house was purchased by writer, poet, and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803&ndash;1882) in 1835. It was where he wrote all of his major works, and was a major meeting point for Transcendentalists, including Bronson Alcott and Henry David Thoreau. It has been a house museum since 1930.

Ralph Waldo Emerson House

Institution

A short drive takes visitors to several sites related to early American history from the confrontation between Patriot militia and British regulars to sites in downtown Concord and Walden Pond.

<div>Minute Man National Historical Park commemorates the actions&nbsp;of the colonial militia who lined up at Concord's North Bridge and fired on British soldiers, the first deliberate shots in the Revolutionary War. Area members of the militia were required to keep a firearm and train. As tensions rose between the colonies and Britain, these militia&nbsp;trained and kept their&nbsp;muskets near them so they would be prepared for battle in a minute's time. This led to the nickname of "Minute Men," an idea of readiness that continues to shape the culture of the citizen soldier in the National Guard and Reserves.&nbsp; </div><div> </div><div>The park is made up of 970 acres of land and includes the towns of Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord, Massachusetts. Visitors can explore the area through the "Battle Road Trail' which is about five miles long and includes the woods where the first shots of the war occurred. The park includes ten houses that have been standing since the Revolutionary War. Today, these properties are known as "witness houses."&nbsp; </div><div> </div><div>The park also includes the historic Wayside, a large home that dates back to before the Revolution. The home housed many different figures- from militiamen, scientists, to authors. It is most famous for being home to writers Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Margaret Sidney.</div>

Minute Man National Historical Park is home to Concord's North Bridge, where colonial Patriots fired on British regulars in the first deliberate skirmish of the Revolutionary War. The site is also home to the Wayside which was the home of several famous authors. The park is operated by the National Park Service. The park offers two visitor's centers, living history programs in the summer and early fall, and the "Battle Road Trail" which connects Lexington and Concord.

Minute Man National Historical Park

Before the Alcotts arrived at the home, local militia member Samuel Whitney lived in the home and his family would have observed British troops passing through the town prior to the confrontation at the North Bridge that led to the start of the American Revolutionary War. Wayside was also home to scientist John Winthrop when Harvard College was relocated to Concord for nine months.  The Alcotts came into possession of the home in 1845 and named the property "hillside." The Alcotts immediately began to renovate the home, which at that time was a modest structure known today as a "colonial saltbox" style of home. In this house, the future author Louisa May Alcott and her sisters lived out many scenes that would later shape the book "Little Women." Louisa Alcott's brother, Amos Bronson Alcott opened the home to many people, and the house was even home to meetings by abolitionists and sheltered fugitive slaves on their way to Canada. While most sites on the Underground Railroad are difficult to chronicle, Louisa confirmed this in her journal, saying "fugitive slaves were sheltered under our roof." Bronson hoped that these experiences would teach a lesson for his family.  After the Alcotts moved out of the home in 1848, the house became the home of famed author Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose family renamed the home to what it is now known today, "The Wayside". The Hawthornes called The Wayside home until Nathaniel's death in 1864. The home was made open to the public in 1927 by the daughter of Margaret Sidney, who was author of the "Five Little Peppers" book series. The Wayside became known as "Home of Authors" and was made part of the Minute Man National Historical Park in 1965. The home's role in the Underground Railroad was also recognized in 2001 when the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom placed a marker on the site.

The Wayside is a historic Concord house that was briefly the home of Louisa May Alcott and her family during her childhood and inspired many of the scenes she later depicted in her novel "Little Women." For a longer period, it was the home of another significant literary figure, Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of "The Scarlet Letter," and his family. Later, it was the home of Margaret Sidney, a children's author. Alcott's family housed an escaped enslaved man during their time here and their extended family included many abolitionists, including Judge Samuel Sewall who wrote an early anti-slavery tract called "The Selling of Joseph." Alcott's brother Samuel J. May was also a founding member of an abolitionist site as well as a conductor on the Underground Railroad.

The Wayside 

Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist born on November 29th, 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania to Bronson Alcott and Abigail May Alcott. Louisa began writing poetry at age 8 and later wrote short stories that were published in popular magazines. Her first book entitled Flower Fables was published in 1854 when she was 22 years old. Louisa had three sisters, Anna, Elizabeth, and May who she based the characters in her famous novel Little Women on. The sisters grew up in Boston and Concord, Massachusetts. They lived a house known as Hillside (until it was sold to Henry David Thoreau who renamed it The Wayside). Due to her parents' connection to the Transcendentalist Movement, Louisa May Alcott grew up among many of the well-known intellectuals of the day such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau.The Alcotts moved into Orchard House in 1857 when Louisa's father purchased the 12 acres of land which also contained an orchard of forty apple trees. During this period, Bronson struggled to hold down a job as an educator due to his unconventional educational philosophies. Bronson embraced physical education, recess time, and rejected corporal punishment. Many of his philosophies have been incorporated into the modern United States educational system. However, his ideas weren't embraced during this time and it was Louisa and her mother Abigail who had to put food on the table for the family.When the Civil War broke out, the Alcotts were known to be ardent abolitionists. Louisa served as a nurse in the Union Hospital in Georgetown. She wrote a book about her experiences entitled Hospital Sketches in 1863. Four years later, Louisa became an editor for a children's magazine called Merry's Museum. In 1868, she was asked to write a book for girls by the publishing company Roberts Brothers. It was in Orchard House that Louisa fulfilled this request and wrote Little Women, a semi-autobiographical novel published in 1868. The success of her book allowed her and her mother to quit working and pay off all their debts. Louisa died two days after her father on March 6th 1888.The Alcotts lived in Orchard House until they sold it in 1882. In 1911, the Concord Women's Club purchased the home in order to memorialize Louisa May Alcott's live and legacy. This house has been well-preserved and appears much as it did when Alcott lived here. The house serves as a museum with period furniture and other items that were owned by the Alcott family as well as artifacts from the life of Louisa May Alcott. Her work has been required reading in American classrooms for over a century.

This early 18th-century house was the longtime home of Transcendentalist Bronson Alcott (1799- 1888). New England Transcendentalism was a literary and ideological movement that originated in Concord, Massachusetts. Transcendentalists embraced nature and idealism, and rejected materialism. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Transcendentalists "were loosely bound together by adherence to an idealistic system of thought based on a belief in the essential unity of all creation, the innate goodness of humanity, and the supremacy of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths." Transcendentalists included writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Bronson Alcott. Alcott was an educator and, included on the property, is his School of Philosophy - an adult education center.Alcott's daughter, writer Louisa May Alcott, wrote the novel Little Women at Orchard House after her family sold the nearby house known today as the Wayside to author Nathaniel Hawthorne. The historic home is now a house museum dedicated to the Alcotts' life and work.

Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House

In July&nbsp;1850, Cummings Davis (1816-1869) whose collection of historic artifacts would form the basis of the museum in its early years moved to Concord. Davis opened a store that sold food, drinks, newspapers, and other items at the train depot, He later moved his business to the center of the town.

Cummings Davis started collecting artifacts and information&nbsp;about local history. He soon amassed a collection of artifacts from the colonial period along with other items. After a decade,&nbsp;his collection was large enough to share and by 1870, his collection attracted&nbsp;a large numbers of visitors. During the Centennial Celebration in Concord 1875, the Revolutionary War relics and other items Davis displayed attracted four thousand people. 


To secure a better place for the arrangement and exhibition of Davis’s collection, a group of thirty Concordians offered to pay to secure a room at the courthouse in 1881. In 1886, two thousand objects were transferred to the newly-formed Concord Antiquarian Society. In 1887, Concord Antiquarian Society expanded their location and bought Reuben Brown’s historic house to display the collection. In 1893, Davis’s health failed and he died at age eighty, but his work lives on.&nbsp;

The museum grew and the Concord Museum was constructed as Davis's home and room in the courthouse were insufficient to hold the collection. In 1981, the Davis building was completed for educational&nbsp;programs and administrative purposes.

For well over a century, this museum has offered exhibits that connect residents and visitors to the history of Concord. The museum dates back to a local resident who collected artifacts and histories. This collection soon became a regular museum operated by the Concord Antiquarian Society. The museum offers an impressive collection of items from the colonial period and early 19th century in addition to artifacts and collections related to early businesses, military history, women, and local culture and art. 

Concord Museum

Wright's Tavern began as a hostelry and a private home. When Ephraim Jones died in 1766, it was sold to Daniel Taylor who owned the Tavern until 1775 when it was sold to Charles Swan from Charlestown. Wright's Tavern is named after Amos Wright, although he never actually owned the building. Wright likely rented the building and was later linked to it by one of his descendants in the early 20th century. According to the Historic Structure Report, “Lemuel Shattucks referred to the	building	as “Wright’s Tavern, now Deacon Jarvis’s” in his 1835 History of the Town of Concord, giving more credence to its local association with Amos Wright.” Wright’s Tavern was managed by Amos Wright at the dawn of the American Revolution. Wright was the Tavern keeper on April 19th, 1775 when local militia gathered here prior to the skirmish at Concord's North Bridge. Allegedly, two of the British soldiers stopped into the Tavern for refreshments. The Massachusetts Provincial Congress met prior to this time in October 1774, at the First Parish Church. Wright's Tavern also served as a meeting place for committees of the Congress during the 5-day session.From approximately 1747 to 1787, this building functioned as a home and tavern usually operated by renters. The Tavern became a bakery in 1793 when it was purchased by Deacon Francis Jarvis and baker Thomas Safford. There is some evidence that suggests Jarvis rented the building before the two purchased it. In John Cole's 1989 study of the building, Cole found Jarvis' name written on a beam in the building alongside a year: 1787. It is likely that both Jarvis and Safford lived in the building with their families while operating their bakery. In 1795, Jarvis bought out Safford. Jarvis remained at Wright's Tavern until 1831 when he moved to Buttrick Farm. He continued owning the building during this period, renting it out to various tenants. In 1839, Stephen Jarvis purchased the Tavern from Francis Jarvis for $1. Stephen was born in Massachusetts in 1795 and may have been Francis' son. At the time Stephen purchased the building, he was a merchant living in New Orleans. He remained in New Orleans and rented the building out to others. In 1853, James M. Billings purchased the building from Jarvis and lived there with his wife and children. He was listed as a stable keeper on the census, suggesting he made his income from the barns near the building rather than from the building itself. Five years later, the mortgage was assigned to Samuel Staples who acquired the property with George Prescott. After their ownership, the building changed hands every few years and functioned in different capacities for various types of businesses.The First Parish Church in Concord acquired the building in the 1880s and began renting it out to tenants once again. By the mid-1890s, the Tavern was a restaurant and lodging. The Tavern continued to function in this capacity until the 1950s. During this roughly 50 year period, the building was occupied by various renters. By 1958, the building had been vacant for a year which ended its use as a restaurant and lodging. Throughout the 1960's and 70's, the building housed retail businesses and offices. The Secretary of the Interior declared the Tavern an historic site in 1961 and stated that it was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. During the Bicentennial of the American Revolution in 1975, the Tavern's condition was reassessed. The Concord Bicentennial Committee and the First Parish Church created a plan for its continued upkeep, rather than dealing with structural issues as they arose. Over the centuries, several changes had been made to the Tavern both aesthetically and practically. Today, the building has been incorporated into the Concord Museum as an educational space.

Wright's Tavern was built in 1747 by Ephraim Jones. Jones operated the tavern until 1751 and twenty three years later, it was the site of the first meeting of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. In April 1775, the tavern was the assembly point for Concord's Minutemen before the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The building has been well-preserved since the colonial period and is historically significant given the building's association with the Battle of Lexington and Concord at the start of the American Revolution.

Wright's Tavern

On July 23, 1846, Henry David Thoreau was jailed for refusing to pay his poll tax as a protest against the U.S. war with Mexico and the expansion of slavery into the West. Although he was released the following day when his family paid his fine, his action inspired his most influential essay, “Civil Disobedience.” The jail itself was later demolished, but the site is marked by a plaque mounted on a stone behind the town’s war memorials.

Thoreau Jail Site Marker

This marker designates the location of the home of Brister Freeman, an African American man who was enslaved to the Cuming family of Concord and served in the Continental Army in the American Revolution. After his discharge, Freeman was awarded freedom papers and marked the change of status by adopting the surname of Freeman. In the 1790s, Freeman purchased land in the Walden Woods, which was home to a small community of formerly enslaved people. Freeman lived in the woods until his death in 1822. While his house has been lost to time, the site of the home is marked by a plaque on the east side of Walden Street just north of Route 2.

Brister Freeman House Site

Walden Pond is located in
Concord, Massachusetts (about 20 miles west of Boston). The pond was made
famous through a book by Henry David Thoreau. It is a kettle hole pond formed
by glaciers over 10,000-12,000 years ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;A kettle hole forms when large pieces of a
glacier break away.&nbsp; The pool of melted
ice is surrounded by the sand and gravel and forms a deep hole in the
ground.&nbsp; The melted ice at what is now
Walden Pond formed a hole that is 103 feet deep.&nbsp; Since kettle holes form in this manner, there
are rarely any streams or rivers that flow into them.&nbsp; Essentially, they are like large puddles.&nbsp; 

The forested area around the pond
was owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson.&nbsp;
Emerson was an essayist, poet, and leader of the transcendentalist
movement during the mid-nineteenth century.&nbsp;
Under the mentorship of his good friend Emerson, Thoreau asked if he
could live at Walden Pond as part of an experiment.&nbsp; He used the solitude to become one with
nature and to ponder his purpose on earth.&nbsp;
All of his thoughts are documented in his book "Walden
Pond."&nbsp;&nbsp; 

During the experiment, Thoreau resided
on the north shore of the pond for just over two years. He finished building
his house in July 1845, moved in right away, and finally ended the experiment
in September 1847.&nbsp; He built a small, modest
cabin with only the basic necessities.&nbsp;
He spent much of his time gardening, reading, writing, and surveying the
pond. &nbsp;He documented his experience in
nature.&nbsp; As part of his writing, he
encouraged others not to tamper with their natural environment. A few years
after the experiment was complete, he published his book Walden Pond (1854).&nbsp; The book
has become a national classic read by young scholars across the country.&nbsp; Because of the books success, Walden Pond
State Reservation was added to the National Register of Historic Places in
1966.&nbsp; 

After Thoreau’s experiment was
completed, Walden Pond was turned into a public park.&nbsp; Visitors traveled to the pond to partake in
its recreational activities, including boating and hiking.&nbsp; The Fitchburg Railroad had laid tracks nearby
before Thoreau began his experiment.&nbsp; In
1866, the railroad company constructed an excursion park on the shore at Ice
Fort Cove which included concession stands, swingsets, bathhouses, boats, a
dining hall, a baseball diamond and a cinder track for running and biking.&nbsp; People flocked to the park for group
gatherings, festivals, and fundraising events. Unfortunately, the park burned
to the ground in 1902 and was never reconstructed.&nbsp; 

The fire didn’t stop people from
visiting the park.&nbsp; In 1913, the Town of
Concord began offering swimming lessons on the pond and new bathhouses were
built to accommodate the 2,000 daily guests that the park entertained in the
summertime.&nbsp;&nbsp; 

The Emerson, Forbes, and Heywood
families still owned much of the land adjacent to the pond.&nbsp; In 1922, they granted a total of 80 acres of
surrounding woodland to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with the condition
that the state preserve "the
Walden of Emerson and Thoreau, its shores and nearby woodlands for the public
who wish to enjoy the pond, the woods and nature, including bathing, boating,
fishing and picnicking." 

According to Thoreau, the legacy of Walden Pond is understanding of the
most basic ambition in life:

"I went to the woods
because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of
life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came
to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life,
living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite
necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live
so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a
broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its
lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and
genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were
sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in
my next excursion." &nbsp;From Walden Pond (1854).

Walden Pond is known as the home to the renowned author, Henry David Thoreau. Walden Pond State Reservation contains approximately 335 acres of protected open space which is managed by Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Forests and Parks system. Visitors head to Walden Pond to partake in the park’s hiking, swimming, fishing, canoeing, kayaking and crossing country skiing activities as well as to learn more about life and achievements of author Henry David Thoreau.

Thoreau Cabin Site, Walden Pond

Walter Gropius was an&nbsp;acclaimed German-American architect who was the first director of the Bauhaus. Gropius fled Germany to escape the Nazi regime, first going to London, and eventually to the Unites States to accept a position at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Gropius designed the home in 1937 and it was completed in 1938. In Berlin and London, Walter and Ise Gropius had had apartments, but the couple immediately fell in love with the New England countryside and decided to live in more rural surroundings. They also toured the countryside, studying the New England vernacular architecture. Gropius incorporated materials traditionally used in New England architecture, such as wood, brick, and fieldstone, into his home. He also included modern, industrial elements, like glass block, plaster, and steel. The home is modest in scale and cost $18,000 to build. Gropius's twelve-year-old daughter, Ati, was given a free hand in designing her space. Her room has a private roof deck and the outdoor spiral staircase which is often seen in photographs leads to Ati's room. Gropius often used his home as a showcase for his students, particularly to demonstrate how modern technologies could be adapted to suit consumer needs.&nbsp;Walter Gropius lived in the home until his death in 1969. Ise Gropius bequeathed it to Historic New England in 1980. The organization still owns the property and it is open for tours. The home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 and is&nbsp;home to largest collection of Bauhaus-related sources outside of Germany.

German-born architect Walter Gropius built this Lincoln, Massachusetts home in 1938 and lived here until his death in 1969. Gropius was the first director of the Bauhaus and a major influence in modern architecture. The home is owned by Historic New England and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours of the home are available and includes the largest collection of Bauhaus-related sources outside of Germany.

Gropius House 

The deCordova Sculpture Park
and Museum sits on the former estate of Julian de Cordova, a Jamaican immigrant
who worked his way up to successful businessman.&nbsp; His passion for travel
and art led to a massive collection of art and artifacts. De Cordova opened his
estate to the public to share his assortment of paintings, sculptures, and
other exquisite items.&nbsp; He gave his property to the Town of Lincoln upon
his death with the request that the town turn his estate into a public art
museum.&nbsp; The museum officially opened in 1950 and was the only art museum
at the time that focused on living New England artists.

By the 1980s, more museums and
small galleries that focused on modern regional art were being
established.&nbsp; A new director named Paul
Master-Karnick arrived in 1982 and used his skills to strengthen the curatorial
programs and the deCordova museum.&nbsp; He
introduced the deCordova Annual Exhibition with features the works of emerging
artists in the New England region.&nbsp; 

In 2008, Dennis Kois became the
museum’s new director. He perceived that the museum had changed its focus from
all art to a primary interest in sculpture. Therefore, he convinced the Museum’s
leadership to change the name of the establishment from the deCordova Museum
and Sculpture Park, to the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, placing more
emphasis on the statuesque art that adorns the property.&nbsp; 

In addition to providing an
indoor-outdoor venue to the enjoy various types of artwork, deCordova instructs
artists through classes for various skill levels.&nbsp; There is even a $25,000 annual prize awarded
to an established regional sculpture artist.&nbsp;
The artist’s work is prominently displayed in the gallery. 

The museum is open year-round
and features rotating exhibits and programs. The sculpture park displays works
by nationally and internationally recognized 20th and 21st century artists.
There are at least 60 pieces on display at any given time, which are a part of
collection works, loans, or site-specific projects. In addition, the sculpture
park and museum hosts lectures, discussions, readings, book and film series,
art tastings, performances, studio workshops, family programs, summer camps,
and school/group visits.

Spanning nearly 30 acres, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum features contemporary art and sculptures in a beautiful, scenic park setting. The largest park of its kind in New England, the sculpture park and museum provides “a constantly changing landscape of large-scale, outdoor, modern and contemporary sculpture and site-specific installations.”  At any time, guests are treated to more than 60 works hosted by the Park.  Most of the works are on loan to the Museum.  In addition, the sculpture park and museum hosts lectures, discussions, readings, book and film series, art tastings, performances, studio workshops, family programs, summer camps, and school/group visits. 

Concord Massachusetts Driving Tour

Ralph Waldo Emerson House

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information