The Reuben Brown House is a colonial style house located in Concord, Massachusetts.
The Reuben Brown House is a colonial style house located in Concord, Massachusetts.
The house was built in 1725 by the town saddler, Reuben Brown. There is also a strong tradition that the house was the home of Peter Bulkeley, which is why the house is often referred to as the Peter Bulkeley / Reuben Brown House. The date attributed to Peter Bulkeley is 1667, which also marks the date of his marriage to Rebecca Wheeler. The evidence is still unclear whether or not the Bulkeleys built the house some 300 years ago. What historians can conclude is that the house was either completely updated or built by Reuben Brown in 1725. Most of the house's present features were typical for houses built in the period from 1700 to 1730, which is why Reuben Brown is given most of the credit for the house. Brown built the house to include a harness shop and a barn, as he was a saddler. An original patriot, Brown helped equip the Concord Minutemen who fought in the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775.
On the morning of April 19, 1775, the town was awakened by the town bell and a discharged gun that warned the townspeople the redcoats were coming. Reuben Brown, under the order of Major John Buttrick, galloped down Lexington road to report the news of the massacre in Lexington and the approach of the enemy. In all Brown rode more than 100 miles through the woods of the North Shore to Boston and back to Concord. Brown reported back to Major Buttrick as the Concord Minutemen prepared to face the British regulars. As the British marched out of Concord, it was Reuben Brown's house they targeted first by looting his liveries and then by setting his barn on fire to destroy any supplies that could be used against them. The fire was quickly extinguished and the barn and house survived the attack.
There is speculation [says who?] that the first American flag was displayed during the Concord fight in Brown's backyard. Also behind the house lies the historic ridge and stonewall used by the Minutemen as they first observed the Redcoats entering Concord, then later followed the British soldiers back to Boston.
After the war and into the 19th century the house still contained a saddle shop while the remainder of the house was rented to various families as living quarters.
The Reuben Brown House has accommodated many famous Concordians such as Ralph Waldo Emerson who was a good friend of Reuben Brown. Emerson's growing popularity during the early to mid 19th century lead to large numbers of people stopping at his house only to gawk at him. Emerson became so frustrated and distracted by his fans he rented the upper stairs library at the Reuben Brown House to get away from them. Emerson rented the library for ten years. Henry David Thoreau writes in one of his journals about a giant yard sale at the Reuben Brown House held by Reuben's son in the 1850s. Abolitionist John Brown once stayed as a guest in the house during his trip to Concord in 1857 and the Alcott family visited as well.
In 1886 Mr. Cummings E. Davis moved into the house with his unique collection of antiques and would exhibit his collection of local American furniture and other items for a price. During Mr. Davis' feeble years The Concord Antiquarian Society safeguarded his items and became possessor of the house. The Antiquarian Society utilized the house to display their collection of artifacts from American Revolution until 1930 when the Antiquarian Society moved their collection to the present Concord Museum in fear the Reuben Brown House might burn down and destroy there priceless artifacts.
Presumably the League of Women Voters had one of their first meetings in the house in the early 20th century.
In the 1930s and 1940s the house was opened to the public as a tavern under the name The Old Mill Dam The restaurant was open every day of the year from noon till eight in the evening serving luncheon, tea, and dinner. Dinners were cooked over the historic brick oven for parties and holidays. The tavern was set to be in the revolution day and age.
E.B. White mentions the house in his 1939 essay collection titled One Man’s Meat.
In front of the Reuben Brown House a Buick was drawn up" wrote White. “At the wheel, motionless, his hat upon his head a man sat, listening to Amos and Andy on the radio. The deep voice of Andrew Brown, emerging from the car, although it originates more that[ sic?] two hundred miles away, was unstrained by distance.
The house has been used as a private residence since the conclusion of the tavern.
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. In the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the confluence of the Sudbury and Assabet rivers forms the Concord River.
The North Bridge, often colloquially called the Old North Bridge, is a historic site in Concord, Massachusetts, spanning the Concord River. On April 19, 1775, the first day of the American Revolutionary War, provincial minutemen and militia companies numbering approximately 400 engaged roughly 90 British Army troops at this location. The battle was the first instance in which American forces advanced in formation on the British regulars, inflicted casualties, and routed their opponents. It was a pivotal moment in the Battles of Lexington and Concord and in American history. The significance of the historic events at the North Bridge inspired Ralph Waldo Emerson to refer to the moment as the "shot heard round the world."
Minute Man National Historical Park commemorates the opening battle in the American Revolutionary War. It also includes the Wayside, home in turn to three noted American authors. The National Historical Park is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service and protects 970 acres (392.5 ha) in and around the Massachusetts towns of Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord.
Munroe Tavern, located at 1332 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, Massachusetts, is an American Revolutionary War site that played a prominent role in the Battle of Lexington and Concord. It is now preserved and operated as a museum by the Lexington Historical Society, with exhibits highlighting the role and perspective of the British soldiers during the outbreak of the war. The house is open for guided tours on weekends starting in April and daily from Memorial Day weekend until the end of October.
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were some of the leading military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy, and Cambridge. They marked the outbreak of armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot militias from America's thirteen colonies.
Isaac Davis was a gunsmith and a militia officer who commanded a company of Minutemen from Acton, Massachusetts, during the first battle of the American Revolutionary War. In the months leading up to the Revolution, Davis set unusually high standards for his company in terms of equipment, training, and preparedness. His company was selected to lead the advance on the British Regulars during the Battle of Concord because his men were entirely outfitted with bayonets. During the American advance on the British at the Old North Bridge, Davis was among the first killed and was the first American officer to die in the Revolution.
The Concord Museum is a museum of local history located at 53 Cambridge Turnpike, Concord, Massachusetts, United States, and best known for its collection of artifacts from authors Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Updated hours are available on their website (concordmuseum.org), and an admission fee is charged.
The Concord Monument Square–Lexington Road Historic District is an historic district in Concord, Massachusetts. Monument Square, at the center of the district, was laid out in 1635. The district includes a collection of well-preserved residential houses stretching along Lexington Street southeast from the square, and along Lowell northwest of the square. The square is prominently known as the site of British activities on April 19, 1775, the day of the Battles of Lexington and Concord which began the American Revolutionary War, and of earlier meetings by Massachusetts Patriots which were held in the First Parish Church and Wright's Tavern. The Tavern and the Ralph Waldo Emerson House, which stands near the eastern end of the district, are both National Historic Landmarks. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Minutemen provided a highly mobile, rapidly deployed force that enabled the colonies to respond immediately to military threats. They were an evolution from the prior colonial rapid-response units.
Major John Buttrick was one of the leaders of the Concord militia during the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1775. Given the usual interpretation of the first stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson's famous poem "Concord Hymn," Buttrick is the man who ordered "the shot heard around the world."
The towns of Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts, are the site of Minute Man National Historical Park, a park governed by the National Park Service. The most highly attended event in the park is the annual reenactment of the first shots of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, performed by the Lexington Minute Men Company and His Majesty's Tenth Regiment of Foot.
The Lexington–Concord Sesquicentennial half dollar, sometimes the Lexington–Concord half dollar or Patriot half dollar, is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1925 in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which began the American Revolutionary War. It was designed by Chester Beach and features Daniel Chester French's 1874 The Minute Man statue on the obverse.
The Battle of Menotomy was an action on April 19, 1775, in what is now Arlington, Massachusetts. 5,100 men from eastern Middlesex County and southern Essex County gathered in Menotomy to meet the retreating British troops on their way to Boston from Concord. 25 rebels and 40 British troops were killed in this battle. It was here in Menotomy that the first British soldiers were captured.
Hartwell Tavern is a historic American Revolutionary War site associated with the revolution's first battle, the 1775 battles of Lexington and Concord. It is located on North County Road, just off Battle Road in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and operated as a historic house museum by the National Park Service as part of the Minute Man National Historical Park. Built in 1733, in what was then Concord, it is staffed from Memorial Day weekend to October by park rangers dressed in colonial attire who offer programs daily.
The Minute Man is an 1874 sculpture by Daniel Chester French in Minute Man National Historical Park, Concord, Massachusetts. It was created between 1871 and 1874 after extensive research, and was originally intended to be made of stone. The medium was switched to bronze and it was cast from ten Civil War-era cannons appropriated by Congress.
The Samuel Hartwell House is a historic American Revolutionary War site associated with the revolution's first battle, the 1775 battles of Lexington and Concord. Built in 1733, in what was then Concord, it was located on North County Road, just off Battle Road in today's Lincoln, Massachusetts, and about 700 feet east of Hartwell Tavern, which Hartwell built for his son, Ephraim, and his newlywed wife, Elizabeth, in 1733. The site is part of today's Minute Man National Historic Park.
The Captain William Smith House is a historic American Revolutionary War site in Lincoln, Massachusetts, United States. Part of today's Minute Man National Historic Park, it is associated with the revolution's first battle, the 1775 battles of Lexington and Concord. Believed to have been built in 1692, in what was then Concord, it is believed to be the oldest house in Lincoln.
The Job Brooks House is a historic American Revolutionary War site in Lincoln, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of today's Minute Man National Historic Park.
Concord's Colonial Inn is a historic inn in Concord, Massachusetts. Its original structure is still in use and was built in 1716. It became a hotel in 1889.
William Smith was a captain of the minutemen of Lincoln, Province of Massachusetts Bay, during the battles of Lexington and Concord, which began the American Revolutionary War.