Route of British Force and Patriot Messengers Boston to Concord This map is courtesy of the National Park Service.
8 Flint Street Somerville, Massachusetts 02145 Lexington, MA Visitors Center 1875 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA 02420 The route is 10 miles and will take approximately 32 minutes. After Davis Square we might want to consider taking US3 West to Arlington, and then take Massachusetts Avenue until we get near Arlington s Great Meadow.
This will take one minute and be 0.2 miles. Head northwest on Flint St toward Glen St
This will be a little over 0.3 miles. Turn left onto Cross St (0.2 miles) Turn right onto McGrath Hwy (0.1 miles) Use the left 2 lanes to turn left onto Medford St (466 feet)
We will continue on Highland Avenue for 1.7 miles. Continue onto Highland Ave
We will then make a right on Massachusetts Avenue. Slight left onto Dover St (364 feet) Turn right onto Meacham Rd (0.3 mile)
Turn right onto Massachusetts Ave (0.6 mile) We will then make a left on Alewife Brook Parkway and be on it for 0.4 mile.
Turn left onto Alewife Brook Pkwy (0.4 mile) We will then use the right lane to merge onto MA-2 W via the ramp to Concord and we will be on it for 3.2 miles.
We will be on MA-2 W, the Concord Turnpike, for 3.2 miles. We will then take exit 56 for MA-4/MA-225 toward Lexington/Bedford for 0.5 mile.
We will then take exit 56 for MA-4/MA-225 toward Lexington/Bedford for 0.5 mile. We will then take exit 56 for MA-4/MA-225 toward Lexington/Bedford for 2.7 mile.
We will then take exit 56 for MA-4/MA-225 toward Lexington/Bedford for 2.7 mile. Watertown St. becomes Pleasant St. which becomes Massachusetts Ave. before we enter Lexington.
1332 Massachusetts Avenue Munroe Tavern (Lexington Historical Society) It is on the left side of the road where it says Tavern Lane near the top of this image.
1332 Massachusetts Avenue Munroe Tavern (Lexington Historical Society) Built circa 1690. More than 300 years old, this former tavern served as a temporary headquarters and field hospital for British Brigadier General Earl Percy and his 1,000 reinforcements on the afternoon of April 19, 1775. Fourteen years later, President Washington dined at the tavern when he visited the Lexington battlefield in 1789. The tavern contains artifacts from his visit and many articles used by the Munroe family when they ran the tavern from 1770 to 1827.
We will enter Lexington and take a right on Meriam St. and then a right into parking across from VC The Lexington Visitors Center is near the bottom right of this picture.
We will enter Lexington and take a right on Meriam St. and then a right into parking across from VC We want the light blue All Day Parking at.50 per hour. The Lexington Visitors Center is near the left center of this picture.
The Lexington Visitors Center is open from 9 AM to 5 PM. It has public restrooms and a Diorama of the Battle of Lexington. There is water available for purchase.
Battle green Guides Supposedly give visitors a FREE historic tour of the Green and Burying Ground. We might want to check out a tour.
Lexington Green is bounded by Mass Ave. to the south, Bedford St. to the east and Harrington Rd. to the North. Unlike many other towns, Lexington did not set aside a separate common area when the town was laid out. In 1711, the townspeople raised funds by subscription, and purchased 1.5 acres of land as a militia training ground. This was enlarged by one more acre in 1722.
Buckman Tavern where the Lexington Training Band gathered before they heard definitely the British Regulars were coming. It was built 1709-1710. The tavern's interior appears today very much as it did in 1775 and one can see the restored 18thcentury taproom with large fireplace and central chimney. Among the many items on display is the old front door, with its bullet hole possibly made by a British musket ball during the battle, and a portrait of John Buckman.
Revolutionary Monument (1799) Western Corner of Lexington Green Near the western corner of the park stands what is considered the oldest memorial to the Revolution: the Revolutionary War Monument, a granite obelisk erected in 1799. In 1835, the remains of seven of the eight miltiamen killed in the battle were exhumed from the nearby Old Burying Ground and reburied within the monument's iron fence. The monument also marks the approximate western end of the Patriot line. The line's eastern end is marked with an inscribed boulder.
John Parker Statue Eastern Corner of Lexington Green (Bottom of the triangle) The statue known as The Lexington Minuteman (1900) was originally meant to represent the common Minuteman, but has now commonly become accepted as symbolizing Parker. It is by Henry Hudson Kitson and it stands at the town green of Lexington, Massachusetts. It was not based on Parker's appearance, as no known likenesses of him survive today and the figure is of a younger, healthy man which Parker at that point was not. One description of Parker was "a stout, large framed man, of medium height, somewhat like his illustrious grandson, Theodore Parker, in personal appearance, but had a much longer face."
The Old Burying Ground, Massachusetts Road at Harrington Road. Enter Harrington Road by Stone Marker Next to Church The Old Burying Ground is to the left of the words First Parish Unitarian Church.
The Old Burying Ground, Massachusetts Road at Harrington Road. Enter Harrington Road by Stone Marker Next to Church The gravestones on this site, dating from 1690, are the oldest in Lexington. Buried here are Capt. John Parker of the Minutemen and the British soldier wounded on the British retreat from Concord on April 19, 1775 (who died three days later, at the Buckman Tavern).
The Belfry Massachusetts Avenue and Clarke Street The Belfry is located on the hill at Massachusetts Avenue and Clarke Street where it says Belfry Hill Park.
The Belfry Massachusetts Avenue and Clarke Street Originally built on its present site in 1762, the Belfry was moved to the Battle Green in 1768. From there the bell summoned people to worship, warned them of danger, tolled on their deaths, and sounded the alarm of April 19, 1775. After the original structure was lost to fire, this exact reproduction was built in 1910 on the Belfry s original site on Belfry Hill.
Will probably want to get in car for Hancock-Clarke House 36 Hancock Street, Lexington, Massachusetts. The house is located at the top of this image where it says Hancock-Clarke House.
Hancock-Clarke House 36 Hancock Street, Lexington, Massachusetts. Home of the Hancocks and the Clarkes, this house was the destination of Paul Revere on the night of April 18, 1775, as he and William Dawes rode from Boston to warn the sleeping Samuel Adams and John Hancock (first signer of the Declaration of independence) of the coming of British troops. The house contains period furnishings and portraits, William Diamond s drum, and the British Major Pitcairn s pistols. A barn behind the Hancock-Clarke House serves as the Society s Fire Equipment Museum.
Lexington Area Map National Park Service This map is courtesy of the National Park Service.
Route of British Force and Patriot Messengers Boston to Concord This map is courtesy of the National Park Service.
Lexington, MA Visitors Center 1875 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA 02420 Minute Man Visitors Center 250 North Great Road, Lincoln, MA. The route is 2.4 miles and if we don t stop, will take approximately 6 minutes.
This map is courtesy of the National Park Service. Lincoln Area Map National Park Service
Minute Man National Historic Park Minute Man Visitors Center 250 North Great Road, Lincoln, MA. The Visitors Center is open 9 AM- 5 PM. The park is open sunrise to sunset. Take pictures of exhibits here.
Minute Man National Historic Park Minute Man Visitors Center 250 North Great Road, Lincoln, MA. Multimedia Program (Free) The Road to Revolution shown every 30 minutes.
11:15 AM Meet at Jacob Whittemore House Parker s Revenge Program Gather at Whittemore House and explore the site where Captain John Parker and the Lexington militia fought the British for the second time with far different results than the first!
See location where Paul Revere was captured after John Nelson House. "...in an instant I saw four of them, who rode up to me, with their pistols in their hands, said G-d d-n you stop. If you go an Inch further, you are a dead Man...we attempted to git thro them, but they kept before us, and swore if we did not turn in to that pasture, they would blow our brains out....one of them, who appeared to have the command, and much of a Gentleman, Asked me where I came from; I told him, he asked me what time I left it; I told him, he seemed surprised, said Sir may I crave your name, I answered my name is Revere, what said he Paul Revere; I answered yes; the others abused much; but he told me not to be afraid, no one should hurt me... I told him they would miss their aim"
1:15 AM Meet at Hartwell s Tavern for Bloody Angle Program. Gather at Hartwell Tavern and walk down the Battle Road Trail to the site of one of the sharpest engagements of the day. where colonial militiamen caught the British soldiers in a deadly crossfire.
This map is courtesy of the National Park Service. Concord Area Map National Park Service
Concord/Colonel Barrett House Map National Park Service This map is courtesy of the National Park Service.
Minute Man National Historic Park North Bridge Visitors Center 174 Liberty Street, Concord, MA. The Visitors Center is open 9:30 AM- 5:30 PM. The park is open sunrise to sunset. Take pictures of exhibits here.
2:30, 3:30, 4:30 PM North Bridge Ranger Program. Join a ranger for a 20 minute program at the benches by the North Bridge. Reflect on the significance of the events of April 19, 1775 and legacy of the American Revolution. The original North Bridge was dismantled in 1793 by the town of Concord because its use as a bridge had become impractical; a new bridge was erected a few hundred yards away. The bridge was rebuilt multiple times in 1875, 1889, and 1909. The current replica was built in 1956 ] and was based on drawings of the bridge built in the 1760s. The bridge was restored in 2005.
Minute Man Statue by Daniel Chester French The three foot model was accepted in the fall of 1873. Dan then moved to a studio in Boston to create the final seven foot version. He rented a space in the famous Studio Building, a gathering place for artists, which once stood at the corner of Tremont and Bromfield streets in Boston. The final bronze statue was cast at the Ames Foundry in Chicopee using metal from Confederate cannons employed during the Civil War. On April 19, 1875, a massive procession of thousands, including President Grant, Vice-President Henry Wilson, nearly the entire cabinet, countless statesmen, and a variety of military units marched through Concord and across the newly reconstructed North Bridge. Emerson was there and read his Concord Hymn, the first stanza of which had been carved into the granite base of the statue.
1836 Obelisk In 1836, when there was no bridge at the site, the residents of Concord erected a memorial obelisk on the east side of the river, the side closest to the town center. Inscribed on the eastern (approach) side of the monument is: "HERE On the 19 of April, 1775, was made the first forcible resistance to British aggression[.] On the opposite Bank stood the American Militia[.] Here stood the Invading Army and on this spot the first of the Enemy fell in the War of that Revolution which gave Independence to these United States[.] In gratitude to GOD and In the love of Freedom this Monument was erected AD. 1836. On Independence Day, July 4, 1837, the memorial was dedicated, an event for which Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote his Concord Hymn which contains the lines, the shot heard round the world.
Route of British return from Concord to Boston This map is courtesy of the National Park Service.