Concord Memories, PART 3

On Sunday there were no reenactment events, and the 3 of us spent the whole day sightseeing in Concord. In period clothing, we went to the Concord Museum, and had a wonderful tour of Louisa May Alcott's home, Orchard House. We stood at Concord Bridge, where the 'brits' met the patriots in a skirmish in April of 1775, and later, had an early and divine dinner at the Colonial Inn dining room again. Concord has a long and distinguished literary history, and the ghosts of famous and beloved authors were all around us.
My favorite tour of the day however, was of The Old Manse, a Georgian home that passed in the Emerson family. In the 1840's when the house was already very old, Ralph Waldo Emerson rented it to his friend Nathanial Hawthorne and his new bride, Sofia Peabody Hawthorne. They lived there for what they referred to as 3 blissful years. They were very much in love, and spent their happiest times in the Old Manse.
Our tour guide was fantastic. My very favorite thing on the tour were the 18thc. panes of window glass, still intact, on which Sofia had scratched her thoughts with her diamond ring back in the 1840's.

The thin spring sunlight came through these windows, and we could clearly read what she had etched there all those years ago. It was as if she were reaching out from the past in a poignant and timeless way...

Sofia Peabody Hawthorne, bride of Nathaniel, etched her thought onto several of the ancient window panes in The Old Manse.

The Old Manse, Concord Mass.

Concord Bridge~The site of bloody fighting in 1775.

The Concord Museum~We had fun seeing all the period room settings and exhibits, as well as spending time in the gift shop. Penny bought books at every stop we made! We met a neat couple here. The husband has portrayed Frederick Douglass for over 20 years for schools, museums, etc., and he and Adam talked for quite awhile.

Orchard House, where the Alcott family lived, and where Louisa May wrote 'Little Women'. This house was built in the 17thc., and is one of the oldest if not the oldest in Concord Mass. We had another wonderful tour, and learned a lot. The original well from the 1600's was found when workmen did some digging there, and there is now a hole cut in the floor of one room with plexiglass over it, and you can look down and see the ancient stone well.

We have decided that we are going to do this again next year, and Penny has already made reservations for rooms for all of us, for the reenactment weekend in April 2012! We have special plans made for next year's trip that I will share with you later. It's hard to remember to take photos sometimes when there is a lot going on and you are busy, or having so much fun, but I will resolve to try to take more next year, of everything we are doing.