Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lexington & Concord
In Lexington, 15 miles northwest of Boston, the historic
Battle Green
(Massachusetts Ave)
is where a skirmish between patriots and British troops jump-started the War of
Independence in 1775. Following the battle, the British Redcoats marched west to Con-
cord, following a route now known as
Battle Road
. The Minutemen and the Redcoats
faced off again at the
Old North Bridge
- the first American victory. This whole area is
Lincoln;
9am-5pm Apr-Oct, 9am-4pm Nov;
)
, with visitor centers at the east end
of Battle Rd and near the bridge.
Aside from its revolutionary history, Concord also harbored a vibrant literary commu-
nity in the 19th century. Next to the
Old North Bridge
is the
Old Manse
(
www.thetrustees.org
; 269 Monument St; adult/child/senior & student $8/5/7; noon-5pm Tue-
Sun May-Oct, Sat & Sun only Mar-Apr & Nov-Dec)
, former home of author Nathaniel
Hawthorne. Within a mile of the town center are the
Ralph Waldo Emerson house
(
www.rwe.org
;
28 Cambridge Turnpike; adult/child/senior & student $7/free/5; 10am-4:30pm
Thu-Sat, 1-4:30pm Sun mid-Apr-Oct)
and Louisa May Alcott's
Orchard House
(
www.louisamayalcott.org
; 399 Lexington Rd; adult/child/senior & student $10/5/8;
10am-4:30pm Mon-Sat, 1-4:30pm Sun Apr-Oct, 11am-3pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4:30pm Sat, 1-4:30pm
Sun Nov-Mar)
.
Henry David Thoreau lived and wrote his most famous treatise at
Walden Pond
(
www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/walden
;
915 Walden St; dawn-dusk)
,
3 miles south of the
town center. Visit his cabin site and take an inspiring hike around the pond. All these au-
dawn-dusk)
in the town center. The
Concord Chamber of Commerce
(
www.concordchamberofcommerce.org
; 58 Main St; 9:30am-4:30pm Apr-Oct)
has full details
on sites, including opening hours for the homes, which vary with the season.
Salem
Salem is renowned for the witch hysteria in 1692, when innocent folks were put to death
for practicing witchcraft. Nowadays, the town embraces its role as 'Witch City' with
witchy museums, spooky tours and Halloween madness.
These incidents obscure the city's true claim to fame: its glory days as a center for
clipper-ship trade with the Far East. The
Salem Maritime National Historic Site
(
www.nps.gov/sama
;
193 Derby St; 9am-5pm)
comprises the custom house, the
wharves and the other buildings along Derby St that are remnants of the shipping in-
