Check out a newer (2020) updated version of this post on my new blog: The Literary Nerds Guide To Concord, Massachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts was home to one of the most famous groups of writers during the 19th century. While there are many great bookish destinations all over the world, this one tiny New England town is wealthier in authors than many others. There is just something special about Concord (I may be a bit biased).
The authors who called Concord home were none other than, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau. While not all of these authors were originally from Concord, they did write some of their most famous works while they were residents of this sleepy little town steeped in history.
They were all also part of the transcendentalist movement. The movement originated in Boston sometime in the 1830s and occurred as a reaction to protest against the general state of intellectualism and spirituality of the time. The movement was literary, philosophical and political and was based on a core belief in the inherent goodness of people and nature (I can get behind that).
Transcendentalists have a deep appreciation for nature, not only for aesthetic purposes but also as a tool to understand the structured inner workings of the natural world. Which can be seen in the writing of Emerson, “In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, — no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, — my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space, — all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God.” – Emerson’s Nature
Staying: The Colonial Inn. If you love literature and history you will love this place!
Eats & Sips: Even if you don’t stay at the Colonial Inn you have to go there for lunch or dinner. I highly recommend the Alcott, truffle fries and the blueberry mule.
Now to the good stuff:
If you only do one tour, I highly suggest this one! You get to tour the home of Louisa May Alcott (from 1885 – 1877). This is THE place where she wrote Little Women and you even get to see the desk where she penned her most famous works. I was seriously impressed with the number of artifacts owned by the family in the home. If you’ve ever read Little Women, you know it’s based on Alcott and her sisters. Her youngest sister May (Amy in the book) was quite the artist and you get to see her work all over the house including in her bedroom where she drew on the wall. It was very cool! For more information click here.
This house is awesome because it’s still owned by the Emerson family. It operates as a seasonal museum and the interior is the same as when Emerson lived there. For more information click here.
Right next to the Orchard House you will find the Wayside. It is technically owned by Minute Man National Park but the Wayside was home to three prominent literary families: the Alcott’s, Hawthorne’s, and the Lothrop’s. According to NPS, “During the 19th century, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Louisa May Alcott, along with their neighbors Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, and other authors such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Herman Melville, and others, began a literary tradition recognized as distinctly American. As part of the first generation to inherit the Revolution, these writers helped shape the new nation’s cultural identity.”
This is where Emerson drafted his essay “Nature.” But that’s not this gorgeous Georgian clapboard buildings only claim to fame, it also sits right next to Old North Bridge where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired. Not only did Emerson reside in the Old Manse but so did Nathaniel Hawthorne, who wrote a tribute to the house called Mosses from an Old Manse. For more information click here.
Chances are that if you’ve heard of Thoreau then you are familiar with Walden Pond. A visit to Walden Pond will transport you back in time so that you can experience the connection with nature that inspired Thoreau’s Walden. While his original cabin no longer stands there is a replica of his one room cabin. In case you are unfamiliar with Thoreau’s observations of plants, animals, the passing seasons and his transcendental philosophy were published as Walden, or Life in the Woods, in 1854. For more information click here.
Not to be confused with the famous small town of Sleepy Hollow in New York and while it may seem a little odd to hang out in a cemetery this one is the final resting place of some serious literary geniuses. On Author’s Ridge, you will find the graves of Alcott, Emerson, Hawthorne, and Thoreau. I love that people leave pencil bouquets at each one of the author’s graves. Such a testament to their lasting legacies.
According to their website, “the Concord Museum’s galleries are undergoing renovations, over 100 objects, including the famed 1775 lantern from the night of Paul Revere’s ride, Native American tools from 10,000 years ago, and the desk on which Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden.” For more information click here.
Don’t forget to check out the cute bookstores in town!
“I like good strong words that mean something…” – Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
“Throw a stone into the stream and the ripples that propagate themselves are the beautiful type of all influence.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
– Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from an Old Manse.
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
― Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature
