Concord Visitor Center

Explore Concord and its historic Sites, unique shops and restaurants, and nature at its best! 

Concord is important in three periods of history. Incorporated and settled in 1635 by 12 English Puritan families. It was the first settlement inland and above tidewater which meant it was accessible only by land. The settlers chose the name Concord for the town because it was their intention to live in peace and harmony not only with each other but also the Native Americans who had occupied the land for thousands of years. Located at the junctions of the Concord/Sudbury and Assabet Rivers which had abundant runs of shad, alewife, herring and salmon. On April 19th, 1775, it was the scene of the first battle of the War for Independence – the American Revolution, the battle of Lexington and Concord. During the middle of the nineteenth century, a period aptly called “The Flowering of New England,” Concord was home to some of the greatest minds in America. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bronson Alcott, and his daughter Louisa May Alcott, lived, talked, and wrote in Concord. Because of them, visitors, both literary and transcendental, flocked to this town which became an American Athens.

Through the years, the people of Concord have carefully preserved the historic and literary aspects of the town and, in addition, have maintained a commitment to the conservation of generous amounts of open space and wilderness areas. Bucolic places like Walden Pond, now a State Reservation are now protected for posterity. The three historic Cemeteries especially Sleepy Hollow where the authors and other people of note are buried. Private and public endeavors have preserved the homes of the Concord authors while the Minute Man National Park manages the North Bridge and Battle Road areas. Justly proud of its rich cultural heritage, the Concord of today continues to foster the arts, having a chorus, orchestra, band, four theater companies, two art centers, museums, historic houses and a theater for the performing arts.