Minute Man National Historical Park, Massachusetts - October 12th, 2021
We are not big history buffs, but visiting historical sites helps bring that history to life. Being in the location where historical events took place, surrounded by some of the same artifacts, helps to visualize what those events must have been like. Minute Man National Historical Park is one of those places. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there.
The first item of business as we started our drive from Acadia National Park to the Boston area was to get a document notarized. Right Buddy (RB) had a notary appointment in Ellsworth at a UPS Store at 10:30 am. So we didn’t leave Ellsworth until 11 am. However, that meant that we approached Boston at the wrong time of day. Our campground reservation was for the Minuteman Campground in Littleton, Massachusetts, which is northwest of Boston. What would have been about a four hour drive from Ellsworth turned into almost eight hours on the road. It was stop and go traffic on the interstate from Portsmouth Maine all the way to the campground.
The closer we got to Boston, the more faded the autumn colors became. Our positive attitudes faded along with the fall colors. We arrived at the campground about twenty minutes before the office closed, well after dark. Luckily, we had leftovers in the fridge, so dinner was quick and easy to prepare without many dirty dishes to wash afterwards. We were both stressed and tired. It was a two beer night for Left Buddy (LB). The cell signal was strong, so we spent the rest of the evening watching YouTube videos and relaxing.
The sun came back out on Tuesday so we could thoroughly enjoy our visit of the Minute Man National Historical Park. The park centers around the events that happened in the area back on April 19, 1775. That day was considered the first armed conflict between the Colonial Militia and the British Redcoats. The Battles of Lexington and Concord are known as the “shot heard round the world”. On that day, the British regulars marched from Boston to Concord to seek out the weapon stockpiles that the Colonists were storing. The bloody conflict started at North Bridge and followed the British the twenty miles back to Boston.
A section of the park is located at the North Bridge and that is where we started our visit. The original bridge is long gone, but there are plenty of other significant things to see there, such as the Minute Man Statue and the Old Manse house. We stayed to enjoy the 11:30 am ranger program at the Concord North Bridge. The ranger emphasized that we should not read history backwards. We know that it was the first conflict that led to the American Revolution, but most of the people involved in the battle that day were not thinking of a revolution. They were just trying to defend their liberties that they felt the King was trying to take away from them.
From there we drove over to the parking area at Meriam’s Corner. There is a lovely trail that traverses the length of the main section of the park called the Battle Road Trail. It is a multi-purpose trail that visitors can hike or bike on. It stretches about five miles from Meriam’s Corner to Fiske Hill, following the route that the British used to reach Concord from Boston and return that same fateful day. The park does ask that people walk their bikes in a few sections, such as a couple of long boardwalks through some swampy areas.
We chose to bike the trail. There are informational signs along the trail along with some artifacts from that day. We learned that the swampy areas were not swampy during the battle. The colonists had dug ditches and drained the swamps in those areas in order to grow hay. The notable structures that we saw from the trail were the Hartwell Tavern, the Captain William Smith House, and the Jacob Whittemore House. The trail also passes by the location where Paul Revere was captured.
The trail was a nice way to get some exercise, enjoy nature, and bring a little history to life. What really made the experience for RB was going along the stone walls that lined the farm fields, imagining the minute men hiding behind them, and the scattered grave sites of unknown British soldiers who did not survive that day.
We highly recommend taking the Battle Road Trail, either by foot or bicycle. It is rather long to walk the round trip, so we would suggest using two cars so you only have to go one way by foot. If you are coming from Boston, the NPS website includes directions to and from each end of the main park using public transportation. If you are mobility challenged, there are quite a few parking areas along the length of the park, so you can drive to most of the significant sites.
The trail is great for a group of people where everyone may not be interested in history, but wouldn’t mind hiking or biking. And you may even convert some of them into history buffs in the process, even if for only one day.
After our lovely bike ride and history lesson, we were ready for ice cream. We found the Bedford Farms Ice Cream shop in Concord. We parked a couple of blocks away and walked to the shop. The large old houses we walked past were beautiful. We love the plaques on the buildings indicating when they were originally built. Bedford Farms has been in business since 1880. After having some of their ice cream, it is easy to understand why they have been around for so long.
We are still not history buffs, but we left Minute Man National Historical Park with a deeper understanding of the events that took place back in 1775. As a result, we feel more connected to the birth of our nation.
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(RB)