If looking for a location for a family break what could be better than historic Concord in Massachusetts, origin of the ultimate family story, Little Women. Finding hotel deals is easy in the visitor-oriented town and as well as Louisa May Alcott’s home, there is much to see.
Concord founded in 1635 is a chic, pretty little town 19 miles west of bustling Boston Common and is popular with city dwellers for a day out, biking, walking, sightseeing of shopping.
Concord was home not only to Alcott and her family but also to authors Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau and Walden Pond State Park, where the two friends lived, and made famous, is nearby. Salem born Nathaniel Hawthorne also lived in the town for two short periods.
Monument Square at the heart of the town is a great starting place as most of the attractions are within a 15-minute walk of this landmark. The square is dominated by its Civil War memorial obelisk and is lined by churches and the town hall.
Above the square, next to the Holy Family Catholic Church is Old Hill Burying Ground, the town’s first cemetery, peaceful and leafy with a view of the town. There are many interesting epitaphs here, including that of John Jack, an African American resident, written by Daniel Bliss, which starts “God wills us free, man wills us slaves. I will as God wills Gods will be done.”
There are 2 other cemeteries in town, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where Alcott, Emerson and Thoreau are buried at Authors ridge and South Burial Ground, which contains among others, revolutionary war heroes. Concord’s North Bridge was the site for the first victory of the Revolution as the British were turned back towards Boston.
Orchard House, home to the Alcott family and where Louisa May wrote Little Women is just a mile from Monument Square on the Lexington Road. Tours are by guide only and tickets are on a first come first served basis. The Alcotts lived in Orchard house for 19 years and Louisa May wrote Little Women here in 1968 at a shelf desk her father made for her. The house is little changed since and many furnishings of the time are still there. Many visitors claim a tour is like a walk through the book itself. There is a store here to collect great Little Women merchandise and of course books.
Just to the east of the house is Wayside House, which was home to the Alcotts when Louisa was a teenager. The family later sold to Nathaniel Hawthorne. This is the house Louisa describes in Little Women, though is less atmospheric than Orchard House due to building alterations.
On the way back into town visitors will find the Concord Museum showing the history of the town and Emerson’s house where Ralph Waldo lived and died and is still owned by the Emerson family who have opened it as a museum.
Concord is full of cafes and restaurants to stop at and take stock of what you have seen so far on your visit to this ideal family destination.
This is a sponsored guest post. Linda is a freelance writer and bookseller who, following 19 years in IT for a large airline, loves to write about the places she has visited. She also adores her other job as a bookseller in a local bookstore.
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