1890s

Pellet-Barrett House, Concord, Massachusetts

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The house at 5 Lexington Road in Concord, around 1895-1905. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

The house in 2023:

The house in these two photos stands on the north side of Lexington Road, just to the east of Monument Square in the center of Concord. The main portion of the house was built around 1728-1729, but according to its MACRIS inventory form, the rear wing of the house is even older, possibly dating to the 1670s. Assuming that date is accurate, the earliest owner of the house appears to have been Mary Dane Pellet, who lived here with her husband Thomas Pellet. The property remained in the Pellet family until 1706, when their son Daniel Pellet sold it to Josiah Blood. By 1728 the house was owned by Edward Flint, and then by the 1730s by Benjamin Barrett.

The main portion of the house, with the gambrel roof, appears to have been built by either Flint or Barrett. Subsequent 18th century owners included Ezekiel Brown Jr., a merchant who fell into debt in the years leading up to the American Revolution. His creditors had him imprisoned in Boston, during which time he studied medicine and later served as a surgeon in the Continental Army during the Revolution. However, after the war his creditors again pursued him, and he landed in jail in the late 1780s and ultimately lost his house.

The next owner was Abel Barrett, who purchased it from Brown’s creditor in 1792. The Barrett family owned it until 1818, and then sold it to Elisha Tolman, a shoemaker and church deacon who lived here until his death in 1858. According to the MACRIS inventory, Tolman likely made shoes in the wing on the west side of the house, in the distance on the left side of this scene. His son Benjamin subsequently acquired the property, and he and his wife Anne continued to own it throughout the rest of the 19th century, although it appears to have been used as a rental property for some of that time.

By the time the top photo was taken at the turn of the 20th century, the house was still owned by the Tolman family. However, the Tolmans sold it in 1908, and then a year later it was purchased by the Old Concord Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Under the leadership of Harriet Lothrop, a noted children’s book author and historic preservationist, the DAR restored the house and used it as its headquarters for many years. During this time, the DAR added a wing on the back of the house in 1929. The organization ultimately sold the house in 1951.

Today, more than a century after the top photo was taken, there have not been very many changes to this scene. Both this house and the neighboring house to the left are still standing, as is the Colonial Inn in the distance on the far left side. The house is now apartments, with four units according to the town assessor’s property card. It stands as one of the many surviving 18th century homes that line Lexington Road, and it is a contributing property in the the Concord Monument Square–Lexington Road Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Lexington Road, Concord, Massachusetts

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The view looking east on Lexington Road in Concord, around 1895-1905. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

The scene in 2023:

These two photos show the row of historic homes that line the north side of Lexington Road, just to the east of the town center of Concord. Most of these homes have been featured in more detail in previous posts, including, starting in the foreground on the left side, the c.1752-1753 John Ball House. The next house, which does not yet have its own individual post on this site, is located at 47 Lexington Road, and it is said to have been built around 1650 as the home of Thomas Dale, although it was later enlarged in the 18th century. Beyond it is the c.1817 Captain John Adams House, and farther in the distance is the c.1720 Reuben Brown Saddler’s Shop and the c.1720 Reuben Brown House.

More than a century later, all of the houses from the top photo are still standing. A few of the trees also appear to be the same, including the elm in the foreground and the large sycamore in the distant center of the scene. Because of its level of preservation, and because of the road’s association with the Battle of Concord at the start of the American Revolution, this section of Lexington Road is part of the Concord Monument Square–Lexington Road Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Captain John Adams House, Concord, Massachusetts

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The house at 57 Lexington Road in Concord, around 1895-1905. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

The house in 2023:

The house in these two photos was built around 1817, making it relatively young compared to its colonial-era neighbors that line the north side of Lexington Road. It is an excellent example of Federal style architecture, and it was built for Captain John Adams, a shopkeeper who lived here with his family until 1831. According to the building’s MACRIS inventory form, the house was then divided into two separate units, with each one having a series of owners throughout the rest of the 19th century.

The top photo was taken around the turn of the 20th century, when it was owned by William and Marcella Brown. It was during their ownership that the house reverted to a single-family home, but they evidently never lived in it. Instead, they used it as a rental property, with tenants who included the prominent musician and music educator Thomas Whitney Surette. Thomas and his wife Ada lived here for the rest of their lives, and eventually purchased the house in the 1920s. She died in 1937, and Thomas died in 1941.

Today, more than a century after the top photo was taken, there is now a fence and a row of hedges in front of the house, and the house appears to have been expanded in the back. Otherwise, though, the exterior of the original part of the house looks essentially unchanged since the top photo was taken, and it stands as one of the many historic homes here in the center of Concord.

John Ball House, Concord, Massachusetts

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The house at 37 Lexington Road in Concord, around 1895-1905. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

The scene in 2023:

The house in these two photos was built around 1752-1753 by John Ball, a silversmith who lived in the neighboring house to the east. He does not appear to have personally lived in this house, because he sold it in 1753. According to the house’s MACRIS inventory form, the house had a series of owners during the 18th and early 19th centuries. From the mid-1750s until 1773 it was owned by Joseph Butler, a tavern keeper who later served as a militia captain at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolution. In 1773 it was purchased by Thomas Cordis. He died young, and his widow Elizabeth remarried to Jonas Lee, and they lived here in this house until her death in 1808. Jonas then remarried to Martha Abbott, and then to Rebecca Colburn. It was in 1815, while he was married to Rebecca, that Jonas Lee enlarged the house with the large wing on the right side of the house.

The Lee family sold the house in 1827, and it saw a variety of owners throughout the rest of the 19th and into the 20th centuries. The top photo was taken around the turn of the 20th century, when it was owned by the Walcott family. It would remain a private residence until 1922, when artist Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts purchased it for the Concord Art Association. She had founded the association five years earlier, and this building became its first permanent home.

More than a century later, the Concord Art Association is still headquartered here, as shown in the bottom photo. Remarkably little has changed here in this scene, aside from the removal of the historically inappropriate shutters, and even the large elm in the foreground appears to be the same one that was growing here when the top photo was taken.

Reuben Brown Saddler’s Shop, Concord, Massachusetts

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The house at 69 Lexington Road in Concord, around 1895-1905. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

The scene in 2023:

These two photos show the house at 69 Lexington Road in Concord, which was discussed in more detail in a previous post. It was likely built around the 1720s, and was originally much smaller. Over the course of the 18th century it was used as a shop by several different saddlers, most notably Reuben Brown, who lived in the adjacent house just to the right of the shop. On April 19, 1775, during the first day of fighting in the American Revolution, his shop was raided by British soldiers, who helped themselves to saddles and other leather goods. They also set fire to the shop, although it was quickly extinguished.

Around the 1850s, the building was expanded and converted into a residence. During the second half of the 19th century, it was owned by George and Julia Clark, who lived in this house and operated a boarding house here and also at 77 Lexington Road. Julia died in 1899, and the top photo was probably taken around this time, likely sometime between 1895 and 1905. The house has remained a private residence since then, with few exterior changes aside from the removal of the shutters, as shown in the bottom photo.

Reuben Brown House and Saddler’s Shop, Concord, Massachusetts

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The houses at 77 and 69 Lexington Road in Concord, around 1895-1905. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

The scene in 2023:

These two photos show a pair of houses on the north side of Lexington Road, just east of the town center of Concord. Although located on separate parcels now, the histories of these homes are closely connected. The house on the right, at 77 Lexington Road, was evidently built around 1720. At one point it was believed to have been constructed around 1667, but this is not supported by architectural evidence inside the house, which suggests an early 18th century date.

According to the building’s MACRIS documentation, the house’s early 18th century ownership is difficult to untangle, but it appears to have been owned by the Bulkeley family, including Colonel Joseph Bulkeley and his son John Bulkeley, before being sold to Francis Fletcher in 1725. Exactly which owner built the house is uncertain, but it appears to have been built by the time Fletcher purchased it. He then sold the property to Edward Emerson in 1737, whose widow Hannah later sold it to Henry Gould in 1750.

Gould was a saddler, and he lived in the house on the right, but he may have had his saddler’s shop in the house on the left. It was likely also built sometime around the 1720s, and historical evidence suggests that it was originally a manufacturing shop, before being converted into a residence in the 19th century. After Gould’s death, his widow sold the entire property to another saddler, Reuben Brown, who may have been Gould’s apprentice.

These buildings are perhaps best remembered for their involvement with the events of April 19, 1775, during the Battles of Lexington and Concord. During their brief occupation of the Concord town center, British soldiers looted Brown’s shop. They commandeered his chaise and used it to transport wounded soldiers, and they helped themselves to saddles, bridles, stirrups, and cartridge boxes. They also started a fire in his shop. It may have been accidental, and it was soon extinguished, but it was one of only two buildings in town that were damaged by fire on the day of the battle.

Despite having property damaged and stolen at the start of the Revolution, the war ultimately proved lucrative for Brown. He produced various leather products for the army, and by the 1780s he was able to afford a major expansion of the house, which had previously been much smaller. He and his wife Polly lived here for the rest of their lives, until her death in 1823 and his death in 1832, and their son Reuben Brown Jr. subsequently inherited the property.

The younger Reuben died in 1854, and both the house and the saddler’s shop were then purchased by George Clark, who lived here with his wife Julia. It was apparently during their ownership that the saddler’s shop on the left was converted into a residential building. The Clarks lived in the former saddler’s shop, and they operated both buildings as boarding houses. Among the people who are said to have rented rooms here include Transcendentalist author Ralph Waldo Emerson and abolitionist John Brown.

After George Clark’s death in 1871, Julia continued to run the boarding house here in both buildings, but in 1886 she sold the larger house at 77 Lexington Road to the Concord Antiquarian Society, which used the house as its museum. Julia remained in the house on the left at 69 Lexington Road until her death in 1899, and her daughter Harriet Warren subsequently inherited it.

The top photo was taken at some point around the turn of the 20th century, when the Concord Antiquarian Society was still located in the house on the right. However, in 1930 the organization moved down the street to a new, purpose-built museum building. Now known as the Concord Museum, it is still located there today.

After the museum moved out of 77 Lexington Road, the house was sold and operated as a restaurant and inn for many years, before eventually being converted back into a private residence in 1955. In the meantime, the former saddler’s shop on the left went through a variety of owners over the course of the 20th century, and remains a private residence.

Today, more than a century after the top photo was taken, this scene still looks largely the same. There have been some landscaping changes, including the retaining wall in the front yard of 77 Lexington Road, and the house itself has seen some modifications, including the triple windows on the third floor and an addition to the ell on the south side of the house. Neither of the houses still have shutters, although these were likely 19th century additions, as colonial New England houses generally did not have exterior shutters. Overall, these two homes survive as important witness houses to the events of April 19, 1775, and they are among the many historic homes that line this portion of Lexington Road.