The Old Manse

The Old Manse Built in 1769, adjacent to Concord's Old North Bridge: Witness to Revolution, and home of Hawthorne, Emerson and American Transcendentalism.
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A property of The Trustees of Reservations, this National Historic Landmark witnessed the "shot heard round the world," and, less than a century later, Emerson, Hawthorne, and Thoreau spawned a revolution in American philosophy from here.

The garden is looking very pretty in purple lately! It’s been a joy to watch the parade of colors as the seasons go on!
05/31/2026

The garden is looking very pretty in purple lately!

It’s been a joy to watch the parade of colors as the seasons go on!

A huge thank you to the students from the Norfolk Agricultural High School who helped plant Thoreau’s Vegetable Garden t...
05/29/2026

A huge thank you to the students from the Norfolk Agricultural High School who helped plant Thoreau’s Vegetable Garden today! All the produce from the garden will go to local food pantries!

Can you see the familiar outline of the Old Manse?This photograph was taken in 1894 by William Brewster, the first presi...
05/28/2026

Can you see the familiar outline of the Old Manse?

This photograph was taken in 1894 by William Brewster, the first president of Mass Audubon, who owned land just up the river from the Manse and took many photographs of the area between 1890 and 1905.

Image Credit: Collection of Mass Audubon with digitization funded by the Nuttall Ornithological Society.

Happy Birthday to Ralph Waldo Emerson! Today marks his 223rd birthday! Image Credit: “Emerson reading to Edith and Ellen...
05/25/2026

Happy Birthday to Ralph Waldo Emerson! Today marks his 223rd birthday!

Image Credit: “Emerson reading to Edith and Ellen,” William Munroe Special Collections at the Concord Free Public Library.

Join us next week on May 31 from 2-3PM for An Afternoon of Poetry! On select Sundays throughout the summer, the New Engl...
05/24/2026

Join us next week on May 31 from 2-3PM for An Afternoon of Poetry! On select Sundays throughout the summer, the New England Poetry Cub will be bringing the wonders of the written (and spoken) word to the Old Manse grounds in celebration of all the literary figures who found a community here!

On May 31 we'll be hearing from Gail Hanlon, Diana Cole, and Paula J. Lambert!

Irises are blooming in the flower garden! We can wait for more beautiful colors to pop up in the gardens as the summer g...
05/22/2026

Irises are blooming in the flower garden!

We can wait for more beautiful colors to pop up in the gardens as the summer goes on!

Where’s Waldo?Can you find Ralph Waldo Emerson hiding in the Bookstore? Hint: He seems to be a big fan of his own work!
05/21/2026

Where’s Waldo?

Can you find Ralph Waldo Emerson hiding in the Bookstore?

Hint: He seems to be a big fan of his own work!

Mosses from an Old Manse in an Old Manse! Next time you’re touring the house see if you can spot this beautifully decora...
05/19/2026

Mosses from an Old Manse in an Old Manse!

Next time you’re touring the house see if you can spot this beautifully decorated copy of Mosses (hint: it’s tucked away in the room where Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote it!)

"Balmy Spring—weeks later than we expected and months later than we longed for her—comes at last to revive the moss on t...
05/16/2026

"Balmy Spring—weeks later than we expected and months later than we longed for her—comes at last to revive the moss on the roof and walls of our old mansion. She peeps brightly into my study-window, inviting me to throw it open." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Don’t you wish that you could be a fly on the wall? Join us for an Attic Tour of the Old Manse this Sunday, or any 3rd S...
05/14/2026

Don’t you wish that you could be a fly on the wall?

Join us for an Attic Tour of the Old Manse this Sunday, or any 3rd Sunday, to see these drawings by Edward Simmons and hear all the fascinating stories these walls have to share!

Address

269 Monument Street
Concord, MA
01742

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 5pm
Wednesday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

Telephone

+19783693909

Website

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