Concord Local Historic Districts

Americans argue vociferously about what our country is, who it is for, and what it means. These debates help reshape and reform and—hopefully—deepen our understanding of history and identity. The old places that embody our identity are the perfect venues for those discussions and debates.
--Tom Mayes, Why Old Places Matter

Concord’s local historic districts and Minute Man National Historical Park preserve national treasures represented in their connected cultural landscapes. In a 1958 report to the US Congress, the historic districts and National Park were conceived as two parts of the whole nationally-significant cultural landscape, a permanent memorial to be protected with the strongest preservation tools available for all people and all time. 

These places of national memory are associated with the opening battle of the American Revolution leading to the founding of the first modern democracy. In the widest perspective, a 19^th-century Hungarian leader and freedom fighter described them as “the opening scene of a revolution that is destined to change the character of human governments and the condition of the human race.”*

They contain many layers of meaning and association spanning millenia of human habitation. Concord's historic districts are famous for:   

• First battle of the American Revolution that led to the creation of the first modern democratic republic.
• Early leadership in the global environmental movement. Forward-thinking naturalists like Emerson and Thoreau built upon and popularized traditional ecological knowledge of Indigenous people of Massachusetts.
• Free thinkers dedicated to social justice who embraced personal expression, experimental living and peaceful protest to challenge conventions and inspire world leaders like Ghandi and King. 
• Continued commitment to thoughtful observation, dialog, consensus building, and civic engagement.

Concord’s historic districts form “Old Concord,” iconically American, with flavors of the Old World. In the village center, rural roads, and neighborhoods, history is still palpable and integral to living. Each district has its own unique look, feel and storied past.

Stay tuned for descriptions of each Concord local historic district. The following are Preservation Goals from the Concord Historic District Commission Design Guidelines. 

Preservation Goals

Monument Square/North Bridge Historic District Preservation Goals

Where the Monument Square/North Bridge abuts the Main Street Historic District and American Mile Historic District, preservation goals should support an appreciation of Concord’s history from the earliest settlement through the American Revolution, [and its growth]...as a regional center through the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  Many of the structures within this District are of the highest historic significance and many have architectural and literary significance as well.  It is important that all of these factors be considered in reviewing any potential changes within this District.  As the landscape itself is…an important character in the history of this area, preservation goals should include retaining the open setting and view corridors with few if any changes to the topography.  New additions and landscaping elements should be set into the existing contours of the land to minimize their impact on historic sites.   The many stone walls and boundary features which typify the landscape in and around Concord should also be maintained and preserved in their existing locations and configurations.

American Mile Historic District Preservation Goals (Lexington Road)

Nearly 400 years after the incorporation of Concord, Lexington Road still holds much of its original character.  Imposing houses and churches near the Town center give way gradually to open space and a more rural appearance.  The rugged line of the Ridge along its north side still offers protection to the houses lined up along the roadway while the Mill Brook and its floodplain provide open space and vistas across the former pastureland.   No longer used for grazing, its continued preservation provides a wildlife sanctuary, while its virtually undisturbed contours give a sense of what made Concord attractive for early settlement…. 

The American Mile can…be seen as an extension of Minuteman National Historical Park, and as such, is the first glimpse many visitors have of Concord. The vistas afforded by the meadows and the well-tended historic structures as well as the sense of history mingling with growth and change make Lexington Road an area that requires sensitive preservation.

Main Street Historic District Preservation Goals

The early settlement pattern of Concord was dictated by its waterways and, particularly in the case of Concord Center, the Mill Brook.   The relationship of the District’s buildings to these waterways and the character of the landscapes and open spaces along them are historically significant and should be preserved. 

The District’s [commercial and] residential buildings are…significant elements of the village setting and their character must be protected and preserved.   Buildings are generally comfortably close to each other and develop spatial relationships without encroaching on one another.  This level of visual density should be preserved. The inventory of architectural styles in the Main Street Historic District is rich and varied and the entire District benefits from this diversity.  Further, most buildings remain individually true to their original style, character, materials and construction.  In considering changes or additions within the Main Street Historic District, it is important that the overall diversity of the District be maintained and that trends toward homogeneity avoided.  At the same time changes to individual structures should be consistent with the scale, style and architectural elements of the original in order to be deemed appropriate.  

[As with the other more rural districts,] many of the buildings in the Main Street Historic District hold great literary and/or historical significance due to associations with persons, events or works of note. These associations must be carefully considered in determining the appropriateness of proposed changes.

Barrett Farm Historic District Preservation Goals (Lowell and Barrett’s Mill Roads)

[The destination of British Regulars on April 19, 1775, the] Col. James Barrett Farm House [was recently incorporated] into the Minuteman National Historical Park. [The National Park designation will]…draw attention to the District’s agrarian history and the lands that have been continuously farmed from colonial times to the present.   

The relationship of open fields, cultivated farmland, trees, rivers, streams, and wetlands are integral to the Barrett Farm Historic District’s landscape.  The visual interest of Barrett’s Mill Road comes from the variety of architectural styles and historic periods that span the 17th to 21st centuries. Although much of the 20^th-century construction along Barrett’s Mill Road is undistinguished, large lots are typical of the district and, generally, both antique and contemporary houses occupy a lesser rather than greater portion of the lot size. It is important that the existing historic fieldstone foundations, building scale and diversity are preserved and maintained.  Building, lighting and landscaping plans for Barrett’s Mill Road should be carefully reviewed to be consistent with a rural agrarian landscape.

* Hungarian leader and freedom fighter Louis Kossuth quoted in "The Lexington-Concord Battle Road: Interim Report of the Boston National Historic Sites Commission to the Congress of the United States," June 16, 1958, page 11.