Minuteman National Historic Park, The North Bridge And The Old Manse Another Long Day Exploring Concord

The weather forecasters were right. There  were clear skies and sunshine when I woke up Saturday morning in Concord,  Masschausetts. This morning I was going to combine my nature hike with some history.  So,  after a few cups of coffee in my room, I left the Residence Inn  by Marrriott  and drove about 3 miles to the “Battle Road Trail”  site  of the  Minute Man National Historic Park.  The park has five different  sites  The Old North Bridge  The Wayside House  and Barrett’s Farm all in Concord, the Battle Road  Trail from Concord to Lexington and the Battle Green in Lexington.  I  didn’t do any research before this  visit. I only knew that the Battle Road Trail, in addition to being historic, was a good birding trail. And one of the main reasons for my visit to Walden Pond and Concord  was to see and photograph the migrating birds. However,  I sure have refreshed my knowledge of the Revolutionary War and learned so much more, hiking the trail, and writing this blog. 

I begin my hike at the Meriams Corner parking area located on the Lexington Road about a mile from the center of Concord.  It is located near the first major battle  of the Revolutionary War. The British soldiers, retreating from the skirmish at the Old North Bridge (where  “the shot that was heard around the world”  was fired) were ambushed by the colonial minute men and militia. Two  British soldiers were killed and  it was  the beginning of the 16 mile retreat  and battle to Lexington and Boston, the first battle of the Revolutionary War.  I begin my hike on the cool morning and learned a lot of  history from the many informative placards along the trail.

In addition to the history I learned,  I also was able to enjoy the beauty of nature as I began my hike.   I love  sharing photos of the plants and animals I see on my hikes.  In the woodlands near the parking lot I saw a few northern yellow warblers,

a gray catbird, and,

a few  male common yellow throats.  All were migratory birds who  traveled great distances to sing for me in Massachuttes on this beautiful May morning.

Dandelion seeds,

and sensitive ferns were covered in dew and glistened in the morning sunshine.

I only saw few folks running on the trail as I I walked along fields that the placards told me were farmed continuously  since 1635, when Concord was founded. It was the first inland settlement of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

After about a 1/2 mile I came to some woodlands. I learned that there were  not many woodlands when the British soldiers retreated from Concord. There were only open  fields with rock fences between them.

In  this second growth woodland I heard and saw this colorful male rose breasted grosbeak and,

a Carolina wren. Both sang beautifully in the morning sunshine.  Only the Carolina wren will be singing here in the cold New England  winter.

The rose breasted grosbeak will be spending the winter in the jungles and forest of northern South America. The distances this birds travel always amazes me. I have recently been traveling to the Carribean and Central America to see them in their winter homes. I reflected on the  love Henry Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson had for nature and wondered  if they  knew how far these birds traveled to sing here in these fields.

In these woodlands I saw some  lady ferns,

and some type of mica cap mushroom.  I am not an exert on plant, animal or mushroom identification, and I rely on Google images or the identification apps I have on my iPhone. Please feel free to correct me if I get an identification wrong.

I continued  on the Battle Road Trail, also know in colonial times as the Bay Road or Old Concord Road. It took me to  some recently plowed fields,

where the  historic Farwell Jones House and Olive Stowe houses are located in front of the fields.  They were two of the eleven houses in the national park know as “witness houses” since the existed at the time of the battle and they would have watched the retreating British troops march past their homes. Unfortunately they could not be seen from the trail.

Here,  I saw a song sparrow,

and a Savannah  sparrow singing in the large trees in the fields  along the trail. The song sparrow is a year long resident but the Savannah sparrow will migrate south in  late summer.

The trail now took me to a boardwalk that crossed a stream and wetlands.

Here I saw some brown headed cowbirds, and,

and a downy woodpecker. Both are year round residents.

There were native jack-in -the pulpit flowers,

and  many large skunk cabbages  in the wetlands,

and invasive lily of the valley,

 bugleweed,

and greater celandine flowers blooming along the trail. 

The trail continued through the wetlands,  and into some more fields,

where I saw this beautiful blue-winged warbler.

It was my first time seeing this colorful bird.

I now came to the area know as Brooks Hill.  Here there was a lot of fighting between the British and colonial forces. 

There was another “witness” house along the trail, this owned by one of the members of the Brooks family that farmed this area.

The trail continued into another wetland,

and then adense woodland. I was out about  1 3/4 miles now.

Here I saw many familiar native wildflowers and plants including  pretty Canada May flowers, and

May Apple or mandrake flowers.

I also saw  medicinal, but invasive  common burdock,

and the pretty and invasive, but poisnous and  rash causing  poison ivy plants along the trail. 

It was now late morning and  I now encountered  dozens of hikers, joggers and bicyclists along the trail, enjoying the warm May morning sunshine.  I wasn’t seeing as much bird activity now but I was still enjoying my walk.

After about 2 miles I came to two sharp bends in  the road,

which have become know as the “bloody angle“.

Here, between these bends in the road,  the British regulars were caught in a crossfire as colonial militia fired from the rock fences and trees.  There are markers along the trails indicating that British soldiers were buried here.

It was late afternoon and I  was now out about 2 1/2 miles. I was hungry and still wanted to visit the Old North Bridge so I began a slow walk back.  I didn’t see any new birds on the walk, but I saw a lot of people. The trail really did get crowded with folks enjoying the natural beauty and history of the trail.

I did see a few  more wildflowers, native wood anemones,

and,  this nodding trillium. I love seeing trilliums in the woodlands near my home. This was the first time I saw a nodding trillium.

As I approached the woodlands near the parking lot, I saw a few more birds, a common American  robin,

a black and white warbler,

an ovenbird,

and  a yellow-bellied sapsucker. Here is a link to a gallery  on my blog web-page with some more photos of the birds I saw on my hike on the trail. Concord Minute Man National  Historic Park birds May 16 2026.

I fisnished my  5 mile hike seeing many familiar plants and birds and also learning so much about the history of our Nation. Here is a link to a gallery  on my blog web-page with some more photos from  my hike on the historic trail. Concord Minute Man National  Historic Park  May 16 2026.

It was late morning and I quickly drove to Helen’s Restaurant just in time to order a late breakfast, a vegetable omelet with whole rye  toast and home fries. It was filling and delicious. 

After eating I was ready to explore some more of historic Concord  and  of the Minute Man National Historic Park. This time I drove about a 1/2 mile from downtown Concord to the the Old North Bridge, the site of the famous “shot that was heard around the world”. It was beautiful May afternoon and there was a large crowd of people walking on the path to the famous bridge.  I first walked to the famous Old Manse House.  Here Ralph Waldo Emerson’s , grandparents witnessed the battle on the North Bridge.  I would take a tour of this historic house  later in the afternoon.

I next walked through the beautiful gardens behind the house ,

and down to the Concord River, where I got my first view of the Old North Bridge. This bridge is   only a replica of  the original bridge where the colonial minute men and militia engaged the British forces on April 19 1775  killing a few of them and causing  them to retreat along the  Battle Road I had hiked earlier. It was the start of  the American Revolution and the first volley was know as ” the shot heard around the world.”

I walked to the bridge and the memorial to the British soldiers who died here during the battle, 

and to the much large and more famous Minute Man Statute, another sculpture by Daniel Chester French who also  was designed the statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial. He is buried in the nearby  Sleepy Hollow Cemetery I visited the previous day.

I then walked through the beautiful gardens,

to the Visitor Center. Here I learned so much more about the history of the famous battle that occcured here and changed the history of the world.

It was a wonderful way to enjoy this beautiful Spring afternoon,

and to learn so much about our Nations history.

After walking through the gardens,

the large trees,

and the many beautiful flowers,

I returned to the Old Manse House, where I found some edible oyster mushrooms growing in the front yard.

I then had a wonderful tour of the home.  Our guide took us through each room of the home,explaining  the many paintings, artifacts and personal items of the famous people who lived here.

In addition to the Emerson’s,the author Nathaniel Hawthorne once lived here. This is his portrait.

We were also told how Thoreau planted vegetable garden for Hawthorn and how the  National Park staff plants a similar vegetable garden  in the same location as Thoreau’s original garden.

It was another great tour and I again learned so much about the history of our Nation. Here is a link to a gallery  on my blog web-page with some more photos from  my hike on the historic trail and tour of the famous Old Manse house. . Concord Minute Man National  Historic Park North Bridge  May 16 2026.

After my tour and 2  1/2  mile hike I returned to my hotel and edited some photos.  I was tired from my hikes but it was a beautiful afternoon and I couldn’t sit in my hotel room. I decided to explore the neighborhood around my hotel.  I love exploring the business, industrial and residential neighborhoods in the towns and cities I visit.

As I walked past the hotel parking lot I saw a northern mockingbird  on this sign.  This was one of my dad’s favorite birds. I often see them on my travels, reminding me my dad travels with me.

I also saw this song  sparrow,

and I was surprised to find these honeybee hives,

  in the woods by the parking lot.

I continued my hike through the business park where  the Residences Inn was located.   I  came to a small pond I saw on a map.I hoped  to see some bird  or  other wildlife here  but there was none.

I left the business park, crossing a railroad track,

and walked into a quiet middle class neighborhood, with well-maintained homes and gardens. I  had walked for over a mile and was getting tired and hungry. I had  walked almost 9 miles  so far on Saturday. .

It was now early evening  and I walked past Dino’s Greek Kouzina and Pizzeria   I decided to eat here. It was another great choice. I had the baked lemon haddock served with a warm  Greek salad and rice. It was delicious. I still had almost a mile walk back to the hotel in the late evening sunshine. It was a pleasant walk.   It was almost 7 p.m. when I returned to my hotel room. It was  a long day. I edited some photos and soon fell asleep looking forward to another hike at Walden Pond in the morning.  Here is a link to a gallery  on my blog web-page with some more photos from  my evening walk. . Concord evening walk   May 16 2026.

“Here once the embattled farmers stood, / And fired the shot heard round the world.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Oh, What a glorious morning for America!”   Samuel Adams