Lexington, MA
Lexington was incorporated in 1713, evolving from the earlier settlement known as Cambridge Farms. Originally a farming community organized around its town common, Lexington developed the classic New England pattern of shared land, meetinghouse governance, and tightly woven civic life. On April 19, 1775, the town’s quiet green became the site of the opening battle of the American Revolution, forever linking Lexington to the birth of the nation. Today, its preserved Battle Green, historic taverns, and colonial homes reflect a community where local life and national history remain inseparably connected.
Recent Posts
A 1777 Child’s Primer in Revolutionary
Inside Buckman Tavern in Lexington, I came across this remarkably small book. It is a children’s primer dating from 1777, only two years after the fighting at Lexington and Concord and just one year after the Declaration of Independence. On the first page, John Hancock is identified as a leader of the new nation. That […]
USS Lexington Memorial
Most visitors come to Lexington to remember the events of April 19, 1775, when the American Revolution began on the town’s Green. Tucked quietly nearby is another memorial that tells a different story, one that extends far beyond Massachusetts and across the world’s oceans. This memorial honors the United States Navy ships that have carried […]
The West Room at Buckman Tavern
Of all the rooms in Buckman Tavern, none captures the atmosphere of April 19, 1775, more vividly than the West Room. Today it is furnished much as it would have appeared in the eighteenth century, with a long wooden table surrounded by Windsor chairs, pewter mugs, candleholders, and writing materials. It is easy to imagine […]
Memorial to the Lexington Minutemen
Whenever I visit Lexington Green, I find myself drawn not only to the monuments that commemorate the beginning of the American Revolution, but also to those that remember the individuals whose lives were forever changed there. This memorial honors the eight members of the Lexington militia who were killed on the Green during the early […]
The First Meeting Houses of Lexington
While walking across Lexington’s historic town center, I stopped at this simple granite marker that identifies the site of the town’s first three meeting houses. It is easy to overlook, yet it marks one of the most important locations in Lexington’s early history. The first meeting house was built here in 1692, when Lexington was […]
Buckman Tavern
There are some towns that have preserved their colonial roots remarkably well, and Lexington is certainly one of them. Marty and I took a ride over to the town this year simply to walk the familiar sites once again. Since Buckman Tavern was open, we took the opportunity to tour it and revisit one of the places […]
Munroe Tavern
Standing beside Munroe Tavern in Lexington, it is difficult to imagine how quickly this quiet colonial tavern became swept into the chaos of the opening day of the American Revolution. Built in 1735, the tavern originally served travelers moving along the busy road between Boston and Concord. Taverns like this were essential gathering places in colonial […]
Women’s Liberty Monument
This is the Lexington Women’s Liberty Monument, officially titled “Something is Being Done” that was unveiled in May 2024 in the historic center of Lexington. The memorial was created by sculptor Meredith Bergmann and was commissioned by the organization LexSeeHer to recognize the women whose stories had been left out of Lexington’s public monuments. The phrase engraved beneath where […]
Hancock-Clarke Parsonage
Standing along the roadside in Lexington, the Hancock-Clarke Parsonage preserves one of the most important gathering places connected to the opening of the American Revolution. Built in 1737, the parsonage became forever tied to the dramatic events of April 18-19, 1775, when Paul Revere and William Dawes arrived here warning that British troops were marching toward […]
“Stand Your Ground” Monument
On the Green in Lexington, there is this stone monument, low to the ground, a rough granite boulder. Carved into ts surface are words that carry the weight of a nation’s beginning: “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.” These words are […]
Revolutionary War Monument
The Revolutionary Monument on Lexington Green, erected in 1799, is widely considered the first monument in the United States specifically commemorating the American Revolution. The monument stands on Lexington Battle Green, the site where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired on April 19, 1775. Twenty-four years after the battle, the town of Lexington […]
Minuteman Statue
Standing on the Lexington Battle Green, the Minuteman statue captures a single, defining moment in American history: The morning of April 19, 1775. This figure represents Captain John Parker, commander of the Lexington militia, not a professional soldier, but a farmer, husband, and father. Before dawn, he gathered 77 local militiamen on the town common […]
