THE FERTILE FIELDS OF CONCORD, SCENE OF THE BRITISH RETREAT
GRAPEVINE COTTAGE, CONCORD
Along Lexington Road in Concord begins a succession of interesting buildings, the first of which is this cottage, the home of Captain Ephraim Wales Bull, who bred and developed the Concord grape here in the 1840’s. A shoot from the root of the original Concord grapevine still prospers under the trellis.
“THE WAYSIDE,” HOME OF THREE AUTHORS, CONCORD
A wintry view of the first of Concord’s literary shrines along Lexington Road. Bronson Alcott gave the house the name of “Hillside” during his stay from 1845 to 1848. Louisa and her sisters spent a few impressionable years of their girlhood here, and gave their plays in the barn. Nathaniel Hawthorne bought the house from the Alcotts in 1852, renamed it “The Wayside” and lived here until his death in 1864. As a refuge from visitors, Hawthorne built a tower, or “sky parlor,” where he wrote “Tanglewood Tales” and “The Marble Faun.” A later owner was Mrs. Daniel Lothrop who, under the name of “Margaret Sidney,” wrote many volumes of the “Five Little Peppers” during her forty years’ residence here. The house dates from the early 18th century.
SIDE VIEW OF “THE WAYSIDE,” SHOWING HAWTHORNE’S “SKY PARLOR”