Shrewsbury, MA, is located a mere 45-minutes from Concord, a town in Middlesex County, MA. The population of Concord is about 18,000 people and the town is located where the Assabet and Sudbury Rivers form the Concord River. We mention Concord today because, here at Modern Dentistry of Shrewsbury, we enjoy encouraging our patients to learn about and enjoy the area they live in. There is a lot of history in Massachusetts. In the mid-nineteenth century, Concord became a literary center featuring the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bronson Alcott, Louisa May Alcott, and Henry David Thoreau, all of whose homes remain preserved. And to top it all off, the Concord grape was developed there!
More About Concord
Concord was originally known as Musketaquid, an Algonquian word for “grassy plain.” and some of the Battle of Lexington, the initial conflict of the Revolutionary War took place there. The house located at 255 Main Street is the historic home to both of the writers Henry David Thoreau, and Louisa May Alcott, albeit at different times.
A Bit of History
Henry David Thoreau moved to the home in 1850 with his family and remained there until his death on May 6, 1862. Then, after the death of her mother Abby May, Louisa May Alcott purchased the home for her sister Anna Alcott Pratt. Anna, Louisa May, and their father Amos Bronson Alcott all lived there together. The sequel to Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women was written in this historic home in 1886.
Originally built in 1849 by Josiah Davis, the Thoreau-Alcott House and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Today, the home remains privately owned.
