Friends of Minute Man National Park Preserving the Birthplace of the American Revolution

Catch a Program at the Park

Attend one or all of our ranger-led programs at Minute Man NHP These educational and engaging programs are free and open to the public and suitable for all ages. Please click on the blue underlined title for additional details, including accessibility information. Concord's North Bridge: History and Memory North Bridge, Concord, MA 11:30 a.m. Daily Meet a park ranger at the benches by the North Bridge for this daily 30-minute program. Learn about the momentous battle at Concord’s North Bridge, where the British Army suffered its first casualties of the war, and the legacy of this event in American History. North Bridge Battlefield Walk North Bridge Visitor Center, Concord, MA 1:30 p.m. Daily Meet a park ranger at North Bridge Visitor Center for a 40-minute walking tour from the visitor center to the North Bridge battle site. Learn about the battle as you walk in the footsteps of the minute men. The Minute Men: Neighbors in Arms  Hartwell Tavern, Lincoln, MA 11:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. Wednesday - Sunday Join a park ranger outside the historic Hartwell Tavern where John and Isaac Hartwell, two minute men from the town of Lincoln, lived. Discover the motivations and realities faced by those who volunteered to be “ready at a minute’s warning" in this 30-minute program. Battlefield In A Box Program Minute Man Visitor Center, Lincoln, MA 2:30 p.m. Thursday - Sunday Join a park ranger for a 25-minute interactive program that explores the story of the midnight alarm riders and the brutal fighting on April 19, 1775! Participate in the action as you build a map of the story using simple props.  Discovering Lexington's Lost Battlefield Minute Man Visitor Center, Lincoln, MA 10:30 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. Daily Despite suffering a devastating loss on the Lexington town green the morning of April 19, 1775, the Lexington militia company marched off to fight the British soldiers for a second time that day. Walk to the battle site with a park ranger in this 40-minute program to discover how modern investigative research and technology solved the mystery of what happened there. Click on the button below for a park map to help navigate your trip.

Park Map

Masks Required in Park Buildings Minute Man National Historical Park is located in Middlesex County which is currently at "substantial" transmission status. Consistent with CDC guidance regarding areas of substantial or high transmission, visitors to Minute Man, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear a mask inside all park buildings including visitor centers and Hartwell Tavern.

Newborn Lambs Arrive at Minute Man

Thank you to the dedicated staff and volunteer stewards who have been monitoring our very own maternity ward at Minute Man. The Carty Barn is home to a herd of Ouessant sheep thanks to a special use permit with Codman Community Farms and collaboration with Breton Meadow Farm. A ram was introduced in February resulting in 14 pregnant ewes that gave birth from late July to mid-August. There have been many trips to the barn by our lambing volunteers and many visitors - as one would expect at a maternity ward filled with adorable lambs, each weighing 3 to 5 pounds at birth. Two weeks ago we were wondering what to expect (as drawn by sheep steward Janet Lane below) and now we have 15 lambs which include a set of twins! Read more . . . Image above, clockwise from left to right: White and black-colored lambs; the herd outside the Carty Barn; staff and volunteers at work inside the barn including Margie Brown, Minute Man's Natural & Cultural Resource Manager, along with sheep stewards Martine and Ray. Image below: a whimsical drawing of our expectant mothers by sheep steward Janet Lane.

To read more about the Ouessant herd and view more photos of our newborn lambs, please click the button below.

Adorable Lambs

Buttrick Gardens featured in Discover Concord Magazine

Thank you to Discover Concord magazine for featuring the Buttrick Gardens in their 2021 Guide to the Great Outdoors issue! The article features the Friends of Minute Man National Park’s efforts to restore the walkways and stairways of the historic Buttrick Gardens. The restoration project is underway and the brick and cobblestone pathways are complete; the bluestone restoration is ongoing and will likely be completed by the end of September 2021. The Buttrick Gardens preservation project is generously funded by the Concord Community Preservation Fund. For garden project updates, click here! You can pick up the latest copy of Discover Concord Magazine at the North Bridge or Minute Man Visitor Centers. To read the article or the full issue online, click on the button below.

Buttrick Gardens Article

Blueberries at Barrett House

Over 200 blueberry bushes can be found behind the Col. James Barrett house located along Barretts Mill Road in Concord, MA. The Barrett family built the home in 1705 and lived there for 200 years. The McGrath owned the home during the 20th century and planted the Nelson variety of blueberries. Volunteers have been working hard to free the bushes from invasive bittersweet plants. The large, sweet blueberries ripen from July to August and are a delicious summer snack for people and birds alike. . . Read more. Image: Blueberries ripening in early August with the Barrett House visible in the distance. Please click on the link below to read more and view additional photos of the Barrett House, volunteers, and blueberries.

Blueberries at Barrett

Beyond Battle Road Items of interest outside the Park

REV250 Podcast: The Continental Congress, James Madison & the Revolutionaries Check out the latest podcast from REV250. Jack Rakove, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and political scientist from Stanford, joins us for a discussion of religious freedom, the Continental Congress, the Federalist papers, James Madison, John Dickinson, and other Revolutionaries.  Click here to listen. Walk Around the Pond with Thoreau Take a walk at Walden! Walden Pond State Reservation is now part of the Massachusetts State Park system and includes 335 acres of protected open space. Visitors may experience the pond that inspired Thoreau to write his 1854 classic Walden; or Life in the Woods, and enjoy hiking, swimming, fishing, and boating as Thoreau did. For a printable, self-guided walking tour click here. For additional information on all that Walden has to offer, click here.

Thank you to our newsletter sponsors!

Friends of Minute Man National Park North Bridge Visitor Center 174 Liberty Street Concord, MA 01742 P: 978-318-7822 info@friendsofminuteman.org www.friendsofminuteman.org

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The Friends of Minute Man National Park is an independent, member-based non-profit 501(c)(3) organization supporting the Park's mission of preserving and protecting the historic sites, structures, properties, and landscapes associated with the opening battles of the American Revolution. Did you receive this email from a friend? Sign up to receive emails delivered to your own inbox.