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HomeMy WebLinkAboutarea-afAreas AF & AQ - Minute Man National Historical Park Created by an act of Congress in 1959, the Minute Man National Historical Park includes 1,040 acres of land in Lexington, Lincoln and Concord. The Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The primary mission of the Park is to approximate the cultural environment that existed in 1775 and to preserve and interpret individual resources that contribute to the understanding of the events of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Towards that goal, over the years more than two hundred 19th and 20th century buildings and structures have been removed to recreate the open, agricultural appearance the area had at the time of the battles. Modern Marker The centerpiece of the Park is the Battle Road. Called the Concord Road in the 18th century, it linked Concord with Cambridge, Boston and the sea. On April 19, 1775 it was the path traveled by British soldiers and the Minutemen. Most of the earlier alignment, likely what existed in 1775, is still visible. Lined with stone walls and mature sugar maple and oak trees, this portion has been restored to its original unpaved appearance. Battle Road The Park's cultural resources include approximately twenty-five miles of stone walls, some of which may date to the late 18th century. Archeological sites in the Lexington portion of the park include the David Fiske Farm site and Ebenezer Fiske Farm site. The latter dates to c. 1674. Ebenezer Fiske lived in a house on this site until his death in 1775. The original house was removed in 1852 and another was erected on the foundation. That structure was torn down in the 1950s although the foundation remains intact. Ebenezer Fiske House Site There is one building in Lexington, within the Park bounds, that was standing at the time of the fighting on April 19, 1775. It is the Jacob Whittemore House on Marrett Street. Built prior to 1745, the 2 ½-story, side-gabled structure displays a five-bay façade, central chimney and Georgian-style entrance consisting of fluted Doric pilasters supporting a simple entablature with dentil molding. Later accretions including a c.1840 lean-to and a c.1955 northeast porch have been removed. Jacob Whittemore House, Marrett Street Other historic sites include "The Bluff", a small rocky hill at the intersection of Massachusetts and Old Massachusetts Avenues. At the base of the Bluff, on the Massachusetts Avenue side is a granite marker describing the British use of the Bluff as a rallying point. After a struggle with the Colonists, the British retreated to Fiske Hill where they were "driven in great confusion". The marker was originally mounted into the face of the Bluff but was relocated when part of the landscape was blasted about 1938 in order to widen the adjacent highway. "The Bluff" and Bluff Monument Hayward Well Monument Also erected in 1885, the Hayward Well Monument, near the corner of Old Massachusetts Avenue and Wood Street marks the site of a fatal confrontation between a Colonist and British soldier on April 19, 1775.