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Save Our Heritage |
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Protecting the Birthplace of the American Revolution, the cradle of the Environmental Movement, and the Home of the American Literary Renaissance |
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Preserving Barrett's Farm A Save Our Heritage Project A Key Part of the Story of April 19, 1775 "Four companies of British Regulars marched to Colonel Barrett's house and mill, which Tories had reported to hold a great store of munitions….Only a few weeks earlier, the property had indeed been an important arsenal. But since April 7, when Paul Revere carried his first warning to Concord, the town had been hard at work, moving military supplies to safety….At the last minute, Colonel Barrett's sons plowed a field on his farm, planted weapons in the fresh furrows, and covered them over again. The British soldiers passed by without a second thought, little suspecting the crop that had been sown there…. The British troops took their time at Barrett's house. After the long night march they were tired and hungry, and several demanded breakfast from Mrs. Barrett. She gave them food and drink, saying coldly, 'We are commanded to feed our enemy if he hunger.' They offered to pay. When she refused, the soldiers tossed a few shillings into her lap. She told them, 'This is the price of blood.'" From Paul Revere's Ride, by David Hackett Fisher
Barrett's Farm: April 19, 1775 Colonel James Barrett was one of the primary figures in the events surrounding the first battle of the American Revolution. The chief objective of the British march through Middlesex County on April 19, 1775, was to seize military supplies stored on Colonel Barrett's farm in Concord. However, the townspeople had received advance warning of the British plan. So the soldiers who reached the farm that morning found neither the weapons, which had been moved or hidden, nor Colonel Barrett, who at that very moment was leading the Middlesex militia as they prepared to engage the Redcoats at the North Bridge. Barrett's Farm Today Barrett's Farm is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is certified as a nationally significant site. It has been farmed continuously from colonial times to the present and is one of the last remaining working farms in Concord. As with many privately owned colonial-era structures, time has taken its toll on the Barrett House, and there is a danger of inappropriate future development that would be harmful to the site's historic value. Fortunately, we now have the opportunity to permanently preserve this extraordinary resource for future generations.
The Plan to Save Barrett's Farm Save Our Heritage is leading this effort, in cooperation with the Town of Concord, Minute Man National Historical Park, and the McGrath family, owners of the property for the past 100 years. Save Our Heritage purchased 3.5 acres of land surrounding the historic farmhouse in December 2003, and has recently acquired the house itself. We are now taking the necessary steps to protect the house from further deterioration and to preserve it for eventual restoration. Save Our Heritage is working closely with Congressman Marty Meehan to pass federal legislation authorizing the addition of Barrett’s Farm to Minute Man National Historical Park. Our Vision Barrett's Farm played a central role in the events of April 19, 1775. The purpose of the British expedition was to seize weapons and other military supplies that were stockpiled primarily on Colonel Barrett's property. And it was the actions of the British troops on that day that provoked the seminal battle at the North Bridge, where Colonel Barrett himself, as senior officer of the Middlesex militia, led the colonial forces. Thus, the Barrett House is a direct, living, tangible link to the beginning of our nation. Its incorporation into Minute Man National Historical Park, which is the ultimate goal of this project, will enable the park to tell the whole story of the first day of the American Revolution. Concord was a farm town in colonial times - as Emerson wrote, the North Bridge is the place where "the embattled farmers stood/And fired the shot heard round the world." A key aspect of this project is preserving the land surrounding and across the street from the Barrett House as a working farm. This will enable visitors to a future Barrett's Farm Unit of Minute Man National Historical Park to experience the site very much as it was in 1775. We Need Your Help! Save Our Heritage's role in this project is to serve as a bridge between the former private ownership of the Barrett House and its eventual public ownership as part of Minute Man National Historical Park. We need to raise $1.9 million to make this vision a reality. With your help, we can transform the Barrett House into a resource of incalculable value to our communities, the citizens of Massachusetts, and all Americans. “Historic sites where great events took place have the power to evoke the ghosts and echoes of our inexpressibly wise past. Barrett’s Farm is such a place. Please join me in supporting the effort to save Barrett’s Farm, so that it can take its rightful place with other Concord landmarks in telling the story of the first day of the American Revolution.” Ken Burns Director, Producer, Historical Documentarian
David McCullough Pulitzer Prize-winning author of John Adams and other works Host, The American Experience
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