Historic Museums Re-open for the Season

Buckman Tavern
One Bedford St.
Lexington, Mass.

Next Saturday (April 4) the Lexington Historical Society's three Revolutionary War era museums in Lexington will re-open for the season offering tours to the general public.

Buckman Tavern, located just across from Lexington Green, will be open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with tours every half hour. The Hancock-Clarke house at 36 Hancock St. and the Munroe Tavern, 1332 Mass. Ave, will only be open weekends, but starting June 15 they will be open daily with tours on the hour. The Hancock-Clarke house opens at 10:00 am and Munroe Tavern opens at noon.

Tickets good for all three (First Shot Tickets) are available at any one of the three house museums and are $10.00 for a adult and $6.00 per child. Children under the age of six and Lexington Historical Society members are admitted free of charge. Tickets to visit just one of the properties are also available. Tours of these historic house museums will end (until next season) on November 1. You can call 781-862-5598 for more information.

The Hartwell Tavern

The Hartwell Tavern
Minute Man Nat. Historical Park
Marrett Rd. (Rt. 2A)
Lincoln, Mass.

The Hartwell Home and Tavern, located in MMNHP in Lincoln, was built by Ephraim Hartwell in 1732-33. Situated right on Battle Road on April 19, 1775 British Regulars passed by the tavern both going to Concord and on the way back to Boston. The Hartwell Tavern has been restored by the National Park Service to its original 18th. century appearance.

The Golden Ball Tavern

Golden Ball Tavern
662 Boston Post Road
Weston, Mass. 02493
781-894-1751

The Golden Ball Tavern in Weston was built in 1768 and was operated as a tavern on the old Boston Post Road from 1770 -1793. The original owner, Isaac Jones, was an important man in his community but in 1775 he was also a well-known Tory.

In February of 1775 Isaac gave tea and comfort to two British Army officers, Captain John Brown and Ensign Henry De Berniere along with their "batman" John, who had been sent out of Boston by General Gage on a secret mission to scout the countryside. Gen. Gage was seeking intelligence on the state of the roads in anticipation of sending an expeditionary force either to Concord or Worcester to seize colonial stores of powder and arms.

Having almost been discovered and captured in their mission, returning from Worcester in a winter storm the three men again received the hospitality of the Golden Ball's tavern keeper. He allowed the men to warm up and get some rest before guiding them back onto the road to Boston. Jones later had a change of heart and became a supporter of independence and worked for the Continental Army during the Revolution.

The Golden Ball Tavern remained in the Jones family until the 1960's when the Golden Ball Tavern Trust was established. The Tavern is open for tours (by appointment only) and for special events, such as their annual outdoor antique show and sale. A more complete history of the Tavern is told here.

Tales of a Wayside Inn

The Wayside Inn
72 Wayside Inn Rd.
Sudbury, Ma. 01776

The Wayside Inn and Tavern has been in existence since 1716 when David Howe first opened his home to travelers. Located on the old Boston Post Road the Inn was ideally located for farmers bringing their livestock and produce to market and to travelers from Connecticut, New York and other points south.

In the period just before the American Revolution the proprietor of the Inn was Ezekiel Howe, a Lt. Colonel in the Sudbury militia. The Howe Tavern, as it was known then, was a popular gathering spot for the local militia as talk of insurrection spread throughout Massachusetts. On the morning of 19 April 1775, in response to a call out to arms, Col. Howe led the Sudbury militia to Concord Bridge to fight the British Regulars. The present-day Sudbury Militia recreates this in a pre-dawn march through Sudbury and Wayland every year on April 19. The recreated Sudbury Militia holds its monthly meetings at the Wayside Inn. The metal tankards of its retired Colonels can be found hanging from the rafters in the Inn's taproom.

George Washington passed by the old Inn in June of 1775 as he made his way to Cambridge to accept command of the new Continental Army. A slate marker just in front of the Wayside Inn commemorates this event.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the Cambridge poet and professor at Harvard College, wrote a series of poems set in the Inn. The poems, called "Tales of a Wayside Inn", consisted of a series of stories spun by fictional characters at a Sudbury Inn where "The Red Horse prances on the sign." The Inn formerly know as Howe's Tavern became the Wayside Inn in recognition of Longfellow's poem.

With the advent of the stage coach as a regular means of travel the Inn again became an important way-station between Worcester and Boston. But in the early 1900's as the automobile became more and more popular, an historic Inn like the Wayside was easily bypassed by travelers who were able to make much better time on the road with the new "horseless carriages".

Ironically it was Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company, who gave the Inn new life when he acquired the property. Fords plans to create a "living history" community never came to fruition but he established the charter under which the Inn operates today. He also was responsible for moving the old school house and the chapel onto the property and had the grist mill built. The mill still is in operation today and has a miller on site.

The British Union flag flying at the entrance is part of another old tradition at the Wayside. The British flag is flown daily until the 19th of April of every year when a new revolutionary (American) flag is flown.

Visitors to the Wayside Inn on "Patriot's Day" have been known to meet up with "William Dawes" (actually a re-enactor) who stopped in for a pint after his exertions of alerting the citizens throughout the countryside to the fact that the "Regulars were out".

The Wayside Inn is located just off Boston Post Road (Rt. 20) in Sudbury on its own private road. The Inn is still operated as a non-profit enterprise with an educational purpose. The Inn welcomes overnight guests as well as those who enjoy the Wayside's restaurant, which serves excellent New England style fare, its gift shop, the tap room and its historic ambiance.

Col. Joshua Herndon Tavern

Col. Joshua Harnden Tavern
430 Salem St.
Wilmington, Ma.

This Tavern was built by Col. Joshua Harnden (1732-1807) ca. 1770 and operated as a Public Tavern from 1794-1807. Col. Harnden was a Revolutionary War veteran who had answered the alarm of April 19, 1775 and fought at Lexington. In 1818 Silas Brown bought the property and operated it as a farm. The farm at one time had several large outbuildings and much more land than the present day property. The Browns kept the family farm for some 125 years. During the 19th century it is believed that the farm served as way-station on the Underground Railroad for escaped slaves heading north to Canada.

In 1973 the main building was in disrepair and slated for demolition. Recognising its historical importance the Town of Wilmington took the property by eminent domain. The Joshua Harnden Tavern is registered on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Wilmington Historical Society now runs the Tavern as a museum and has tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. There is also agricultural machinery and reproductions of Colonial Militia flags on display in the carriage house adjacent to the Tavern.

The Wayside Inn

The Wayside Inn
72 Wayside Road
Sudbury, Mass.

Located on the Old Boston Post Road "Howes Tavern" was well situated to receive drovers and other travelers on the road between Worcester and Boston. Established by David Howe in 1716, the tavern and inn remained open and in the family until 1861. David's son, Ezekiel, a Lt. Colonel in the Sudbury militia, first inherited the inn and increased its prosperity. It was Ezekiel Howe who led the men of Sudbury on their march to the North bridge in Concord on April 19, 1775.

In 1863 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published his famous poem "Tales of the Wayside Inn". Longfellow used the setting of the inn for his poem and its fictitious characters. The Inn was renamed in honor of the poem. Henry Ford later acquired the property and its surrounding grounds in the 1920's. It is thought that Ford originally planned on creating an historical village - he went so far as to build a chapel, a granary mill and move an old school house on to the property - but that did not come to fruition. He did establish the non-profit organization that owns and operates the Wayside Inn today.

The Wayside Inn continues to offer its guests fine New England style dining, overnight accommodations, a gift shop and a small museum. Function rooms for weddings and parties are also available. As an added bonus, it is quite common to see living historians, in period dress, roaming about the Inn and its grounds. During the winter the 4th King's Own conducts its drills every other Sunday on the grounds of the Wayside Inn. Feel free to ask a member of the 4th for a musket demonstration or just say hello, as they relax in the tavern after their exertions in the cold.