The Old Manse

Hours: The Old Manse is a 254-year-old museum home that was once the ancestral home of the famous Emerson family. It has witnessed the beginnings of two revolutions, with the "shot heard 'round the world" being fired on Rev. William Emerson's land in 1775. The house was later home to Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote "Nature" and launched the American Transcendental movement, which shaped the nation's views on abolition, equal rights, public education, and conservation. Nathaniel Hawthorne also called The Manse home for three years, during which he wrote his first commercially successful book, "Mosses From an Old Manse." Visitors can enjoy a guided tour that provides a highly informative and historically unbiased account of the site's significance. The knowledgeable docents share stories about the house's occupants and the events that took place there. While the authentic Christmas decorations may seem underwhelming to some, the overall experience is considered well worth the visit, with the Minuteman Statue visible from the Manse's windows.

• 0.84 miles

  

  Concord Museum Museum
• 1.01 miles

  

  Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House Museum
• 3.15 miles

  

  Gropius House Museum
• 3.24 miles

  

  Hartwell Tavern Museum

1. Concord, Massachusetts