Published as a courtesy
A8 Thursday, December 10, 2020 The CONCORD JOURNAL With news from Lincoln
PERSPECTIVES
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DAR Corner
The Wayside
Daughters of the American
Revolution:Old
Concord Chapter
The Wayside, the home of famous authors, part of the underground railroad and involved in the American Revolution was the perfect place for Harriet Mulford Stone Lothrop to found the Old Concord Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution on October 12, 1894. Harriet Lothrop was the first regent of the chapter from 1894 to 1896. The Old Concord Chapter NSDAR has completed 125 years of volunteering in the community helping veterans, preserving history, educating children, and honoring and supporting those who serve our nation.
Harriet Mulford Stone Lothrop was a writer of children’s books and of the children’s magazine, “Wide Awake”.
With her interest in childhood education and the DAR, she also formed the National Society Children of the American Revolution (CAR) also at her Wayside home in 1895. The CAR is the oldest American patriotic youth organization and is headquartered at the DAR Constitution Hall.
The Wayside house has played a role in much of what the town is famous for. The Wayside has witnessed the start of the American Revolutionary War and has had several famous authors live in it and/or in close proximity to it. Louisa May Alcott moved into the Wayside house as a girl in 1845 and is famous for her novels “Little Women”, “Old-fashioned Girl” and several others. In 1867 she became the editor of “Merry's Museum” a children's magazine. Her father, Amos Bronson Alcott, an educator and philosopher tried to put his transcendentalist, pacifist, and vegetarian principles to use but failed at the “Fruitlands” in Harvard, MA. Amos Bronson Alcott also opened up the Wayside home to several runaway slaves and the home was part of the underground railroad.
Nathaniel Hawthorne bought the Wayside from the Alcotts in 1852 and later on the Alcotts bought the Orchard House by the Wayside. Hawthorne wrote “The Scarlet Letter” (1850), “The House of the Seven Gables” (1851), and “The Blithedale Romance” (1852). He considered the house his home but did not spend time there when he became the United States consul in Liverpool and had to stay in Liverpool. His wife finally sold the Wayside in 1870 to Mary C. Pratt who ran a school for Young Ladies. Bronson Alcott still living next door often visited and lectured. The house was finally sold to the author Harriet Mulford Stone Lothrop and her husband, the Boston publisher, Daniel Lothrop. Harriet Mulford Stone Lothrop’s pen name is Margaret Sidney. She wrote the series “Five Little Peppers”.
The Wayside in addition to being known as the “home of authors,” involved in the underground railroad, and in education of children was also involved in the American Revolution. Samuel Whitney bought the Wayside in 1769. Samuel Whitney was a delegate to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress that met in Concord and was also a muster master for the Concord Minutemen. Whitney stored a cache of ammunition at the Wayside. The British Red Coats on April 19, 1775 marched right on by the Wayside coming and going to the battle at Old North Bridge. The Wayside and outbuildings escaped from being searched.
The Wayside House is now owned by Minuteman National Park.
A8 Thursday, December 10, 2020 The CONCORD JOURNAL With news from Lincoln
PERSPECTIVES
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DAR Corner
The Wayside
Daughters of the American
Revolution:Old
Concord Chapter
The Wayside, the home of famous authors, part of the underground railroad and involved in the American Revolution was the perfect place for Harriet Mulford Stone Lothrop to found the Old Concord Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution on October 12, 1894. Harriet Lothrop was the first regent of the chapter from 1894 to 1896. The Old Concord Chapter NSDAR has completed 125 years of volunteering in the community helping veterans, preserving history, educating children, and honoring and supporting those who serve our nation.
Harriet Mulford Stone Lothrop was a writer of children’s books and of the children’s magazine, “Wide Awake”.
With her interest in childhood education and the DAR, she also formed the National Society Children of the American Revolution (CAR) also at her Wayside home in 1895. The CAR is the oldest American patriotic youth organization and is headquartered at the DAR Constitution Hall.
The Wayside house has played a role in much of what the town is famous for. The Wayside has witnessed the start of the American Revolutionary War and has had several famous authors live in it and/or in close proximity to it. Louisa May Alcott moved into the Wayside house as a girl in 1845 and is famous for her novels “Little Women”, “Old-fashioned Girl” and several others. In 1867 she became the editor of “Merry's Museum” a children's magazine. Her father, Amos Bronson Alcott, an educator and philosopher tried to put his transcendentalist, pacifist, and vegetarian principles to use but failed at the “Fruitlands” in Harvard, MA. Amos Bronson Alcott also opened up the Wayside home to several runaway slaves and the home was part of the underground railroad.
Nathaniel Hawthorne bought the Wayside from the Alcotts in 1852 and later on the Alcotts bought the Orchard House by the Wayside. Hawthorne wrote “The Scarlet Letter” (1850), “The House of the Seven Gables” (1851), and “The Blithedale Romance” (1852). He considered the house his home but did not spend time there when he became the United States consul in Liverpool and had to stay in Liverpool. His wife finally sold the Wayside in 1870 to Mary C. Pratt who ran a school for Young Ladies. Bronson Alcott still living next door often visited and lectured. The house was finally sold to the author Harriet Mulford Stone Lothrop and her husband, the Boston publisher, Daniel Lothrop. Harriet Mulford Stone Lothrop’s pen name is Margaret Sidney. She wrote the series “Five Little Peppers”.
The Wayside in addition to being known as the “home of authors,” involved in the underground railroad, and in education of children was also involved in the American Revolution. Samuel Whitney bought the Wayside in 1769. Samuel Whitney was a delegate to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress that met in Concord and was also a muster master for the Concord Minutemen. Whitney stored a cache of ammunition at the Wayside. The British Red Coats on April 19, 1775 marched right on by the Wayside coming and going to the battle at Old North Bridge. The Wayside and outbuildings escaped from being searched.
The Wayside House is now owned by Minuteman National Park.