Located northwest of Boston, the town of Lexington, Massachusetts, is home to the Lexington Common (also called the Battle Green) where the first shots of the American Revolutionary War were fired. Minuteman Statue and Revolutionary Monument can be found at the Battle Green. Historic buildings such as the Hancock-Clarke House document the town’s role in the revolution and honor the history of the city with reenactments. If you visit Lexington, you’ll surely want to visit the Revolutionary Monument, which is located on the Battle Green.
Another historic site in Lexington is the Belfry Tavern, a National Historic Landmark and the resting place of the Minutemen. The Tavern was originally licensed for drovers, and served as a meeting place during Sunday nooning. In 1775, Minutemen gathered at the Belfry Tavern to hold a meeting. The interior of the building is unchanged from when it was Minutemen’s headquarters, but a bullet hole is visible on the front door.
The Battle Green, where the first skirmish of the American Revolution took place, has a statue of Captain Parker, a militia member. A Revolutionary War monument was erected on the Battle Green in 1799, and the Old Belfry, where the militia met on April 19, 1775, is also a historical site. These sites are maintained by the Lexington Historical Society. To see the Revolutionary War Monument in its entirety, you should plan your visit to the Battle Green before planning your itinerary.
If you plan to take a bus, there are three options in Lexington. You can also catch a bus that connects to the Red Line at Alewife Station in Cambridge. For history buffs, there are several historical buildings, parks, and monuments to visit in Lexington. Most of the monuments date back to Colonial times. At the Depot, you can also learn about the town’s history. You can view artifacts from Washington’s visit and artifacts from the Munroe family, which ran the town’s tavern from 1770 to 1827.
The Revolutionary Monument is a notable landmark in the city. The monument stands on the site where seven of the eight minutemen were killed during the Battle of Lexington. During your stay in Lexington, don’t miss a visit to the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library. The museum exhibit, “Something Must Be Done: Bold Women of Lexington,” features several artifacts from the revolutionary period. You can also learn about the town’s history and the city’s storied past by attending the museum.
Historic buildings in Lexington include the Stephen Robbins House, a Colonial-style house built around the old Stephen Robbins Homestead. There’s also a memorial to Benjamin Wellington on Massachusetts Avenue. Another landmark is the Hancock-Clark House. This house is saved from demolition by the Lexington Historical Society. A former boarding school, the house later becomes a museum. And in 1781, the town’s first public schoolhouse is constructed on Massachusetts Ave.