An Afternoon in Concord, MA
Published July 12, 2022
After having breakfast at Haute Coffee in Concord, MA, my boyfriend and I crossed Walden Street to explore the closest businesses before heading back to Main Street.
Priscilla Candy Shop
The first shop we saw was a candy store, which you know I had to stop in and look around.
A stand of postcards caught my eye near the doorway. To the left, shelves of cards lined the front window. Gummy candies in individual wrappers sat stacked on the tables closest to the doorway. The register was close-by and had shelves of plush stuffed animals as its background.
We browsed the shelves, making our way to the middle and back of the store. Some Concord souvenirs filled the shelves but the store was mostly candy and chocolate. A dispenser of categorized jelly beans caught my eye. I half considered buying some of the popcorn flavored jelly beans but then decided against it. We planned on buying snacks once we reached our accommodation.
Older ladies working at the back of the store (or maybe they were customers?) gossiped loudly, reading a text thread about a celebration in which they refused to host certain guests. We were the only customers in the store so we heard their whole celebration drama while browsing the aisles.
Thoreauly Antiques
We left the candy shop and saw that there were two antique stores next to us. I am 99% sure we visited Thoreauly Antiques and not Walden Street Antiques. I say this because we walked down the street and there was a typewriter that caught my attention outside of the store.
We entered the store and I knew right away it was going to be a great shop. Little cubbies of shelves housed any item you could think of — vintage cameras, clothes, jewelry, postcards, books, vintage toys, and more. Each section throughout the store was owned by a different vendor.
I loved exploring the books, postcards, and jewelry cases. Check out the Julia Child cookbook too!
We spent at least half an hour exploring all of the shelves. The woman behind the cash register was friendly and spoke to all of the customers. I heard her asking about one customer’s dog as she checked her out. While we checked out, she inquired about where we were from (and I wondered if we really did have New Jersey accents?). She recommended we visit Haute Coffee, which was a good sign to us about its popularity with the locals.
The Concord Cheese Shop
The Concord Cheese Shop was everything you would imagine. The front counter hosted stacks of fresh baguettes and wheels of cheese.
An older gentleman sat on the right among the shelves of wine and asked us if we had any questions. To the left, shelves of specialty jam and jellies sat in glass jars. Boxes of crackers and chips lined the shelf leading to the cheese case.
A deli with prepared foods and cold cuts sat in the back of the store with a line of people waiting to order. If we were vacationing in Concord, I would buy some jellies and cheese to have as snacks. There was a great selection throughout the cheese shop.
Back onto Main Street, we popped by The Best of British. I enjoyed browsing the unfamiliar shelves of snacks. You could furnish your whole life from The Best of British. There were savory frozen dishes, tins of tea, teapots with matching teacups, a whole table of cologne and perfume, and racks of clothing, hats, and scarves.
Three Stones Gallery
After walking through The Best of British we crossed Main Street to an art gallery. One young woman in a mask worked on a laptop behind a giant counter/desk.
Alyn Carlson’s digital artwork lined the wall leading toward the back of the gallery, where paintings of nature morphed into abstract flowers.
I loved the paintings of nature. The small canvases started around $3,000 and the large canvases went up to $20,000! There was even a small jewelry display near the door with pretty silver rings and necklaces for sale.
The Concord Bookshop
As we headed up the street to the car, we stopped by The Concord Bookshop, which we saw when we first walked over to Haute Coffee.
The inside of the bookstore was huge! They had tons of organized sections with tons of books. Plus, they offered a section for games and puzzles, children’s books, and postcards / cards.
I could’ve bought armfuls of books — from fiction to memoir and poetry. I bought a postcard to remember our time in Concord and we headed back to the car to explore the other side of town.
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
Not to be mistaken with New York’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is the resting place for some of the greatest American writers.
We took the roundabout from Main Street and turned right onto Bedford Street. Luckily there was street parking available. We crossed the main road and went in through the gates of the cemetery.
We reviewed the cemetery map and learned that the famous author’s graves were on the other end from where we entered the cemetery. We weren’t sure about the scale of the map and how far of a walk it would be, but we decided to take our chances.
We followed the path to the second entrance toward the “Author’s Ridge.” Two cars already drove to the top of the ridge and parked to explore the famous graves. It was about a 10 minute walk for us, maybe less.
Up the incline to the top of the hill, we came upon the first famous grave of Henry David Thoreau.
Most of the large gravestones listed all the family member’s names and smaller individual gravestones indicated the individual person’s resting place.
I was in awe. I adore American Literature and Thoreau is one of my favorites.
““I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.””
We continued along the path, squinting at the faded gravestones and searching for the famous names. We noted many headstones with names of military families and those with generations in Concord whom we did not recognize.
Louisa May Alcott’s gravestone was close by Thoreau. Louisa May Alcott is most famously known for her book Little Women.
We saw many gravestones with pebbles and rocks stacked on it. Some additional research reports that Jewish traditions place stones upon graves to, “Remind them that someone they care for was visited, mourned for, respected, supported and honored by the presence of others who’ve visited their memorial.” I thought that was a sweet tradition and I noted the many gravestones with pebbles stacked on or near them.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, my other favorite, was farther down the Author’s Ridge. The gravestone with his name was unique compared to other gravestones, and had a greenish blue plaque which was faded with age.
““Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.””
We spent most of our time in the cemetery looking for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s grave, which was a small headstone across from Thoreau, which we missed when first exploring.
The Old North Bridge & Old Manse
Eventually, we made our way back to the car and drove toward The Old North Bridge.
We parked across the street in a parking lot on Monument Street.
A long gravely path beneath the trees was bordered by large fields as we walked to the North Bridge. Signs along the way detailed the journey of the battle at North Bridge, where the Americans turned back the British.
To the left, I could see the Old Manse! I wanted to tour the house, but a sign at the end of the path said that it was closed. I didn’t realize the Old Manse was so close to the North Bridge. I was glad we stopped to visit the bridge because the Old Manse was on my “to visit” list as well.
A plaque remembering the British soldiers hung from the wall at the end of the path before the bridge.
It had started to mist with rain and most people walked back to their cars, so the bridge was clear.
We crossed the bridge and leaned against the railing, looking out on the windy river. To the right, couples in the distance wandered along the woodline paths. Closer to the bridge, barefoot children ran through the grass.
It was raining harder now and we still had to get the train to Boston. We walked back to the car and said goodbye to Concord. For an afternoon adventure, I felt we had more than enough time to see the historical highlights of the area and explore the cute shops on Main Street. I was excited to get to Boston and start the main part of our vacation.
Have you been to Concord?
Leave a comment below if you’ve been to Concord and if you have a favorite shop or restaurant that you think I should visit.
Click here to read our first day in Boston, MA and my first impression restaurant review of an amazing Greek restaurant.
