©Copyright 2011 Gatepost Tours, LLC
The Thoreau Institute is owned and managed by the Walden Woods Project. The Institute provides the most comprehensive body of Thoreau-related material available in one place. The Thoreau Institute library (“The Henley Library”) holds more than 60,000 items that include books, manuscripts, periodicals, art, music, maps, pamphlets, correspondence, and personal histories.
It is the mission of the library to collect, preserve and make available research materials relating to Thoreau, his historical context, and his contemporary relevance to human-rights and environmental issues. Our growing collection serves as a vital resource for Thoreau scholars from around the world, as well as for students and teachers locally.
The Concord Museum. You’ll be astonished at the collection this little museum holds! Here’s an idea of what they have on display:
The famous “one, if by land, and two if by sea” lantern, immortalized by Longfellow’s “Paul Revere’s Ride”, as well as other objects associated with the April 19, 1775 fight at the North Bridge - the start of the American Revolution.
The world’s most comprehensive collection of artifacts associated with Henry David Thoreau, including the humble desk on which he wrote “Walden” and “Civil Disobedience.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s actual study (the one at Emerson house is a replica, although the rest of the house is original.
Many of these places are included in our half-day coach tours, but the final itinerary is up to you. We can visit any or all of the sites on this page!
Sleepy Hollow, Old Hill Burial and South Burial Place cemeteries. Among the many historic features of Concord, none bears a more serene testimony to Concord's past than its triune burial grounds: Old Hill Burying Ground, South Burying Place, and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. The threads of Concord's literary, social and political history lie within these cemeteries and provide silent commentary to the Town's proud legacy, one that weaves a pattern of local, national, and international appeal.
Henry David Thoreau lived at Walden Pond from July 1845 to September 1847. His experience at Walden provided the material for the book Walden, which is credited with helping to inspire awareness and respect for the natural environment. Because of Thoreau's legacy, Walden Pond has been designated a National Historic Landmark and is considered the birthplace of the conservation movement. The Reservation includes the 102-foot deep glacial kettle-hole pond. Mostly undeveloped woods totaling 2680 acres, called "Walden Woods," surround the reservation.
Thoreau cabin replica.
Photo credit, Kristi Martin
Walden pond.
Photo credit, Kristi Martin
Keys from the old Concord Jail where Thoreau spent the night.
Courtesy, Concord Museum. Photo credits, Kristi Martin
Library at the Thoreau Institute.
One of Concord’s beautiful cemeteries.
Photo credits, Kristi Martin
a little irreverent. a lot of fun.
Gatepost Tours customers are entitled to a 10% discount at the Shop at Walden Pond, owned and operated by the Thoreau Society!
