The Wright Tavern Reveals its Historic Roots
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Photo by Alfred Munroe, late 1800s
In Concord’s center, there stands an iconic red building. Known as the Wright Tavern, the building is 275 years old and has been closed to the public for more than 30 years (except for a brief time when operated by Concord Museum). That is about to change. In 1747, the township of Concord sold a half-acre of land to Captain Ephraim Jones. The militia’s training grounds (the area in front of the Colonial Inn) were eroding into the nearby Mill Brook, and Jones was required to fix that problem as a requirement of the purchase. He was successful and built a large home that also became a tavern.
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Discover CONCORD
| Spring 2022
During the colonial period, taverns served as important community centers, where people could learn current events, hear from travelers, and discuss politics and the latest gossip. The Wright Tavern was ideally located between the Meeting House (now the First Parish in Concord) and the training grounds for the militia. When the militia was training and the churchgoers were attending six-hour Sunday services, the Tavern was a wonderful place for refreshments and relaxation. Since water was often not healthy, ale, rum, cider, and other refreshments were both pleasing and considered to have favorable medicinal properties.
The land on which the Tavern sits once belonged to Reverend Peter Bulkeley, a nonconforming Puritan minister who was one of the founders of Concord. It is meaningful that his ancestors were strong promoters of the Magna Carta, and his descendants included William Emerson and later Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thomas Munroe purchased the Tavern in 1751 and later sold it to Daniel Taylor in 1766. It is not clear when Amos Wright became its proprietor. He never owned the building, and he was considered a quiet, retiring, gentle man. The Tavern was successful, and, in a few years, events
Courtesy of Concord Free Public Library.
BY TOM WILSON
