The Wright Tavern Reveals its Historic Roots

BY TOM WILSON

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.

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.

Photo by Alfred Munroe, late 1800s

Courtesy of the Concord Free Public Library

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 would forever associate Wright’s name with this special place.

In the 1700s, many citizens of the Massachusetts Bay Colony protested the increasingly stringent controls of the British Crown and Parliament. Protests against the Intolerable Acts, including the Boston Tea Party, heightened tensions. On May 20, 1774, the British Parliament annulled the Massachusetts Charter of 1691, the governing doctrine of the Colony, and installed the Massachusetts Government Act. This Act severely reduced citizens’ participation and the authority of local officials. In response, the Massachusetts General Assembly met in Salem on October 5 and locked the doors to the meeting house. They wanted to prevent Major General Thomas Gage, the appointed Governor, from serving the order to dissolve them. After two days, they left and reconvened in Concord on October 11.

The lock on the front door of Wright Tavern

Photo courtesy of the author

Here, the Assembly decided to hold the Massachusetts First Provincial Congress to “call together to maintain the rights of the people.” They met in the (First Parish) Meeting House, but the planning occurred in the Wright Tavern. Important decisions were deliberated and made in the Tavern, then taken to the Congressional sessions for approval.

The most important of these decisions was to withdraw Massachusetts from British control and establish an independent representative government. Massachusetts was the first Colony to do so. John Hancock was elected President and Benjamin Lincoln as Secretary. They became the de facto government for Massachusetts by taking control over the Colony outside of Boston, collecting taxes and fees meant for the British, and establishing a formal militia. They established governing committees, yet no one knew where this would lead. These were clearly unlawful acts conspired in the Wright Tavern.

Six months later, Concord would witness another significant historical event. In the early hours of April 19, 1775, outside Lexington, Dr. Samuel Prescott met up with Paul Revere and William Dawes. As they rode to Concord, the British captured Revere, but Prescott and Dawes escaped. Prescott made it to Concord to alert the colonists the redcoats were coming.

Early that morning, the colonial militia leaders met in the Wright Tavern to develop their plans for addressing this imminent threat. Fortunately, previous spy reports had warned them to move any weapons and supplies to safe hiding places. When the British arrived at Meriam’s Corner, the militia leaders fled into the Concord hills.

As 700 British Regulars entered Concord, they encountered a locked door to the Wright Tavern. Amos Wright was ordered at gun point to open and serve the British commanders — to which he complied. With thoughtful foresight, his wife, Elizabeth, took the church’s communion silver, which was being kept in the Tavern, and hid it in soap barrels, preventing it from being confiscated.

Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith and Major John Pitcairn settled into their new command center at the Wright Tavern and sent troops to search the town, looking for rebel supplies. Smith and Pitcairn also sent troops to Colonel James Barrett’s farm, the South Bridge, and the North Bridge. They found little of value except three massive 24-pound shot cannons buried near the Wright Tavern. Legend has it that Colonel Smith said, as he was stirring his toddy with his finger, the British were going to “stir the blood of the Yankees.” However, events at the North Bridge did not go well for the redcoats.

As the British Regulars retreated to Boston and gunfire faded into the distance, the townspeople met at the Wright Tavern to celebrate. This was a victorious day, and one also filled with concerns about the future. Amos Wright must have been quite pleased at the celebrations occurring at the Tavern. Based on the events of that day, the Tavern would forever be known as the Wright Tavern.

Today’s Wright Tavern is being used for professional offices. First Parish in Concord, which has owned the building since 1885, has committed to opening the Wright Tavern and enabling it to take its rightful place in the stories of Concord’s history. The Wright Tavern Legacy Trust, a newly formed support organization, will oversee repairs and restorations, hoping to open the Tavern in early 2024 as the Wright Tavern “Center for the Exploration and Renewal of Democracy in America.” In October 2024, the Wright Tavern will participate in the re-enactment of the First Provincial Congress as part of the national celebration for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Creative programs are being planned with the Massachusetts REV250 team and Concord’s Office of Tourism. The project has received significant financial support from Concord through the Community Preservation Committee (CPC), but will need additional funding to make this vision a reality.

The Wright Tavern holds a unique place in the history of Concord, of Massachusetts, and our nation. This building can remind us how a small group of people, whose time had come, put independent representative government into practice. Now it is our time. The Wright Tavern Legacy Trust is thrilled to be restoring this iconic building in the heart of Concord and creating a new space for us to remember, explore, and celebrate our heritage. For more information, contact the Wright Tavern Legacy Trust at tom@wrighttavern.org —————————————————————————

Tom Wilson is Chair of the Wright Tavern Legacy Trust.