Restored and opened to the public in 2010, Thoreau Farm, 2.5 miles (4 km) northeast of Concord's Monument Square (map), is the place where naturalist, ecologist and author Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817.

The house, dating from the 1730s, looks modest today, with only five rooms, but was in fact quite stylish for an 18th-century farmhouse.

The farm has been worked for over three centuries, and 18 acres of the original property, now owned by the Town of Concord, have been dedicated to Gaining Ground, the non-profit organization that raises organic, sustainably-grown vegetables and donates them to food programs for the needy.

Thoreau Farm is open to visitors from 11 am to 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday in the warmer months (through October).

Admission is free, although there is a modest charge for a guided tour.

Thoreau Farm
341 Virginia Road (map)
Concord MA 01742
Tel: 978-369-3091

—by Tom Brosnahan

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