Neighboring towns Lexington and Concord are known as being the site of America's first battle with the British at the start of the Revolutuionary War. Lexington is primarily suburban, while Concord remains the quiet country town of its origins.
Concord is a town of literary history, with many prolific writers' homes standing as historic markers of their presence in the community. Louisa May Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson once lived here and Alcott's Orchard House and Wayside House as well as the Emerson home are open for visitors.
Perhaps the most notable literary haunt of all is Henry David Thoreau's Walden Pond, slightly south of Concord. Visitors can tour the surroundings and view the recreated cabin Thoreau lived in during his exercise in "independence." A town with a population of just under 17,000, Concord is just a few miles west of Lexington and south of Lowell.
Lexington has a population of around 30,300 and is steeped in the history of American battle. The Battle Green serves as the town center, and the Minuteman Statue memorializes the Lexington minutemen who volunteered to serve during the dispute with the British. The Battle Green also features the Revolutionary Monument, the oldest war monument in the country, which remembers the Revolution and the Americans who died in battle.
Lexington offers a number of small scale art galleries and theater events, as well as the National Heritage Museum. This museum features exhibits on American history and pop culture. A tour through both Concord and Lexington can be completed in a day.
Lexington is just eleven miles northwest of Boston and sits slightly east of Concord.
