Photo by Muffy Aldrich
The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy

Sunday, February 5, 2023

The Old North Bridge

Photos by Salt Water New England
Hailed as the “Dean of American Sculpture” during his lifetime, Daniel Chester French (1850–1931) established his reputation with the iconic statue of the Concord Minute Man; sculpted Ralph Waldo Emerson, the era’s leading voice of intellectual culture; and reached the height of his career with the seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in the nation’s capital. 
-  From the Minute Man to the Lincoln Memorial: The Timeless Sculpture of Daniel Chester French <Link>
Concord, Massachusetts, my husband's hometown.



Daniel Chester French was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, and we share many sets of common great grandparents.



 

11 comments:

  1. Right by Hawthorne’s Old Manse. Minute Man Park is one of our dog’s favored spots when we visit family nearby.

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  2. Nice to see the Union Flag placed by the grave of the British soldier

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  3. The annual Patriots' Day Battle Road re-enactment there in April is top-notch and very authentic (minus the bloodshed, of course.)

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  4. So very impressive. Thank you!

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  5. This was a favorite spot for me growing up. So lovely to see this post!

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  6. At least once a year we ride the Battle Road Bike path, then continue on past the Alcott's Orchard House to the Old North Bridge. We stop for lunch at the Colonial Inn on the way back. It's worth starting with the film at the visitor center to learn about Battle Road.

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  7. I rode my bike past the bridge every day in good weather on my way to the (boys') Fenn School from 4th-8th grade. A family tradition was to canoe from our home on Fairhaven Bay in Lincoln down the Sudbury River to the bridge on Patriot's Day . It was my father's birthday also. The spring we did it with my soon-to-be-wife it was wet and cold. She's a Southern girl so it was a close call that she didn't call the wedding off. "Who'd want to marry into a family of nuts like this one!"

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  8. No relation to French. Family lore, he used great great Grandpa's arms as a model for the Minuteman at the Old North Bridge.

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  9. Minute Man National Historical Park is a great place to explore. We love it especially in the spring or fall. Another cultural venue in Massachusetts that is well worth a visit is Chesterwood, in Stockbridge, which preserves the summer home and studio of Daniel Chester French. There you can see his original studies for the Lincoln Memorial, among many other fascinating things!

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  10. Such beautiful pictures. My close college friend grew up there and went to Concord Academy. She introduced me to the charms of this town over several winter weekends. It's nice to see you spread your wings to other parts of New England. More of same? Road trips for you and your husband? And great travel blogs for your loyal readers? Hoping for similar posts.

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  11. Proposed to my wife at the Bridge. My hometown. Not a day goes by that I am not grateful to have been blessed to have grown up there, nor a day goes by that I do not think of a return to her. And one day, I will.

    The Concord Diaspora

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