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Interesting Facts
- Among the more influential writers and thinkers who made nearby Concord their personal stomping grounds were "Walden's" Henry David Thoreau; Ralph Waldo Emerson, of "Self-Reliance" and "The American Scholar" fame; and Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of the classics "The House of the Seven Gables" and "The Scarlet Letter."
- The Boston Marathon, which is held the third Monday of April (the same day the state of Massachusetts celebrates Patriot's Day), is the world's oldest marathon. The 26-mile route begins just outside of Boston in Hopkinton and concludes in Copley Square.
- Just a few minutes' drive north of Marlborough, in historic Concord, travelers will find two sights of particular historical interest: Minuteman National Historical Park and Walden Pond State Reservation. The former spans 900 acres and includes such noteworthy finds as Nathaniel Hawthorne's Wayside, North Bridge, and the legendary Battle Road. Meanwhile, the latter preserves the kettle lake on whose banks Henry David Thoreau spent three years 'living deliberately,' a period of his life that he later chronicled in the classic "Walden."
- Transcendalist, naturalist, and scholar Ralph Waldo Emerson grew up in the Boston area, but his family had strong ties to Middlesex County, Concord in particular. His grandfather, Reverend William Emerson, built his home on the banks of the Concord River. His Old Manse, as the home came to be known, saw the first action of the Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775, when Redcoats and Minutemen squared off at the Battle of Concord.
- Though his famed Midnight Ride didn't make it all the way to Marlborough, Paul Revere did get fairly close – Concord, to be exact. Immortalized in verse by Henry Longfellow, Paul Revere is honored each year on an April Sunday when his ride is reenacted during the festivities leading up to Patriots' Day, which is held the same day as the Boston Marathon.
- Just off Main Street, visitors will find a small rock monument that contains an old bell. Interestingly enough, this bell was not made so that residents of Marlborough could walk past it every day. No, it was originally sat atop the firehouse in Harpers Ferry. However, during John Brown's slave uprising of October 1859, a group of militiamen, including some from Marlborough, raided Brown's stronghold (the Armory fire-engine house), took the militants prisoner, and laid claim to the bell. The bell eventually found its way top its new home in 1892.
- Little women make big splash ... Three of the Alcott sisters, Anna, Lousia, and May grew up at Orchard House, located on the Lexington Road. Sadly, a fourth sister, Elizabeth, died before the family moved to Orchard House. Each of the Alcott daughters was talented in her own right, whether it was acting, art, or social activisim. Of course, the most famous of the four was Lousia, whose "Little Women" stands as one of American literature's finest coming-of-age novels.
- Who ever said that your first impulse is most likely the best one? When a handful of citizens from the town of Sudbury petitioned the Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony for rights to establish a new town to the west. Tragically, the town was to be named Whipsuppnicke; however, when the town was officially incorporated four years later (in 1660) it was as Marlborow. Marlborough, as it came to be known, was official incorporated as a city in 1890.
- One of the United States' first electric car system, the Marlborough Street Railway-Trolley began operating in 1890, combining with the systems in the nearby towns of Framingham and Southborough to form a network of over 22 route miles.
- The only home ever owned by novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, Wayside is located inside Concord's Minute Man National Historical Park. Before Hawthorne purchased Wayside, the home belonged to Bronson and Abby Alcott, who lived there with their four daughters, Anna, Elizabeth, May, and Louisa, between 1845 and 1852. The owners after Hawthorne, Daniel and Harriet Lothrop, also had strong literary roots. Indeed, Harriet, who wrote under the nom de plume Margaret Sidney, wrote 11 "Little Peppers" books, all of which have been popular with generations of American children.
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