Day 7 - Salem, Lexington and Concord Massachusetts

Historic Salem

Day 7 took us from Portland, Maine to Salem, Massachusetts.  We are very thankful for our TomTom GPS!  It took us to the area of the Salem Witch Trials museums and historic districts.  We walked around the museum areas but these were not at the historic location of the village where the people lived, so we drove until we found the Memorial and homestead of Rebecca Nurse.  We found the Memorial but weren't sure where to find the other sites nearby.  Andy stopped a couple of ladies who were walking by and one happened to be a National Parks retiree and another a retired teacher.  They were more than happy to help us find the other sites we were looking for.  People are good and kind!

Historic Salem, Witch Museum

Witch Trial Memorial

Rebecca Nurse Homestead

From Salem, we drove about an hour to Lexington, Mass to the Lexington Green historic district.  We walked around the memorial park and saw some beautiful old buildings and a great cemetery.  The oldest grave I found was from 1850, but we didn't look too hard.  They had a Lexington Battle site memorial that was placed in 1799.  The Lexington Green is where British soldiers first fired upon the colonial militia.  It's amazing how old things are here compared to the West.

Lexington Green

Lexington Green

Buckman's Tavern, Lexington

Minuteman Memorial, Lexington

First Parish Church of Lexington

Ye Old Burial Grounds, Lexington

Lastly, we drove to Concord and walked to the North Bridge where the colonial resistance met the British after the battle of Lexington.  There is also a Minute Man memorial here.  Many of the museums and historic houses charge admission but we did it for free by walking from site to site and taking pictures without the guided tours.  Keep history free!

North Bridge, Concord

Minuteman Monument, Concord

Battle of Concord Memorial

British Soldiers Grave, Concord

Manse property, Concord

We took a family swim at the motel in Lexington where we will be for 2 nights.  Tomorrow will be a long day walking Boston.  We plan to park and take public transportation into the city, then walk the Freedom Trail.