The Robbins House, Massachusetts, United States

3traveltheworld012 5:00 PM Aug 17, 2021

Wonderful piece of Concord, Massachusetts history.
This is a small rectangular house and was built in the early 1820s. We learned that this was not the original location for it. It was on an isolated farm overlooking the Great Meadows along the Concord River and was moved here. Here is the history we learned when visiting here. The first two families who lived here were descendants of Caesar Robbins, a Revolutionary War Patriot. In 1823, Caesar’s son Peter Robbins purchased the new two-room house and over 13 acres for $260. Peter and his wife Fatima resided in the west side of the house; Peter’s sister, Susan, her husband Jack Garrison, and their children occupied the east side. Peter Hutchinson, Fatima’s relative, bought the house in 1852. He and his large family were the last to live in this house on the farm. It is now a historic site near the Minuteman National Park.

4tanners47 5:00 PM Sep 7, 2015

African-American History of the area Comes Alive
The house is situated near its original site and is the home of a first-generation free African American family. The descendants of Caesar Robbins, a slave who was freed after fighting in the Revolutionary war, lived in the tiny 544 square foot house. The house was divided into two parts, and each side was used by one family. One side had steep stairs to the attic which was used for sleeping by some of one family. An older gentleman and a high school docent were at the house, and the young woman gave me a tour of the place and told me of the history of some of the people who lived there. Large signs have histories of them, but only one is an accurate picture of the person described. There is no furniture in the place as no evidence is recorded as to what was used in the home. The basement is much deeper than the original one due to code when the building was moved. From the website, one can download a tour of African-American sites in the Concord area. I was very "taken" by the fact that a number of slaves gained their freedom by fighting with the local militias and against the British in the Revolutionary War. I was also impressed to know that people in the countryside were anti-slavery for the most part, and were ahead of Boston. Schools were integrated in that area by the early 1800s, much earlier than in Boston. Fugitive slave Jack Garrison lived there and was well known and respected in the community. It seems that he was not in danger of being returned to the South. No fee is charged but I left a donation.