Our next visit in Concord was to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, opened in 1855.
When we got into the car to go, Miss M asked us where we were going next… uhh… how do you explain that for a 3 year old. The best thing we could come up with was a park with a lot of rocks.
From Wikipedia:
The cemetery is the burial site of a number of famous Concordians, including some of the United States’ greatest authors and thinkers, especially on a hill known as “Author’s Ridge.”
I had looked up directions before leaving, but it was still a little difficult to navigate to “Author’s Ridge” because there was still snow piled up on the sides of the road, covering up signs. Tonya spotted a sign that was peaking out of the snow by only 2 inches- but it was enough for us to know which way to go.
There is not THIS much snow left anywhere in Boston/Cambridge. The further we got out of town, we saw more snow. I’m not sure if it’s because maybe it snowed more out here, hasn’t gotten as warm, or maybe not as much traffic/snow removal.
We made our way to the ridge. We were the only car we saw out there. We just pulled over to the side. Here is the next sign pointing us to the ridge.
Henry David Thoreau (Transcendentalist, philosopher, and author)
Nathaniel Hawthorne (author of The Scarlet Letter and others)
The Alcott Family: including Amos Bronson Alcott (Transcendentalist, philosopher, educator), Abby May (Wife of Amos Bronson Alcott), and their daughter Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women and others). You’ll learn more about the Alcott’s in the next post.
Ralph Waldo Emerson– American lecturer, philosopher, essayist, and poet, best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century.
I didn’t learn this until today, but Emerson’s stone faces a large stone at the bottom of the hill, which covers the resting place of Ephraim Wales Bull, the originator of the celebrated Concord Grape.
Here are some other pictures I took:
Old Steps
Snow-covered rock wall
The next stop you’ll hear about is the Orchard House, the home of the Alcott family.
What is the meaning behind the coins on the Alcott grave?
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Whitney, good question. I had to look it up but no definite answer.
I saw a few places that mentioned it being an old custom- Romans placed a coin with the remains to pay for the ferryman’s fare as he took you across to the next world/life. Another was for because of wanting to have the deceased person “thoughts” back, as in “a penny for your thoughts”?
http://www.flickr.com/groups/gtc/discuss/106886/
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There’s just something about old stones, walls, graves — You feel like you are walking in History. I liked the pictures.
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[…] Boston Rookie Our adventure of being a Boston rookie Skip to content HomeAbout ← Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, MA […]
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Again, the pictures are wonderful!!! It really brings back my years at school.
I do love the history.
hugs,
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