By Dakota Antelman — [email protected]
When British soldiers searched Col. James Barrett’s home on April 19, 1775, they had a clear view of the farm around it.
On Monday, public officials and preservation advocates celebrated a recent land acquisition meant to preserve the view.
“This landscape is part of history,” Minute Man National Historical Park superintendent Simone Monteleone told The Concord Bridge after a press conference behind the still-standing Barrett house.
British soldiers raided the Barrett property in search of artillery and ammunition moments before their countrymen famously clashed with Colonists at Old North Bridge.
The non-profit Save Our Heritage restored the Barrett house over several years and sold it to the National Park Service in 2012.
Longtime Concord residents Mark and Colleen Giddings lived in a neighboring home and sold their property to the government last fall. The Giddings’ house was built in 1973 but sits on land that was once part of the Barrett homestead.
The NPS periodically opens the Barrett house for public viewing.
Months after the government bought the Giddings’ land, Monteleone said there’s still no specific plan for their house. She said the site will undergo studies and reports.
The result could leave the Giddings’ home intact. The house might also meet the wrecking ball.
Monteleone said officials want to preserve the Barrett property’s panoramic view and reinforce that the farm once stretched across several modern parcels.
Mark and Colleen Giddings reached an agreement with the NPS to stay in their home after the sale through this month’s 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution.
Mark Giddings, vice chair of the Concord Planning Board, said he is sad to leave town. As he walked his property line with a Bridge reporter, he pointed out flowers and other crops he planted in the same soil that was once farmland. His two dogs watched from his backyard.
“We’re going to miss Concord,” he said.
