For $1.95m, a Concord home that drew Transcendentalists like Emerson and Thoreau and that Thoreau helped build
181 Lexington Road in Concord is a four-bed, 2.5-bath home steeped in Transcendentalist history. See inside at realestate.boston.com.
It’s where Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Thoreau and Bronson Alcott sat and discussed nature, and now it’s on the market.
181 Lexington Road in Concord is a four-bed, 2.5-bath home steeped in Transcendentalist history. Listed at $1.950,000, it’s known as the “Lucy Jackson Brown House,” named for Ralph Waldo Emerson’s sister-in-law, for whom he had the property built. While it was completed in 1845, the structure contains parts that were constructed long before.
According to historic documentation, the home was a hotspot for Concord’s Transcendentalist community. An entry in Bronson Alcott’s journal from May 1846 shows that he held an “evening conversation about nature” at the house with both Emerson and Thoreau in attendance. Thoreau also performed some of the construction on the house.
“It’s an antique, but it’s in perfect condition. It definitely has an Old-World elegance to it, yet it’s all updated,” said K.C. Winslow of Barrett Sotheby’s International Realty, who has the listing. “That’s what makes it really special.”
Measuring 3,088 square feet, the home seamlessly fuses historic beauty with modern convenience. Step inside to the parlor, where a decorative fireplace is flanked by a wall of built-in bookshelves. Continue on into the immaculate kitchen, filled with stainless steel appliances and a center island with seating. That space continues into the dining room.
A comfortable family room, an addition to the home from the 1970s, is the ideal gathering space. It has a working fireplace and serves as a pathway to a sunny screen-in porch that overlooks the natural beauty of the landscape.
Upstairs, you’ll find all four bedrooms, which have significant closet space. One bedroom currently functions as a home office.
The home’s outdoor space is also significant. Set on a lot measuring 0.88 of an acre, it features a backyard that backs up to a sloping ridge and has rolling, flat lawns on both sides. The property also has a barn, which currently functions as a garage. Inside, a well-built staircase leads upstairs to a heated room with a skylight that’s currently used as a gym.
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