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Massachusetts has one of the most endangered historic places in the U.S.
It has "great significance in American history."
A part of Massachusetts with an important role in American history needs protecting, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Trust released a list of America’s most endangered historic places for 2024 on Wednesday and included Minute Man National Historical Park and nearby landmarks.
“Minute Man National Historical Park (MMNHP), Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Pond and Woods, and nearby areas of Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, and Bedford are home to places of great significance in American history,” wrote the Trust about the Massachusetts entry on its 37th annual list.
A proposed major expansion of Hanscom Field Airport could impact the area negatively, according to the Trust.
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“Advocates are concerned that the proposed development could lead to increased noise disruption in an area that is already impacted by noise from jet traffic, often interrupting park programming. Advocates also cite the potential for increased vehicular traffic and negative environmental and climate impacts of private jets,” wrote the Trust.
Minute Man National Historical Park, the place of the 1775 “shot heard round the world” that began the Revolutionary War, commemorates the famous battle every April. There are also preserved homes in the area, the Trust noted, which are open to the public, such as Orchard House, where Louisa May Alcott wrote and set “Little Women” and the Robbins House, commemorating Caesar Robbins, a formerly enslaved African American Revolutionary War veteran. The Trust also named nearby Walden Pond, which inspired Henry David Thoreau.
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The 37th annual list is a “powerful, galvanizing tool for historic preservation,” according to the Trust, and of the more than 350 sites listed over the years only a handful have been lost.
“One theme connecting the 2024 list is the power of communities to come together to combat erasure and protect the cultural landmarks, treasured local businesses, restaurants, customs, and traditions that help tell the layered stories of those who’ve called a place home,” wrote the Trust.
The Trust provides a link to a petition to Gov. Healey and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg asking them to stop the expansion of Hanscom Field and preserve the “irreplaceable American treasures.”
Check out the list of America’s most endangered historic places for 2024.
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