The Robbins House

In the middle of our visit to Minuteman National Historical Park we stumbled across The Robbins House in Concord.  I didn't realize at first that it wasn't part of the park.  It "is a 544 sq. ft. historic early 19th century house formerly inhabited by the first generation of descendants of formerly enslaved African American Revolutionary War veteran Caesar Robbins, and by fugitive slave Jack Garrison."

This one-and-a-half story house, which has been dated to the early 1800s, was a two-family farmhouse occupied by one former slave, and by two grown children of another. It originally stood a short distance to the east, on a small farm overlooking the edge of the Great Meadows along the Concord River.
--from The Robbins House website

Inside were quite a few well done signs, such as these that explored the lives of various people who lived in the house.

I thought their sign blocking off access to the upstairs was really quite clever as it explained some history, told what was happening, and encouraged you to want to learn more.

According to the signage those behind the exibits seek "to connect visitors with the lives and contributions of the inhabitants of the Robbins House" like Ellen [Robbins Garrison] Jackson who was born in 1823 here in Concord.  "The aim is to illuminate and reveal this provocative history, sparking relevant and thematic dialogue."

It was fascinating to read how Ellen became a teacher in the south, helping newly freed slaves gain some of the valuable learning they had been previously denied.

 Apparently Ellen ended up moving to Kansas and continuing to work with the children of freemen in the later decades of the nineteenth century.

The highs and the lows of the Reconstruction era were covered in the signs.  It was a time of progress and sadly also a time when many resisted change and doubled down on horrible treatment of their fellow human beings.

 I thought this artwork was rather interesting.

The kids enjoyed interacting with the interpreter inside the house.  They even got a game to take home with them.

You can view all the photos from our time in the house in this album.

~Matt