Concord

Massachusetts, a town on the Concord River, twenty miles northwest of Boston. It was settled in 1635, five years later than Boston. The present village had a population in 1900 of 5,652. It is situated in a beautiful farming region, forty minutes by rail from Boston. There are a number of manufactures. Concord is celebrated as the place of residence of a number of noted literary people. The gray stones of Sleepy Hollow burying ground near by bear the names of Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, and Alcott, and their former residences are still pointed out. The "Old Manse," in which Hawthorne wrote his Mosses, is here. Ephraim Bull, the propagator of the famous Concord grape, lived here, and his grave is among those of the local celebrities.

At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, April 19, 1775, General Gage sent a command to destroy a large store of powder, balls, and muskets at Concord. The first American blood was shed at Lexington. The redcoats were met at Concord Bridge by the minutemen who made a brief resistance, during which the first British fell. A century later, a bronze monument of a minuteman on a granite pedestal was unveiled. Emerson wrote the poem for the occasion. The first stanza, engraved on the pedestal, is as follows:

See Lexington; Emerson

Concord Grape, the leading American grape. In 1840 some boys scattered wild fox grapes about the place of Mr. Ephraim Bull of Concord, Massachusetts, and a number of grapevines grew up. In 1843 his attention was attracted by a bunch of grapes on one of these seedlings. Mr. Bull planted these grapes, and in 1849 he obtained a fine fruiting vine, which he named the Concord. From this vine fifty varieties of Concord grapes have sprung, and yet it was the grandchild of a wild grape from the woods of Concord. The original Concord vine is still growing, but it has been reduced to a mere sprout from the old root. Mr. Bull died in 1895, in his ninetieth year. It is to be regretted that one who conferred so great a benefit on his country, and who lived so unselfishly, should have ended his days in poverty.

Some eight years ago the editor of Farm, Stock and Home visited the old town of Concord, Massachusetts, around which are wreathed historical and literary laurels in great abundance and of rare value; yes, and of rare horticultural value too; for a humble little garden there was the birth place of the Concord grape. Visiting the old vine at the time mentioned, it was found to be in a woefully neglected state, as was the entire garden, and the always humble and modest home of the Concord's originator, Ephraim Wales Bull. Before leaving town the editor made a vigorous protest to some of the town authorities against the treatment the old vine and home were receiving, and asserted that both, preserved and well cared for, would in the early future constitute a relic and attraction in the town that would prove more attractive to many pilgrims who annually visit it than any one of the many other relics it possesses.

Whether the protest had any effect or not, a recent visit disclosed a radical change in the condition and environment of the old vine. The last is now enclosed in a substantial trellis, it is kept fairly free from grass and weeds; the house and grounds are in a well kept condition; and a movement is on foot to erect a suitable monument to Mr. Bull, who "sowed that others might reap,"--the sentiment on the bronze tablet on the native granite boulder at the head of his grave.

To the trellis has been attached an ancient looking bit of board carrying the following inscription, cut by Mr. Bull himself in well-formed letters:

"I looked about to see what I could find among our wildings. The next thing to do was to find the best and earliest grape for seed, and this I found in an accidental seedling at the foot of the hill. The crop was abundant, ripe in August, and of very good quality for a wild grape. I sowed the seed in the autumn of 1843. Among them the Concord was the only one worth saving.--E. W. Bull."

This is the story of the origin of the Concord grape as recorded by its originator in a manner which made it desirable to tell the story in the fewest words possible.--S. M. Owen.