Concord
Concord names 4 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Concord Massachusetts
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
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: By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April's breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world. 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.
Concord a city, capital of the State of New Hampshire
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city, capital of the State of New Hampshire, and county-seat of Merrimac county; on the Merrimac river and several branches of the Boston and Maine railroad; 75 miles N. W. of Boston. Concord has an abundance of water power supplied by near-by streams, and extensive manufactories of carriages, shoes, twine, electrical apparatus, silverware, leather goods, machine shop products, etc. Near the city are extensive quarries of a fine-grained white granite. There are three National banks and several private banking houses. Public Interests. The city is well laid out with finely shaded streets, is lighted by gas and electricity, and has an extensive waterworks plant. The noteworthy buildings include the State Capitol, a fine building of Concord granite, the City Hall and Court House, the State Prison, State Insane Asylum, and the United States Government buildings . There is an excellent system of public schools, and several private schools, including St. Paul's School for boys. History. Concord was settled by the whites in 1725, on the site of an Indian village, but till 1765 it was called Rumford. It became a city in 1853. It is noted as the place where Hannah Dustin, another woman, and a boy, who had been taken captive by Indians at Haverhill, Mass., killed the 10 Indians, when asleep, with hatchets, and so escaped. Pop. (1910) 21,497; (1920) 22,167.
Concord town of Middlesex a co.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
town of Middlesex a co., Mass.; on the Concord river and the Boston and Maine railroad; 20 miles W. of Boston. It is situated in a beautiful rural district, and has several manufacturing establishments. It was for many years the seat of the famous Concord School of Philosophy, and is the site of the Concord State Reformatory. It has a public library, high school, a National bank, and an assessed property valuation of $4,000,000. During the early part of the Revolution the Americans had a large stock of arms and military stores at Concord. Gen. Gage, the British Commander in Boston, hearing of this, sent a body of soldiers to destroy these stores, and on their way they fought the battle of Lexington, the first of the war. When they reached Concord they destroyed what stores they could find, but were soon driven off by the Americans (April 19, 1775). Concord is celebrated as the home of many famous writers, among them Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, and Miss Alcott. Pop. (1910) 6,421; (1920) 6,461.
Concord a city of North Carolina
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of North Carolina, the county-seat of Cabarrus co. It is on the Southern railroad. There are manufactures of cotton, foundries, and machine shop. The city is the seat of the Jackson Training School and the Scotia Seminary. Pop. (1910) 8,715; (1920) 9,903.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Concord, Massachusetts, which Aiton's put at 5,652 people in 1900, now has about 18,000, and the battlefield the entry describes is federally protected: Minute Man National Historical Park was created in 1959, taking in the North Bridge, the Minuteman statue and the Old Manse's surroundings, while the Manse itself is a museum open to visitors. Ephraim Bull's grape, which Aiton's called "the leading American grape," went on to become the basis of the American grape juice and jelly industry rather than a table fruit; his Concord house survives, though the entry's "original Concord vine" is long past the sprout it had already been reduced to. Concord, New Hampshire, still the state capital when Collier's wrote in 1921, has grown to roughly 44,000; the granite quarries and carriage works have largely gone, state government, health care and insurance now dominate, and St. Paul's School still operates, admitting girls from 1971. The institution Collier's called the State Insane Asylum is now New Hampshire Hospital, and the woman it names as Hannah Dustin is usually spelled Duston or Dustin today, her 1697 killing of her captors now discussed as much for its brutality as for its heroism.
Written for this edition, 2026.