Friends of Minute Man Raise $260,000 for Battlefield Project

The Friends of Minute Man and Minute Man National Historical Park are excited to announce the Elm Brook Hill Battlefield Preservation Project. 

The Elm Brook Hill area of the park, previously referred to as the Bloody Angle battlefield, is located in the Town of Lincoln within the park boundaries. It was the site of heavy fighting between British soldiers and colonial militia on the afternoon of April 19, 1775.

As we look ahead to the battle’s 250th anniversary in 2025, the site is undergoing a rigorous archeological investigation to tell the story of the men who fought and died that day. The preservation project will last several years, including archaeology, interpretation, exhibit development, and landscape rehabilitation.

Archaeologists from all over the country gathered this summer to perform metallic and aerial surveys at Elm Brook Hill. Excitement swept through the team as musket balls and other battle-related artifacts were located (see image above). Each item's location is documented using GPS, carefully removed from the ground, and cataloged by the park curator. Every artifact helps tell the story of the battle and provides new information to the park and scholars.

Detailed analysis of the lead musket balls, geophysical surveys, and research will be performed in 2025. The archaeological investigation will culminate in an official National Park Service report guiding the project's next phases. We look forward to sharing the findings as they become available and will keep you updated on the project.

The Friends of Minute Man National Park provided significant funding for the archeological investigation and raised over $260,000 for the project through generous donations from private individuals, the town of Lincoln Community Preservation Act Fund, Ogden Codman Trust, Americana Corner, National Trust Preservation Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, American Battlefield Trust, and the Foundation for MetroWest. Thank you to our partners, donors, and vendors for supporting this significant project. . . read more.

To read the full article and view more photographs of this summer's archeological investigation, please click on the button below.

Join us this fall at Minute Man National Historical Park for a spooktacularly good time! We have events for all ages, including Halloween at the Wayside, Hartwell Halloween, and Park Day.

As always, park programs are free. The Friends of Minute Man are proud to support these and other events at the park.

The Friends of Minute Man supported a horticultural intern to manage invasive plants at Minute Man National Historical Park with help from a Sudbury-Assabet-Concord Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area grant. This recent project focused on hand-pulling garlic mustard, wild chervil, black swallowwort, bittersweet, porcelainberry vine, and goutweed in park areas near the Concord River. Management of these invasive species at the park requires a sustained effort!

Zachary (Zach) Forrest joined us as a horticultural intern from the local Minuteman Technical High School this spring and summer. Zach Forrest’s vocational area of study is Environmental Science, and he is continuing his studies at UMass Boston this fall.

Zach focused on emerging garlic mustard and wild chervil on the riverbanks and slopes to reduce seed spread along the river corridor. Forrest reflects, "When I saw the amount of garlic mustard that needed to be pulled, I felt like it would be a challenge to get it all.” He worked diligently and with the support of the park’s biological technicians, a gardener, spring interns, and volunteers. As the garlic mustard disappeared from the landscape, another invasive species, wild chervil, began flowering. . . read more.

To read more about invasive plants at the park and view more photographs, click on the button below.

A Walden Walk to Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere

Join Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere, The Walden Woods Project, and Sierra Club MA Chapter on a walk & talk around gorgeous Walden Pond on Oct. 26, 2024 at 10:00 am. Click here to register for this free walk.

Acton250: Acton & Concord's Roads to Revolution

Robert Gross, author of the classic The Minutemen and Their World, will share the unique conflicts and changes Acton and Concord citizens experienced in their economic and social lives from 1765-1775. Attend the free lecture on Oct. 23th at 7:00 pm in person or watch on ActonTV. Click here to learn more.

America 250: "America's Field Trip"

America’s Field Trip contest gives students in grades 3-12 an opportunity to celebrate and commemorate America’s Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Click here to learn more.

Do you have a free event or online resource you’d like us to include in Beyond Battle Road? Please get in touch with Kathleen Fahey at director@friendsofminuteman.org with your listing.

Did you receive this email from a friend? Sign up to receive emails delivered to your own inbox.



Friends of Minute Man National Park

North Bridge Visitor Center

174 Liberty Street

Concord, MA 01742

P: 978-318-7822

info@friendsofminuteman.org

www.friendsofminuteman.org