Just in time for the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord which mark the start of the American Revolution, an additional piece of land has been added to the Minute Man National Historical Park.
The two-acre tract, part of the Barrett Farm, was once property of Col. James Barrett, commander of the colonial militiamen who, on April 18, 1775, fired “the shot heard round the world” at British troops who had come from Boston to seize an arsenal of weapons assembled on Barrett’s farm. It is immediately adjacent to the restored Barrett farmhouse, which has been part of the park since 2012.
The new addition, purchased from private owners for $1.86 million in federal funds, almost doubles the Barrett Farm unit of the park, which includes tracts at several points connected with the battle, which led to a disorderly British retreat. The Park Service worked together with the American Battlefield Trust on the project.
Image: Minute Man National Historical Park Superintendent Simone Monteleone and American Battlefield Trust President David Duncan on the newly preserved land, with the restored Barrett Farm House in the background. Melissa Winn/American Battlefield Trust
