1775: A Colonial House "The house stands within 10 or 15 yards of the Old Boston road (along which the British marched and retreated)..."
Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1852
The dwelling cited in the 1717 deed was a typical New England farmhouse, two storied, made of wood with two rooms per floor and a central chimney.
However, the house dates back much earlier, according to National Park Service historical architects, who worked on its restoration in the 1960's. Minuteman Samuel Whitney was living in this house, which still retained most of its original appearance, on April 19, 1775 when British troops passed by on their way to the confrontation at Concord's North Bridge.
1845 - 1852: The Alcott Years "Louisa's youth was spent in what is now called 'The Wayside,' and where she lived 'Little Women;' its pranks and pleasures; its trials and deprivations."
Harriett Lothrop
Bronson and Abby Alcott had been married fifteen years when "Hillside" became the first home that they owned. The Alcotts made major changes to the house and land, adding terracing to the hill behind the house, a study for Bronson, and a bedroom for Louisa, who had longed desired privacy and a place to write. Dire fiscal straits forced the family to depend on the generosity of friends like Ralph Waldo Emerson. Their continuing financial hardship finally compelled the Alcotts to return to Boston in 1848, where Abby found employment as a City Missionary.
1852 - 1870: The Hawthorne Years "I have been equally unsuccessful in my architectural projects; and have transformed a simple and small old farm-house into the absurdest anomaly you ever saw; but I really was not so much to blame here as the village-carpenter, who took the matter into his own hands, and produced an unimaginable sort of thing instead of what I asked for."
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Jan. 1864After Hawthorne returned to Concord from Europe in 1860, he added a second story over Alcott's west wing and enclosed the bay porch, moved the barn to the east side of the house, and constructed the three story tower on the back of the house. He called the top story his "sky parlor." Here, he worked on romances, some set at The Wayside, which were left unfinished at the time of his death in May 1864.
1883 - 1965: The Lothrop Years "This old house, with colonial as well as literary associations, delighted my parents. Loving literature and history as they did, they determined to make as few changes as possible. They felt it a duty to preserve the physical nature as well as the fine traditions of the past, and they decided to repair, but not to change unless absolutely necessary. All that dated from the Hawthorne era was carefully saved."
Margaret Lothrop
The Wayside: Home of Authors, 1940Like the Alcotts and the Hawthornes before them, The Wayside was the Lothrops' first home. While keeping the house's earlier features in tact, the Lothrops added The Wayside's modern conveniences - town water in 1883, central heat in 1888 and electric lighting in 1904. For the many entertainments over which Harriett presided, a large piazza was added on the west side in 1887. The Wayside today, restored by the National Park Service with Margaret Lothrop's invaluable assistance, reflects the Lothrops' home life around 1920, while preserving three hundred years of change.
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Last Updated: 2/25/98