{"nrhp_refnum":"66000781","name":"Orchard House","other_names":["Alcott,Louisa May,House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Lexington Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Concord","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.459142395500066,"lon":-71.33531564580397,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1962-12-29","areas_of_significance":["Literature"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Orchard House is a 2 1/2-story frame and clapboard house at 399 Lexington Road in Concord, Massachusetts, begun in the 18th century and enlarged by the Alcott family after 1857. A board-and-batten School of Philosophy building built in 1879 stands nearby on the same 2.1-acre parcel.","why_significant":"It was the home of Bronson Alcott and his family for 25 years, and Louisa May Alcott wrote part of Little Women there. Bronson Alcott, an author, educator and Transcendental philosopher, founded the Concord Summer School of Philosophy and Literature, one of the first adult summer schools in the eastern United States, in the building beside the house.","narrative":"Orchard House, at 399 Lexington Road in Concord, Massachusetts, is a 2 1/2-story frame and clapboard house whose earliest portion dates to the 18th century. The Alcott family bought it in 1857 and enlarged and altered it, giving it most of its present appearance. Bronson Alcott, an author, educator and Transcendental philosopher, lived here with his family for 25 years. His daughter Louisa May Alcott wrote part of Little Women in the house, and her other children's books include An Old-Fashioned Girl, Little Men and Eight Cousins. About 75 feet away stands the plain, unpainted School of Philosophy, built in 1879 for the Concord Summer School of Philosophy and Literature, an early adult summer school in the eastern United States. It operated until Alcott's death in 1888. The Alcotts sold the house in 1882, and the Concord Woman's Club bought it in 1911 as a memorial to Louisa May Alcott. A memorial association now runs it as a museum.","period_of_significance":"1857-1882","architect_builder":"not known","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Operated as a museum and open to the public from April to November; described as in good condition, though in need of repainting and minor repair.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 01:59:18.877617-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/57/7937/63793757/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/66000781_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000781/66db83e612-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000781/66db83e612-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"User:victorgrigas","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orchard_House_from_Little_Women.jpeg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:victorgrigas</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orchard_House_from_Little_Women.jpeg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793757","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchard_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7100190"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/orchard-house-66000781/"}