{"nrhp_refnum":"72001347","name":"Davis, Isaac, Trail","other_names":["Acton's Trail"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Running E-W between towns of Acton and Concord","address_restricted":false,"city":"Acton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.48039543550007,"lon":-71.39835759914263,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-04-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Transportation","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A six-mile historic route through Acton and Concord, Massachusetts, following roads and two town easements from Captain Isaac Davis' house in Acton to the Muster Field at the Old North Bridge in Concord. It follows the path the Acton Company marched on April 19, 1775.","why_significant":"The trail is the route taken by the Acton Company, led by Captain Isaac Davis, to the Muster Field, where the men advanced across the Old North Bridge at the start of the American Revolution. Davis was the first to fall in that action. The exact path was mapped in 1896 from testimony, and the march is re-enacted each Patriots' Day.","narrative":"This six-mile route links Captain Isaac Davis' house in Acton with the Muster Field beside the Concord River. It runs along Hayward Street, Musket Drive, Minuteman Road, Woodbury Lane and Main Street, then over a cart path and town easement to Strawberry Hill Road, Barrett's Mill Road and Barnes Hill Road, ending near the Old North Bridge. Most of it is paved and owned by the towns of Acton and Concord, yet stone walls, woods and set-back houses keep the look of 1775. On April 19, 1775, Davis led the Acton Company along this path to join men from neighboring towns, and he fell at the head of the line at the bridge. The exact route was mapped in 1896 from the testimony of a veteran's son. Each Patriots' Day, thousands gather at Davis' house and walk the route at the hour Davis set out, re-enacting the march.","period_of_significance":"April 19, 1775 (18th Century)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good and altered; the route is mostly tarred roads owned by the Towns of Acton and Concord, plus two easements, and is still used for annual re-enactments.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.483108-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/66/7961/63796166/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/72001347.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001347/c75509550b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001347/c75509550b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jrcovert","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Isaac_Davis_Trail_March_2012.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jrcovert</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:Isaac_Davis_Trail_March_2012.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796166","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Davis_Trail","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6076232"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/davis-isaac-trail-72001347/"}