Minute Man National Historical Park (Boundary Increase and Additional Documentation)
Why it's listed
Minute Man National Historical Park protects about 967 acres in Concord, Lincoln and Lexington, Massachusetts, where the first battles of the American Revolution were fought on April 19, 1775. It has three separate units: North Bridge, the Wayside, and the four-mile Battle Road. Congress created it in 1959, and since then the park service has removed more than 200 later buildings to bring back the open, agricultural look of 1775. The district counts 105 contributing resources, including 43 buildings, 41 sites, 11 objects and 10 structures, along with about 25 miles of stone walls and historic field systems. Notable resources include the early eighteenth-century Major John Buttrick House, the 1911 Buttrick Mansion with its designed landscape, and the Wayside, once home to Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Alcotts. Archaeological studies since the 1960s have examined farmsteads and roads. The nomination documents the park's significance and lists its resources to guide future management.
Significance in brief: The park preserves the battlefield and surviving buildings, sites, objects and landscape features tied to the opening of the American Revolution. This documentation defines the areas of significance and criteria and counts contributing and non-contributing resources, which the 1966 administrative listing had not done. It also covers later layers of history, including agricultural landscapes, 19th-century literary associations at the Wayside, and archaeology.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 02001445, listed November 29, 2002. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Minute Man National Historical Park, Lexington |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | November 29, 2002 |
| Reference number | 02001445 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | Colonial/Georgian; Early Republic/Federal; Mid-19th Century; Colonial Revival; Bungalow/Craftsman |
| Areas of significance | Military, Literature, Architecture, Agriculture, Archeology |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Managed as a national park. The Buttrick Mansion serves as the visitor center, offices and maintenance facilities. Over 200 later buildings have been removed to restore a 1775 appearance. |
| Acreage | 967 |
| Coordinates | 42.45830, -71.31919 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 02001445.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.