The Old Manse

The Old Manse. Incendiary Ideas and Creative Passion. , Welcome to The Old Manse , Incendiary Ideas and Creative Passion , The residents of The Old Manse played a key role in the formation of this nation. They helped spark the revolution that brought American Independence, and for generations they created the young nation's unique literature, culture, and philosophy. The traces that these artists, writers, ministers, musicians, teachers, and scholars left behind here tell the story of how one person's actions can impact the world. What will your legacy be? Keep reading to learn more about some of these remarkable people., 1770 Reverend Will Emerson challenged his congregation to turn their eyes from their farms to a larger struggle against British rule. Five years later, Concord would become a center of rebellion and home to the Battle of Concord, one of the first in the American Revolution, 1835 "The Rev. Dr. Ripley has conveyed to the inhabitants of Concord a piece of land near the ancient Bridge… the monument erected within two years from the 4th day of July next." Without Rev. Dr. Ezra Ripley's donation, there would be no North Bridge Monument. His gift of land began a growing effort to remember the beginnings of the United States, 1835 "Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature, 1835, With these opening lines, Emerson's essay, written at The Old Manse, formed the first uniquely American philosophy that still holds resonance across the world today. Transcendentalism asserts that every individual has a capacity for good, and that this capacity is unlocked through experiences and reflection in God's creation, nature., 1842 "... there was in the rear of the house the most delightful little nook of a study that ever afforded its snug seclusion to a scholar." - Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from an Old Manse, Here in this nook at The Old Manse, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the first book to win him popular acclaim - Mosses From an Old Manse. Downstairs, his wife Sophia painted. Together, they forged ahead as one of the first distinctly American authors and one of the first acclaimed female American artist, 1845 A "stream-mill of great activity and power which must be fed, and the grinds German, Italian, Greek, Chemistry, Metaphysics, Theology, with utter indifference which - something she must have to keep the machine from tearing itself" - Ralph Waldo Emerson, As described by Emerson, Sarah Alden Bradford Ripley had both insatiable curiosity and tremendous intellectual ability, Sarah balanced the demands of being a minister's wife, a teacher, and mother with her role in the literary and philosophical circles in Concord., 1938 Having kept The Old Manse in the same family for over 150 years, descendants led by Sarah Ripley Thayer Ames believed that the house should be opened to the public and preserved as a museum. Sarah and her husband John arranged with The Trustees to purchase the house and approximately four acres of land for $17,500 in 1938. The sale formally preserved the Manse as a space for all to enjoy, forever, and put the relatively young organization, The Trustees, on a path of acquiring places of both natural and historical importance. Today, The Trustees manages more than 100 special places across Massachusetts