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Join us as we close out Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area’s 2024 Connecting Communities: Walks & Talks program with a guided walking tour hosted by the Arlington Historical Society and Arlington 250!FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! SPACE IS LIMITED TO 12; REGISTRATION REQUIRED: https://bit.ly/4eaDa2z
Around Patriots’ Day two small British flags appear in the Old Burying Ground in Arlington, Massachusetts. These flags have been appearing for decades in the same place along the west wall of the cemetery. Historical references point to a mass grave of 40 British regulars who died on April 19, 1775 in the retreat from Lexington and Concord in this location. A recent Ground Penetrating Radar study revealed disturbed soil in this location consistent with a mass grave. A permanent monument, dedicated September 7, 2024, now marks this historic site. Visit the Arlington Historical Society’s website to learn more about this exciting project.
Our program will begin with a brief tour of the Jason Russell House where British bullet holes from April 19th, 1775 can still be seen. We will then walk a flat and easy 0.3 miles to the Old Burying Ground, passing Robbins Memorial Town Hall, a statue by Cyrus Dallin, the Winfield Robbins Memorial Gardens and the Whittemore-Robbins House.
Arriving at the Old Burying Ground, we will see the recently dedicated Monument to the Fallen Crown Soldiers who Died on April 19, 1775 and the 2023 Monument to Enslaved and Free Persons of Color in Menotomy who are buried in the same area. Before returning to the Jason Russell House, we will visit the 1848 Revolutionary War Monument that marks the burial site of Jason Russell and 11 of his fellow Patriots who fell on April 19th, 1775.
PARKING: A small lot is located behind the Jason Russell House on Jason Terrace. Ample street parking is available on nearby Mass. Ave. and Jason Street.
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This walking tour is featured in the 2024 Connecting Communities: Walks & Talks series, “How We Remember.” Connecting Communities: Walks & Talks is part of the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area’s larger interpretive strategy which aims to provide life-long learning opportunities to residents and visitors, connecting them to local landscapes while raising awareness of and inspiring support for conservation and preservation initiatives in the region.
This year’s thematic focus is inspired by our semiquincentennial initiative, How We Remember: A Survey of Revolutionary War Monuments, Memorials and Markers within the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area. The series explores the ways in which people and events of the Revolutionary War period are commemorated in various towns’ landscapes while sharing fascinating stories behind how and why these commemorative objects came to be.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Arlington Historical Society & Jason Russell House, 7 Jason Ter, Arlington, MA 02476-6413, United States,Arlington, Massachusetts
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