Robbins House foundation photos
Posted on | July 22, 2011 | No Comments
Caesar Robbins House in the news – Work continues on historic Caesar Robbins House
Posted on | July 22, 2011 | No Comments
Work continues on historic Caesar Robbins HouseBy Amy Carboneau/Staff Writer
Posted Jul 21, 2011 @ 03:30 PM
Concord — The specks of sawdust shone in the sunlight as the smell of fresh-cut wood danced in the air around the Caesar Robbins House, not quite settled onto its new Monument Street foundation. Temperatures neared 90, even by 10 a.m. It was a hot day to be drilling.
Across from the Old North Bridge worked Bill Flynt, an architectural conservator at Historic Deerfield, hired as a consultant by the Drinking Gourd Project (DGP) in a final bid to determine the date the historic house had been built.
It is the final step to determine whether the house belonged, in fact, to Caesar Robbins, who was said to be the first freed slave in Concord and a Revolutionary War veteran who later became a landowner when his former owner gifted him land where today’s water treatment plant rests.
Read more: Work continues on historic Caesar Robbins House – Concord, MA – The Concord Journal
Great news about the Robbins/Hutchinson House
Posted on | July 20, 2011 | No Comments
This Friday, July 22nd, the Robbins/Hutchinson House will be lowered onto its beautiful new stone foundation! Since May 21st, when the house made its stately way from its old position on Bedford Street, to its current position by the North Bridge parking lot, the house has been sitting on air (and a few jacks), waiting for this moment.
A lot of preparation work has been done, both to the house, and to the site it sits on, and a trench was dug last week as a conduit for electrical power. The rotten sill has been replaced and modern shingles have been removed. There is still much to be done, both inside the house, on the exterior, and to the site, but we have amazing experts guiding the process.
Though we have a long way to go before the house can be open to the public, the lowering onto the foundation seems like a big milestone – a veritable Kodak moment!
Thank you all for your support – we could never have got this far without huge support from the town agencies and boards, the National Park Service, our experts, our donors, The Old Manse, and countless well-wishers across the country.
Help Us Raise Funds!
Posted on | July 14, 2011 | No Comments
Concord resident Bill Barber’s wonderful Matching Fund Challenge has been extended, so there is still time to make that much needed and MUCH appreciated donation to the Drinking Gourd Project (DGP). Bill will match, dollar for dollar, donations coming in to the Project – up to $5,000.00!
Money is needed for so many aspects of our mission – the bringing to light of the amazing stories of the early residents of African descent, their lives, how they lived productive and useful lives in sometimes extremely adverse conditions. The stories, too, of the Abolitionist activity here in Concord, and how the untold stories of early African American presence adds to the well-known history of Concord itself.
We have established Tours to visit the significant sites here, we have published those tours in a self-guided map for residents and visitors (maps are available in the Visitor’s Center, and DGP bike tours are available from Concord Bike Tours), we are restoring and renovating the Robbins/Hutchinson House, we are in the process of placing Commemorative Boulder benches at the home sites of Brister Freeman in the town forest and, we hope eventually, of Cato Ingraham and Zilpah White in Walden Pond State Reservation.
We plan to re-publish the book, Concord: it’s Black History, by Janet Jones and Barbara Elliott adding to it as our historians research for more facts. We hope also to place a marker on Peter Hutchinson’s grave in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery – currently unmarked and unrecognized – he was the first black resident to register and vote in Concord, and deserves recognition that in addition to his efforts to reacquire the Robbins house, and his work as a hog butcher as observed by Thoreau.
So please help us raise the funds to tackle all these wonderful and exciting projects – your contribution makes you a part of this significant work!Thank you!
Concord Cultural Council Helps Celebrate Robbins House Move
Posted on | June 30, 2011 | No Comments
The Concord Cultural Council awarded the DGP a $400 grant for expenses involved with putting on a town-wide celebration as we moved the Robbins house from it’s second location on Bedford St. to it’s final resting place on Monument St., across from the North Bridge and Old Manse, on May 21st, 2011. This same celebration commemorated the Toni Morrison Bench also awarded to the Robbins House site, and featuring members of their Bench-by-the-Road project. The Drinking Gourd Project thanks the Concord Cultural Council for supporting our work and helping us celebrate our milestones.
Bill Barber’s Matching Challenge
Posted on | June 29, 2011 | No Comments
Last few days to meet Bill Barber’s matching fund challenge! Time runs out on July 4th! He will match, dollar for dollar, any donations up to $5,000.00 that come in by July 4th! Here’s your chance to double any money you donate to our tax-deductible Drinking Gourd Project – send your donation to:The Drinking Gourd Project, IncP.O. Box 506Concord MA 01742…or donate online through the website.Thank you for your support! « go back — keep looking »