Guided Tour OfferingsBuckman Tavern Hybrid Indoor/Outdoor Tour: Visitors will enjoy a picturesque, outdoor setting on the lawn of Buckman Tavern as they hear the history of Buckman Tavern from the time it was built to the Battle of Lexington as well as what life in a Colonial Tavern was like for the Buckmans. After, visitors will have the chance to enter Buckman Tavern during the last 15 minutes of the tour in order to view the historic interior of Buckman Tavern and artifacts associated with the Battle of Lexington.
CLOSED for the 2020 season. Reopening March 6, 2021.
Old Burying Ground Tour (traditional): This tour highlights the history of the Old Burying Ground. The tour will discuss the general history of the Old Burying Ground and visitors will discover some of the stories of Lexington’s past residents.
CLOSED for the 2020 season. Reopening March 6, 2021. Visit our self-guided phone tour here.
Architecture Tour: This short walking tour will start at Buckman Tavern and lead visitors down Hancock Street to the Hancock-Clarke House. The tour will provide an overview of the different architectural styles found throughout Lexington, but are most prominent on this street.
CLOSED for the 2020 season. Reopening March 6, 2021. Visit our self-guided phone tour here.
Stories in Stone: Visitors will go on a tour of the Old Burying Ground discussing specific gravestones and memorials. This tour, while touching on the history of the Old Burying Ground, is focused on the evolution through time of the Old Burying Ground.
CLOSED for the 2020 season. Reopening March 6, 2021.
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What to Expect
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Or head outside and explore Lexington's history with new self-guided phone tours! Lexington by Foot and Phone is your personal handheld guide to the past.
These tours will allow you to explore outdoor historic sites in the town center at your own pace. Take a walk around the Battle Green to learn more about the fateful first day of the American Revolution, and the monuments that commemorate it. Or stroll up Hancock Street to discover a stunning array of historic 19th century buildings in many architectural styles. More tours to come! |
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Did you know that all three of our historic houses have beautiful grounds? Large grassy lots slope up to gardens and down to wetlands. Lilacs, boxwood, and lavender perfume the air.
These landscapes are open to explore every day of the week, free of charge. |
To ensure your safety, and that of other visitors, please follow social distancing guidelines as if you were in any other public space. This includes not congregating in groups larger than 10, staying at least 6 feet apart from other groups or individuals, and wearing a mask when this is not possible. As there are currently no trash receptacles or staff on site, we ask that you please follow a "carry in, carry out" policy and refrain from sitting on stone walls or other historic features. Full guidelines.
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Since 1984, Lexington Field & Garden Club members have been working on the gardens at Munroe Tavern. Eighteen club members are involved in caring for these gardens. They have created an oasis of natural beauty with plantings of historic interest, adding immeasurably to the story being told by Lexington Historical Society in the Tavern.
• The Garden of Colonial Flowers contains simple, unimproved, open-pollinated species, the flowers Boston gardeners grew in the mid-to-late 1700s, which differ greatly from the plants in our twenty-first century gardens. Kris Burton is the lead steward. • The Rose Garden has recently been rediscovered and renewed. Members of the New England Rose Society have helped us to identify them. Some of the species in the garden were brought from Spain or the Mideast generations ago. Nancy Trautman is the steward of the rose garden. • The Wildflower or Native Plant Garden has a large trillium collection, as well as many different plants, ferns, and shrubs that bloom during the spring. Jo Fray is the lead steward of this garden. |
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Buckman Tavern boasts the Helen Noyes Webster Memorial herb garden. This garden is currently being revamped by longtime Historical Society members and volunteers Carla Fortman and Elaine and Guy Doran.
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The grounds of Hancock-Clarke House has a carefully-tended kitchen garden, displaying a variety of herbs and other plants that colonial families might have grown for everyday use. This garden is tended by the Morning Study group, Lexington Field & Garden Club.
Interesting and fragrant flowers like lilacs and wisteria border the long sloping rear lawn. A young Roxbury russet heirloom apple tree graces the backyard. A 19th century barn sits at the bottom of a slope in the landscape. |
