history

Retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer speaks at the Walden Woods Project. (Photo courtesy of Brian Stevens of the Stevens Family Foundation)

An enthusiastic crowd of more than 400 people gathered at the headquarters of the Walden Woods Project in Lincoln on May 30 to hear historian and CNN commentator Douglas Brinkley engage in conversation with retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

Three Lincoln-based organizations — Lincoln250, the Bemis Free Lecture Series, and the Lincoln Historical Society — co-sponsored the event, which was free and open to the public thanks to a grant from the Ogden Codman Trust.

Breyer, 86, touched on his childhood career dreams growing up in San Francisco (“I thought I wanted to be a baseball player in the summer and a garbage collector in the winter”), American books that give the flavor of a time and place (the autobiographical Education of Henry Adams, The Professor’s House by Willa Cather, and The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton), and his favorite movies — heavy on 1930s screwball comedies but also “Groundhog Day.”

Much of the discussion centered on topics featured in Justice Breyer’s new book, Reading The Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism. At times he shared humorous and sometimes poignant anecdotes about his former Supreme Court colleagues and their deliberations.

When considering a case before the court, “You read the words. If the words are clear, just follow what they say, but words are never clear, so you look to other things. What’s the purpose [of a law]? What mischief was Congress trying to cure? What will happen if you decide this this way or that way? Is it consistent with the values that are still there in this little book, or the other values that Americans hold?” he said, holding up his pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution.

The ideal outcome for a Supreme Court decision, Breyer said, is to give “a better chance of directing, we hope, that the interpretation helps people live together who are affected by it peacefully and productively, at least some of the time.”

Attendees were also treated to the first public viewing of the introduction to a new film, currently in production, entitled “Henry David Thoreau.” The three-hour documentary, executive produced by Ken Burns and Walden Woods Project founder Don Henley, is slated to air on PBS in the spring of 2026. It chronicles the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau through the narration of George Clooney and the voices of Meryl Streep (Margaret Fuller at al.), Jeff Goldblum (Thoreau), and Ted Danson (Emerson).

A video of the hourlong event is available on the Walden Woods Project’s website.

The 250th anniversary of the first battles of the American Revolution is just around the corner. Here’s what you need to know about getting around and what’s happening in and around Lincoln.

Getting around

Road closures — Road closures in Lincoln will begin on Saturday, April 19 at 5:00am and will remain closed till 5:00pm. Click here to learn more. 

Train — Trains will run once an hour outbound beginning at 4:30am. The first train stops in Lincoln at 5:04am, just in time for the 6:00am dawn salute in Concord. See the train schedule for details (note: bikes will not be allowed on the trains. Residents and visitors planning to ride the train from Lincoln are strongly encouraged to park in the non-paved lot first (approximately 45 spots available). The paved lot should only be used once the non-paved spots are full. 

Bus — A school bus will make continuous loops from the Lincoln School K-4 (Smith) parking lot to the Concord Museum with a stop at the Walden Pond parking lot. This free service runs from 6:00am – 9:00pm. There are not set pickup times at the school; bus frequency will depend on many uncontrollable factors, so allow plenty of time.

• • Lexington and Concord Intercommunity Shuttle
  • MBTA bus service and other information

Transfer station and library

The Transfer Station will be closed on Saturday, April 19 but will remain open until 6:00pm on Wednesday, April 16 (opening at the usual time of 7:30am) to provide additional flexibility for those who are generally unable to use the facility during the work week. The Lincoln Public Library will be closed Saturday, April 19 through Monday, April 21. It will reopen at 9:00am on Tuesday, April 22.

For more Lincoln information, click here. Questions? Email Lincoln250@lincolntown.org. 

Lincoln250 events

“Myths of the Battle of Lexington-Concord”
Thursday, April 10 from 7:00–8:00pm (Zoom)
Lincoln historian and Minute Man Rick Wiggin will talk about what truly happened in Lexington, Concord, and most importantly, Lincoln, on April 19, 1775 and how it became mythologized over time. Click here to register.

“The Forgotten Patriots of Color”
Friday, April 11 at 12:30pm (Bemis Hal)
Lincoln resident and biographer Ray Shepard will read from his work in progress, The Forgotten Patriots of Color: A Story of Local Brown and Black Patriots. Sponsored by the Lincoln Council on Aging & Human Services.

“Loyalists and Revolutionaries: Two Iconic Lincoln Properties at the Heart of a Changing World”
Monday, April 21 from 10:00am–2:00pm
Historic New England invites you walk Lincoln’s trails and visit two of its properties in Lincoln: the Codman Estate (once occupied by Loyalists Charles and Elizabeth Russell, who fled to Antigua when the war began) and the Gropius House designed by Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius and revolutionary in impact. The properties will be open to the public and docents will be on site to share information and answer questions.

“A Sense of Place: Lincoln Then and Now”
At the Lincoln Public Library through April 26
Five artists and photographers show scenes from around Lincoln that existed both in 1775 and now. At the center is Kerry Glass’s 1775 map with an overlay that traces the development of the roadways over the years. Sponsored by the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department.  

Other area events and information

• • Five-town schedule for April 12–27 events
  • General spectator guidelines
  • Minute Man National Historic Park
  • • Schedule of events on April 19 (scroll down to “Programs”)
    • Details on MMNHP events
  • Lexington
  • • Town of Lexington transportation page including bike corrals, handicapped dropoff, etc.
    • Lexington amenities map (restrooms, food trucks, etc.)
  • Concord
  • • Town of Concord transportation page
    • Concord250 including walking map and parade route
  • Arlington
  • • Arlington250

Added April 2: Here are the transcript and video of the skit.

Most Town Meeting attendees dress casually, but seven of them in less comfortable colonial period costume rose in turn at last week’s meeting to argue for or against a 1775 funding measure, based on sentiments that their real-life counterparts expressed 250 years ago.

Lincoln historian Rick Wiggin and others examined minutes from the meeting on March 20, 1775, when voters were asked to approve “the sum of fifty-two pounds four shillings… to provide for those persons who have enlisted as minute men, each one a bayonet belt, cartridge box, steel rammer, gun stock, and knapsack; they to attend military exercise four hours a day twice in a week till the first day of May next.”

The measure had failed to win approval on two previous tries, but it finally got a thumbs-up at a gathering held in the old meeting house where the stone church now stands. Now in 2025, Town Moderator Sarah Cannon Holden called on each speaker as her counterpart would have done 250 years ago.

“How grave does the crisis have to be before we respond?” said the first speaker, Captain Eleazer Brooks, played by Wiggin. But Deacon John Gove (Hafner) countered, saying this would “drag us into war without our consent… belligerence of this sort will only inflame the situation.”

“The tyranny is upon us now!” declared Abijah Pierce (Tom Risser). “It is unreasonable that Parliament will restore our charter rights unless we make clear” our intention to fight if necessary.

But others objected. Ben Soule, playing Zechariah Wesson, noted that adopting the proposal would increase the town’s tax burden by one-third (the total town budget that year was £165). And the larger patriot goal of raising an army of 15,000 would mean that one in four men of military age would have to serve — including Wesson’s five sons.

The widow Ruth Gage (Bev Malone) tried to speak and was initially shouted down by Gove/Hafner, who objected that “it has never been our custom” to allow women to speak at Town Meeting. But Holden overruled him, noting that Gage’s late husband held property and therefore she had the right to speak and vote as long as she didn’t remarry.

In the wake of the Boston Tea Party two year prior, colonials had been asked to promise not to buy or consume British tea. “I took quill in hand and signed that pledge,” Gage said. “As a widow, I can ill afford to pay this extra tax… and as a mother, I worry about my son going to war,” she said. “But if our sons and husbands and brothers as Minute Men must face this danger, we need to assure they are properly equipped, for their own safety.” m.

“What will become of our town if declare as enemies those with whom we disagree?” said Ebenezer Cutler (Liam Lewis).

Nonetheless, when Holden called for the vote, the measure “passed” resoundingly, followed by a standing ovation. Select Board Chair Kim Bodnar noted the “poignant arguments” that are still relevant today, especially in light of the turmoil within the federal government.

The reenactment can be viewed in the Town Meeting video that will be posted on the Lincoln TV website soon.

The 250th anniversary of the first days of the American Revolution is being celebrated in Lincoln and neighboring communities this April, and there is a full slate of celebrations beginning on Saturday, April 19 and running through Monday, April 21. Click here to see a list of the celebratory events happening in the Battle Road communities of Arlington, Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, and the Minute Man National Historical Park. 

• Parking will be limited so public transportation is highly recommended. The MBTA is offering special event train and bus schedules for our communities — click here to learn more.
• If you would like to attend events in Concord on Saturday, April 19, please consider taking the train from Lincoln Station. Nine trains have been added to the schedule, and there will be no vehicular access to Concord center on April 19. 
• Mark your calendars for the Patriots’ Day events run by our Lincoln Minute Men — click here for dates, times and locations.

By Donald L. Hafner

Lincoln rarely (if ever) held a town meeting in the month of January. But it did on January 9, 1775. And the town was in a defiant mood, ready to make patriotic sacrifices — up to a point.

In the summer of 1774, Parliament had passed the Coercive Acts, shutting Boston harbor and effectively ending 150 years of self-rule in Massachusetts. Lincoln joined other towns in defiance. In quick order, at the January meeting, Lincoln elected Eleazer Brooks as its representative to the Provincial Congress, convened by Massachusetts towns after the royal governor, General Thomas Gage, had dissolved the elected colonial legislature in October 1774. Town meeting agreed to give the Provincial Congress all the tax money that the town in the past would have sent to the royal governor.

Lincoln’s own pledge in August 1774 of non-purchase/non-consumption (annotated for clarity). Aren’t we all glad that the word “boycott” was finally invented in 1880? (Click image for larger view.)

Town meeting also reached agreement on what could have been a very contentious issue—setting up a Committee of Inspection. Back in August 1774, town meeting had called for a pledge by Lincoln families not to purchase or consume any imported British products. The pledge was signed by seventy-eight men—an impressive number, but well short of unanimous. Similar efforts at non-purchase/non-consumption had been tried in past confrontations with Britain. The intent was that the loss of American markets would inflict economic pain on British merchants, and they would compel Parliament to change its policies.

However, most of those prior efforts had failed. Unless there were universal compliance, loyalist tradesmen could prosper while patriotic tradesmen would suffer. To cope with this problem, when the Continental Congress in Philadelphia agreed upon a policy of non-purchase/non-consumption for all the colonies, it called upon communities to appoint committees of inspection, to enforce the policy. Monitoring merchants in the town of Lincoln would be easy—there were hardly any. But would this Committee of Inspection now encourage Lincoln residents to spy upon their neighbors for any suspicious purchases made in other towns? If anyone raised such concerns, they were outvoted.

Economic sacrifice was one matter. Was the town was prepared for even greater sacrifice?

Back in October 1774, the Provincial Congress called upon all towns to form special militia units, to be composed of men “who shall equip and hold themselves in readiness, on the shortest notice… to march to the place of rendezvous.” These would be the town’s minute men, and the Congress urged each town “to pay their own minute men reasonable compensation for their services.”

On January 9, 1775, Lincoln had not yet formed a minute company. But town meeting took up the question whether the town “will pay minute men in case any are appointed.” The decision was: “to make some allowance to minute men if they should be drawn out; voted that further consideration of this article be referred to the next March meeting.” In fact, no decision on equipping and paying the minute men would be made at the next March meeting. Nor the meeting after that, nor the next.

The repeated postponement of this issue suggests deep disagreement in town. But the terse town record is silent on what those disagreements may have been. Might we imagine what arguments would be heard today, if Lincoln’s town meeting took up such an issue? Would we prepare for war?

“Lincoln’s History” is an occasional column by members of the Lincoln Historical Society. See previously published “Did You Know?” pieces here.