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We then wind through the dining room and modest parlor, where the March family entertained their esteemed neighbors, including Ralph Waldo Emerson (who was an important mentor for Louisa) and Henry David Thoreau, and where Anna’s wedding to John Pratt took place. Mr. March, the family patriarch, isn’t quite the dreamer as was Amos Bronson Alcott. His ideas were lofty and social views incredibly progressive, but he struggled to make a living for the family. Restless, quick-tempered, and tomboyish, Jo is an aspiring writer and the family’s creative ringleader, much as Louisa was. Roadtrippers helps you find the most epic destinations and detours—from roadside attractions to natural wonders and beyond.
The Alcotts and the March family
Participants, their families, friends, and fans are invited to virtually join UTA PIPPIG — marathon legend, fitness motivator, and event Honorary Chair — to support our public education and historic preservation initiatives. Louisa spent her childhood in Boston and in Concord, Massachusetts, where her days were enlightened by visits to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s library, excursions into nature with Henry David Thoreau, and theatricals in the barn at "Hillside" (now "The Wayside"). "No boy could be my friend till I had beaten him in a race," she claimed, "and no girl if she refused to climb trees, leap fences . . ." Over the decades, we have hosted a number of private events -- from weddings, baby showers, and birthday parties to concerts, poetry readings, and corporate retreats -- both on our grounds and in The Concord School of Philosophy.
Orchard House and Louisa May Alcott
Here, Mr. Alcott could also sit and gaze upon a beautiful portrait of his youngest daughter May, who spent her last years in Europe. In 1879, the Concord Summer School of Philosophy, an adult education series created by Mr. Alcott, first met in this room until a larger building adjacent to Orchard House was constructed the next year. A bust of Mr. Alcott in the niche of this room was carved by noted American sculptor Daniel Chester French, who was one of May's early art students. Louisa’s career as an author began at the age of eight with poetry, and later short stories that appeared in popular magazines. A major critical milestone along her literary path was Hospital Sketches (1863), a truthful and poignant account of her service as a Civil War nurse in Washington, DC inspired by the letters she wrote home to her family in Concord.
Orchard House, "Little Women" Film Set Inspiration, Has a Fascinating History - House Beautiful
Orchard House, "Little Women" Film Set Inspiration, Has a Fascinating History.
Posted: Tue, 28 Jan 2020 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Louisa May Alcott
On May 23, 1860, the thirtieth wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Alcott, eldest daughter Anna married John Bridge Pratt beneath an arbor in this room. Years later, Louisa recalled this first family wedding and described it in Little Women as the marriage of "Meg March" and "John Brooke." Located in Concord, Massachusetts (within an hour of Boston) the house opened its doors to the public in 1911, some twenty-three years after the deaths of Louisa May and her father, the noted philosopher and educator Amos Bronson Alcott. Though Little Women may be the primary draw to Orchard House, the property also showcases Bronson’s work as a transcendentalist and education reformer. Any money the Alcott family did have went to fund Bronson’s private schools, which Turnquist says were about a century ahead of their time.
Orchard House
Rentals of our historic facilities are arranged on a case-by-case basis in consultation with our Executive Director. Please send an email with as much detail about your event as possible, including any tentative dates for your event, well in advance. As of May 11, 2023, Orchard House is a "mask-friendly" site, but face masks are optional for entry. Complimentary individually-packaged masks in adult and child sizes are available at our Front Desk. We urge all visitors to reserve tickets online via our Timed-Entry Admission system to guarantee being able to visit on the date and at the time you prefer. Although we may often sell out of tickets, we do our best to accommodate as many "walk-in" visitors as possible.
Upcoming Special Events
Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House is one of the rare places that exists in both fiction and reality. The former home of the beloved author is located in Concord, Massachusetts, 20 miles northwest of Boston. Alcott both wrote and set her seminal novel Little Women in her family home, which has seen an increase in visitors thanks to a 2018 PBS adaptation and, most recently, Greta Gerwig’s Academy Award nominated 2019 film centered around the fictional March family.
There have been no significant changes to the structure of the building since the nineteenth century. It was never painted, but allowed to weather and become a natural part of its environment. Orchard House has continued the tradition of Mr. Alcott's Concord School of Philosophy by hosting "The Summer Conversational Series" since 1977, and has recently added a "Teacher Institute" component. The Hillside Chapel is also used for youth programs, poetry readings, historical reenactments, and other special events.
What our Visitors have to say . . .
On the ground floor, visitors are guided through May’s painting studio, where the original cast of her foot is on display. Next to the family’s modest kitchen is a dining room that doubles as a gallery for many of May’s paintings, including one that was exhibited at the prestigious Paris Salon in 1877. Though Louisa’s sister Lizzie died shortly before the Alcotts moved into Orchard House, her presence looms large in the home; her melodeon still sits in the dining room next to the back staircase.
An archive dedicated to classic women authors and their work
There is limited parking directly in front of Orchard House (including one handicapped spot), but one short block away on Hawthorne Lane is a large parking lot that we share with the National Park Service. A crosswalk facilitates access to the sidewalk that leads to Orchard House within just a few minutes of walking. For informational purposes only, a link to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments web page is provided here. The federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires that detailed information about payment and other payments of value worth over ten dollars ($10) from manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, and biologics to physicians and teaching hospitals be made available to the public. When in Concord, you owe it to yourself to visit the beautiful public library; if you have another half day to spare and want to visit the Hawthorne, Emerson, and Thoreau sites, consult these posts on Books Tell You Why and Bookriot.
Rather, she says they were “genteel poor,” meaning that although the family didn’t have money themselves, they did have wealthy relatives who could give them hand-me-downs and access to other resources. For fans of any adaptation of Little Women, a visit to Orchard House is almost like coming home or checking in on an old friend. Though she did not move into Orchard House until she was in her 20s, Alcott spent a great deal of time in her bedchamber, particularly after she returned to Concord in 1862, seriously ill after serving as a nurse in the Civil War.
My book [Flower Fables, December 1854] came out; and people began to think that topsy-turvy Louisa would amount to something after all, since she could do so well as housemaid, teacher, seamstress, and story-teller. Orchard House itself is accessible by wheelchair or walker on the first floor only. Visitors who cannot climb stairs are invited to spend time in our front hallway with a notebook filled with numerous photographs and detailed descriptions of the three upstairs rooms. We also offer folding chairs in each room to those who may be unable to stand for longer periods of time. A newly-constructed accessible pathway affords visitors of all abilities the chance to enjoy our historic landscape, beautiful gardens, and re-created apple orchard during all seasons of the year -- and visit The Concord School of Philosophy (1880) as well.
The novel is largely based on the coming of age stories of Louisa and her sisters, with many of the domestic experiences inspired by events that actually took place at Orchard House. We welcome organized motor coach visitors as well as schools, scouts, senior living facilities, book clubs, and other special interest groups throughout the year for guided tours and educational programs. In 1840, after several setbacks with Temple School, the Alcott family moved to a cottage on 2 acres (0.81 ha) of land, situated along the Sudbury River in Concord, Massachusetts.
Notably, the nineteenth-century author Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women here in 1868. Alcott's father Bronson established one of the first adult summer schools in the eastern United States. On the grounds to the west of the house is a structure designed and built by Bronson Alcott originally known as "Hillside Chapel," and later as "The Concord School of Philosophy." Operating from 1879 to 1888, the School was one of the first highly successful adult education centers in the country.
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