Henry David Thoreau Cabin Site - Concord

The Henry David Thoreau Cabin site is located off the shores of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts.  The 14 acres of land on which Thoreau built his cabin were owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it was here the transcendentalist author moved here in 1845 in the hopes of finding himself in the natural world and devoting his time to writing.  During his two years here Thoreau wrote A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, which he was forced to print himself when he could not find a publisher.  The story of his experience at Walden pond would eventually be published in 1854 as Walden, or Life in the Woods.  After leaving his cabin Thoreau moved into Emerson's house to aid his wife, Lidian, with managing the househould while Emerson was on a tour of Europe.  In 1922 the land was granted to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the Emerson family.  Since then it has grown to 250 acres and is known as Walden Pond State Reservation.  As for Thoreau's cabin, it disappeared for 100 years until amateur archaeologist Roland Wells Robbins did a survey of the area in 1945.  He excavated the site and found the location of the cabin, and marked where it and the woodshed once stood.  In 1947 he published a book, Discovery at Walden, about his findings.  Today, a short hike around Walden will lead you to the cabin site, where small posts mark the frame of the building.  There is also a replica cabin located near the visitor center.  Walden Pond was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

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