I had intended to leave Massachusetts the night before, but stayed for a decent visit to Concord. I was raised on the Transcendentalists, and I have visited a few of their home sites in the past. On this particular visit, very little was open because smaller museums had not had time to staff up and put protocols in place for Covid. I did get tickets to visit Orchard House, which had opened two days before I arrived.
Orchard House was the home of the Alcott Family. Because it was where Louisa May Alcott published Little Women, it is generally the model for the book and adaptations of it. However, in actual fact, the family had spent their early years at the Wayside, which is next door and a National Park Service site. I have not visited that house and was disappointed to find it closed during my visit. After a stint in Boston, the family moved back to Concord and into Orchard House, as the Wayside was occupied by Nathaniel Hawthorne and his family. By the time they moved in, the third child–who modeled Beth in the book–had already died, Louisa was publishing to support the family, and Anna (Meg in the book) had married and moved into her own home. The youngest, May/Amy, practiced sketching on the walls of the house, doodles that are preserved in the existing museum. She eventually moved to Europe to take up serious study of painting because they were more open to women learning anatomy and art.
In time, Louisa would make a fortune off Little Women, so she moved the family to a different house, which is still in private hands. The docent said we could find its address online, but I did not–which is probably better for the present homeowners. What surprised me in this visit was how prominently May/Amy’s story was told. Her work was featured on the walls, and I was surprised to see that her talent rivaled that of her literary sister. She died in Europe after giving birth to a child she named for Louisa, and directed the aunt to raise little Lulu. Unfortunately, Louisa died the same year as Bronson–the patriarch. Lulu returned to the custody of her father in Europe, who hoped she would be Louisa’s sole heir. Anna/Meg survived them all. I must admit, I had not thought about the survivors, that there are descendants of the Alcotts, both here and abroad. The family always seemed wholly representative of a time and place, mid-19th century Concord. Me and another visitor lingered with questions and bookstore purchase.
Back out in the town, most other sites were closed. I thought of lunch at the local inn, but a funeral that day packed it out. So I made a stop at the Sleep Hollow Cemetery, a place I had not visited before. There, the Transcendalists are laid to rest near each other. I took some time to pay my respects–to them, to Massachusetts–before heading back toward Scarsdale and then Virginia.