A wintry view of the first of Concord’s literary shrines along Lexington Road. Bronson Alcott gave the house the name of “Hillside” during his stay from 1845 to 1848. Louisa and her sisters spent a few impressionable years of their girlhood here, and gave their plays in the barn. Nathaniel Hawthorne bought the house from the Alcotts in 1852, renamed it “The Wayside” and lived here until his death in 1864. As a refuge from visitors, Hawthorne built a tower, or “sky parlor,” where he wrote “Tanglewood Tales” and “The Marble Faun.” A later owner was Mrs. Daniel Lothrop who, under the name of “Margaret Sidney,” wrote many volumes of the “Five Little Peppers” during her forty years’ residence here. The house dates from the early 18th century.] [Illustration: SIDE VIEW OF “THE WAYSIDE,” SHOWING HAWTHORNE’S “SKY PARLOR”] [Illustration: ORCHARD HOUSE, THE HOME OF THE ALCOTTS, CONCORD After leaving “The Wayside” the Alcott family moved into this old house, at the time considered unfit to live in, and repaired and painted it themselves. Louisa May Alcott affectionately referred to it as “Apple Slump,” and it was here that she wrote the first part of “Little Women.” Much of the Alcott furniture and many books, pictures, and personal memorials are still to be seen in the house, among them the sketches May drew on the walls of her room.] [Illustration: ORCHARD HOUSE AND ITS GIGANTIC ELM, IN EARLY SPRING] [Illustration: The School of Philosophy, Gathering Place of American Philosophers, Concord On the grounds of Orchard House stands this small unpainted, wooden-Gothic building, once known as Hillside Chapel, which served as Bronson Alcott’s summer school of philosophy for almost a decade. Many notable men of letters came to this chapel, which occupies an important place in the history of American thought.] [Illustration: ANTIQUARIAN HOUSE, CONCORD This building incorporates a noteworthy collection of period rooms, beautifully furnished. The next four pages give glimpses of this significant museum of early American decoration.] [Illustration: A Typical New England Living Room, Late 17th Century] [Illustration: The Pine-ceiled Room, a Rare Survivor from the Early 18th Century] [Illustration: The Green Room Has Irregular Panelling Typical of the Early 18th Century] [Illustration: The Queen Anne Room Portrays a More Formal Mode of Living, Middle 18th Century] [Illustration: The Chippendale Room Reflects the Comfortable Days before the Revolution] [Illustration: Fireplace Detail from the Reeded Room (period of 1800)] [Illustration: A Glimpse through the Front Hallway into the Reeded Room] [Illustration: THE EMERSON HOUSE, CONCORD