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MERIAM'S CORNER OBSERVANCE--MINUTE MAN NATIONAL PARK
CONCORD, MASS., SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 2008--YOU'RE INVITED!
For the past decade, members of the Mer(r)iam family from across North America have been meeting each spring to renew friendships, celebrate the family's role in American history, and undertake a campaign to rehabilitate the historic house at Meriam's Corner, which will be (about) 303 years old in 2008. Meriam's Corner is one of the oldest surviving structures the family built after immigrating to America, and dates at least to 1705. On the 19th of April 1775, it was the scene of the first heavy fighting on the British retreat after the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord. In recognition of its historical significance, the National Park Service purchased the Corner to be part of Minute Man National Historical Park and the western anchor of the Battle Road Trail, a 5-mile interpretive walking-biking trail along which the landscape is being restored to its 18th century appearance.
Although the house is structurally sound, when the project began the exterior finish and the interior were badly deteriorated. In the year 2000, we officially launched a fundraising campaign, the Campaign for Meriam's Corner, to rehabilitate it and to support interpretive programs and its ongoing maintenance. A Meriam's Corner fund has been established with the nonprofit Minute Man National Park Association , which supports the work of the Park, so that donations can be tax-deductible.
This is a public-private partnership. The National Park Service won a grant to rehabilitate the exterior of Meriam's Corner and six other historic houses within the Park. The work began in earnest five years ago, and during the warmer months the Park grazes a flock of sheep on the grounds to enhance the historic landscaping. With funds raised so far, the Campaign has made donations to the Park in 2003 for exterior and in 2005 for interior refinishing. We need your support to complete this work and to purchase appropriate furniture for the Corner.
Every April, the community holds a Meriam's Corner Observance and parade, with marchers in Revolutionary costumes, as part of Concord's and the Park's observance of the battle. This year the date is Saturday, April 12th, one week before Patriot's Day weekend. The date is fixed by the Town of Concord and long-established tradition: note that this year the Observance falls on Easter weekend. If the construction work permits, we will schedule house tours in the morning. Family members and Park representatives will meet to discuss the Campaign and socialize over lunch. All Merriams and Meriams are invited to the Observance at 1:00 p.m. (The parade forms up at 12;30 pm, and you are invited to march! It's about half a mile.)
New this year will be a guided walk through the historic Old Hill cemetery where the first generations of Meriams in Concord are interred. After the day's festivities there will be a buffet dinner at the Concord Colonial Inn.
Please join us! Events are listed on the next page. Reservations can be made at Concord Best Western and at the historic Concord Colonial Inn, where we'll hold our group dinner, on Monument Square, the green in the center of town--see the reservation sheet for details. If you fly into Boston without a car, the Airporter provides door-to-door service from Logan Airport (1-877-899-6161) and family members will gladly offer rides around Concord and Lexington to the weekend's events.
Spread the word to any family we haven't reached, make a contribution, and plan to come! The gathering of Merriams from around the world sends a strong signal to the Park that there is a constituency and support for historic preservation, and encourages them in their commitment to this work. For more information, please contact Nan Merriam Andrew, 5 Ferry Street, Gloucester, Mass. 01930, (978) 283-8917 (tsa_73@comcast.net ) or George Merriam, PO Box 39596, Lakewood, Washington 98496 (grmerriam@comcast.net). See you in April!
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