Colonel James Barrett Farm: Target of the British Raid

W

hy did the American Revolution begin with engagements at Lexington and Concord? In no small part because of the stately home standing in a broad floodplain abutting the Assabet River: the Colonel James Barrett House, one of 11 witness structures in Minute Man National Historical Park. 

Benjamin Barrett inherited the property on which the house now sits from his father, Humphrey Barrett, in 1702. He began construction of the house three years later, erecting a small “saltbox” structure. He operated a mill along a brook just to the east of the farm, the foundation of which can still be seen off Barrett’s Mill Road. Upon his death in 1728, the mill was willed to his elder son, Thomas, while the house was inherited by his 18-year-old son, James.

The next five decades saw James rise in status from a yeoman farmer to a country gentleman. The size and value of his property increased dramatically: A 1755 valuation list noted 15 cattle, five oxen, two pigs and 50 acres of land, but by 1771, the same list had grown to 18 cows, 25 steers and heifers, 15 oxen and 150 acres. Barrett also enslaved a young man of color named Philip at the property; a practice that marked him among the social elites in Massachusetts. The farm produced large quantities of rye and oats, eventually landing James a contract to supply the British Army garrisoned in Boston. It was around this time that Barrett made substantial renovations to the house, adding an ell to its western side. Soon after, a shifting political climate in the province transformed the farm and its standing in the town of Concord.

In early 1775, Barrett was directed by the Provincial Congress to organize all military stores located in the town of Concord. These supplies included musket balls, powder, cartridge paper, tents, spades, axes, candles, medicine, cookware, oats, artillery implements and numerous pieces of ordnance. Barrett used his own farm to store a large quantity of these supplies, along with four brass three-pound cannons and two coehorn mortars. It was these stockpiles that prompted the British Army’s expedition to Concord on April 19, 1775. A detachment of four companies of light infantry was sent specifically to Barrett’s home, although they found nothing — the munitions had been relocated and further hidden in the preceding days and the colonel was with his militia. 

The Barrett Farm continued to be used as a supply depot and manufactory for the duration of the war. Thomas Barrett’s mill next door began producing muskets, while James operated a widespread recruiting effort for the Continental Army from his home. Following James’s death in 1779, the home passed to his son, Peter Barrett and remained in Barrett family hands until roughly 1905, when it was purchased by the McGrath family. By this time, the house had undergone many renovations, though much of the original framework was intact. It was purchased by Save Our Heritage in 2002 in a state of disrepair, but was gradually restored, becoming a part of Minute Man National Historical Park in 2012. Today, it is open seasonally for self-guided tours and special programs.