The Robbins House was originally located on an isolated farm overlooking the Great Meadows along the Concord River. The first two families who lived there were descendants of Caesar Robbins, a Revolutionary Patriot of color, and the house is one of the only known historic sites commemorating the legacy of a previously enslaved Revolutionary War veteran. In 1823, Caesar’s son Peter Robbins purchased the new two-room house and over 13 acres for $260. The west side of the house was originally occupied by Peter Robbins and his wife Fatima, while the property deed reserved the east side for Peter’s sister, Susan, and her husband, Jack Garrison, also a formerly enslaved self-emancipated man who hailed from New Jersey. While African American residents continuously lived in the home from 1823-1870, the little farm was eventually bought by a local land speculator, who moved the house to Bedford Street in the winter of 1871.

In 2010, the house was saved from demolition, moved to its current location at 320 Monument Street, and restored. The museum tells the story of the lived experiences of African Americans in Concord during the 19th century through the lens of the Robbins and Garrison families. Their stories reveal how the early generations of Black Concordians pursued independence and contributed to the anti-slavery and abolitionist causes. Today, The Robbins House embodies the determination of Patriot Caesar Robbins and his family to support themselves on the land and to shape their own destinies as free men and women—and serves to inspire conversations about the continued expansion of freedom over the first 250 years of the nation’s existence.

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Visitors to the museum explore the 544-square-foot space that tells the stories of how the Robbins family gained social mobility through farming and land ownership, while the Garrison side of the home reflects the importance of educational opportunities and social activism to its occupants. In particular, The Robbins House highlights the increasingly well-known and historically significant story of Ellen Garrison. Raised from birth in The Robbins House, Ellen left Concord in adulthood to pursue her desire to educate her fellow African Americans. After the Civil War, Ellen taught newly freed people during Reconstruction. Her application explained, “I have a great desire to go and labor among the freedmen of the South. I think it is our duty as a people to spend our lives in trying to elevate our own race. Who can feel for us if we do not feel for ourselves?”

In 1866, Ellen tested the nation’s first Civil Rights Act in court. Almost a century before Rosa Parks took her seat on an Alabama bus, Ellen sat in a segregated waiting room in the President Street train station in Baltimore and was “forcibly ejected.” Ellen felt it was her duty to test the new law. “I feel as though I ought to strive to maintain my rights… it will be a stand for others...” Although her court case was eventually dismissed, Ellen Garrison became one of the first African Americans to challenge segregation laws in the United States. It brings us immense joy and pride to ensure the story of Ellen and her ancestors’ fight for civil rights for all continues to be told here at The Robbins House. 

The Robbins House is open seven days a week, from mid-April through the end of October, from 10 am - 4 pm. To request a private tour for large groups, please email [email protected]. For more information, visit RobbinsHouse.org. 

This article made possible with the support of The Robbins House