Noah Brooks Tavern
(based on NPS material)
Author: D. Michael Ryan Date Published: November 2005 
The site of the Noah Brooks Tavern (on Route 2A in Lincoln, MA near the Concord line) was settled by the Brooks family in 1652, when Lincoln was still a part of Concord. Much of the property remained in the Brooks family until Joshua sold it in 1862. Generations of farmers, along with tanners, millers, and other mechanics, lived and worked on/about this land. On 19 April 1775, Brooks Hill was the scene of fierce fighting between the colonials and the retreating Regulars, just as they entered what came to be known as “Bloody Angle.”

Noah Brooks built his tavern/inn and private residence in 1798. The first floor contained a private parlor/chamber, a bar, a dining room, and a kitchen, while the second floor had a private room, a bar, and a large ballroom. Post-Revolution farming at the site was expanded to include beef and dairy herds. Transportation and commercial enterprises grew, leading to the straightening of The Bay Road or “Battle Road” near Brooks’ tavern in 1803. Along with farm wagon traffic and drovers, some 40 stagecoaches per day rumbled down the road from Concord to Boston. Noah’s business, especially spirits and food, thrived.

In 1809, Noah Brooks died, and his widow Dorothy operated the establishment for a short time. In 1816, she married Capt. Stephen Patch, and the new tavern sign (which still exists and depicts an Indian) read “S. Patch – 1816 – Entertainment.” In 1829, the Patches moved to Concord, and Isaac Brooks purchased the property and rented it to others to operate. By 1836, Isaac sold the tavern/house, two barns, sheds, outbuildings and some 100 acres of land.

With the growth of the temperance movement and the decline of the old Bay Road/ “Battle Road” as a major route caused by construction of the Cambridge Turnpike (currently Route 2), the Brooks tavern fell into decline in the 1840s. However, productive farming continued on the site into the 1950s, and the property was obtained by the Federal government for inclusion in Minute Man National Historical Park in 1974.

 

1961 HABS Survey

Significance: Built prior to 1791 by Noah Brooks, this structure was built as a tavern and operated by the Brooks family until circa 1850. The tavern sign is now in the possession of the Concord Antiquarian Society. Subsequently, it was the dwelling house of a large apple farm, purchased by Samuel Hartwell circa 1856 and in operation as such until 1940. The Brooks Tavern (Hartwell-Rogers House) is an excellent example of an early Federal wooden farm building. It is a wooden post and beam structure with clapboard walls front and back with brick end walls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“In 1809, Noah Brooks died, and his widow Dorothy operated the establishment for a short time. In 1816, she married Capt. Stephen Patch, and the new tavern sign (which still exists and depicts an Indian) read “S. Patch – 1816 – Entertainment.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noah Brooks Tavern, late 1800’s (credit: NPS)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the summer of 2003, the JLB had 25 designers come in and decorate the tavern. They did a nice job (I was there). I happened to be in the tavern in March 2010 and most everything was gone except the wallpaper they put up.  This is a very large house with lots of rooms on multiple levels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike Burke of Boston running a powderhorn making seminar inside the Tavern (2nd floor room above kitchen). March 13, 2010.

 

 

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