FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Nancy Grohol, Executive Director
Thoreau Farm Trust
978.369.3091
978.369.1515 (fax)

Thoreau Farm Trust Receives Grant from 1772 Foundation

Concord, MA—The Thoreau Farm Trust has received a $25,000 grant from The 1772 Foundation. The funds will be used toward the preservation of the Henry David Thoreau birthplace on Virginia Road in Concord.

The Trust recently obtained title of the Thoreau farmhouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, from the Town of Concord. The Trust has raised $778,000 toward its $1 million capital goal in support of the restoration and rehabilitation of the Thoreau birth house and the surrounding two-acre landscape. The construction phase of the project has begun at the site and will continue at least until the end of the year.

The 1772 Foundation, located in Pomfret Center, Connecticut, supports restoration projects throughout the United States in an effort to preserve America’s architectural and cultural history for future generations. The Foundation has a particular interest in farming, industrial development, transportation, and unusual historical buildings.

“1772 views the restoration of this historic property to be absolutely essential to the preservation of the culture Thoreau helped to create, and we are pleased to play a
role in helping to keep it for posterity,” states G. Stanton Geary, the Foundation’s president.

The Thoreau birth house is an 18th-century colonial structure, which retains an authentic sense of place in an agricultural landscape, sitting on 20 acres of its original farm. The land has been cultivated for more than three centuries, earning it a place among America’s oldest farms. Today, local nonprofit Gaining Ground farms the land.

Together, the house and land are important architectural and cultural landmarks, symbolizing not only America’s colonial beginnings but also its 19th-century literary and philosophical heritage, through their bucolic setting and as Thoreau’s birthplace.

The natural beauty of his native Concord inspired Thoreau and his fellow Transcendentalists to explore the relationship between man and nature. As a result, Thoreau developed and embraced conservation principles, which have inspired the modern-day environmental movement.

“The Thoreau Farm Trust is grateful to receive the support of the 1772 Foundation,” said Nancy Grohol, the Trust’s executive director. “We are honored that the Foundation shares our belief in the significance of this property and in the possibilities it offers for the people in the local community and beyond.”

The Thoreau Farm Trust (www.thoreaufarm.org) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring and rehabilitating the Henry David Thoreau birthplace in Concord, and using the house as an education and community center. If you are interested in touring the house, learning more about the organization, or how you can help, please contact executive director Nancy Grohol at 978.369.3091 or nancy@thoreaufarm.org.

The mission of the 1772 Foundation is to preserve and enhance American historical entities for future generations to enjoy with particular interest in farming, industrial development, transportation and unusual historical buildings. For more information, visit 1772foundation.org.