Society Places the Fifth Bench by the Road in Concord Massachusetts
On May 21st, the Drinking Gourd
Project of Concord Massachusetts joined the Bench by the Road Project of the Toni Morrison Society by placing the
fifth bench in the Series in honor of Caesar Robbins, the second African American homeowner in Concord, Massachusetts.
On the morning of May 21st, The Caesar Robbins House was moved from 324 Bedford Street back to its original location
across from the Old Manse in Concord on land managed by the Minute Man National Historic Park where it will become The
Robbins House Interpretive Center.
Over 100 people from Concord joined the walk behind the house as it was moved to the new location. The freedom song, "Follow the Drinking Gourd" played as the community marched from Bedford Street to the Old Manse location. After a brief stop in front of the Town House on Monument Square, where guests were welcomed by town dignitaries, the march proceeded to the house's new location. Dr. Maria Madison, president of the Drinking Gourd Foundation, Carolyn Denard, Board Chair of the Society, and other Concord dignitaries spoke during the Bench Placement Ceremony. There was a Musket volley salute by the Concord Minutemen and the guests were served "Brooks Antislavery Cake" and coffee on the lawn in front of the house.
The Caesar Robbins House was built in 1830s and was occupied by two to three generations of the Caesar Robbins family, including Caesar Robbins its first occupant. The house was a site on the Underground Railroad and a meeting site for the Female Anti-Slavery Society. The inscription on the bronze plaque in front of the Bench reads:
" This Bench is placed in memory of Caesar Robbins who rose from enslavement to Revolutionary War Veteran to a home-owning resident of Concord, Massachusetts. Caesar Robbins built this house, and over a one-hundred year period his descendants lived in the house and made it a safe haven for Abolitionists and for Africans who escaped from slavery in the South and sought freedom on their way north to Canada. The house is a reminder of how the United States was built through collection action, fortitude, and resilience."
Society members, Verna Robinson, Greg Robinson, Alice Eaton, Chuck Wynder, LaVinna Jennings and Carolyn Denard joined the members of the Drinking Gourd Project as guests at a luncheon at the Concord Inn after the ceremony. The Drinking Gourd Project presented the Society a copy of Elise Lemire's recently published book Black Walden, a history of the life of African Americans in Concord Massachusetts, where she applauds the Bench by the Road Project as a way to commemorate the resilience and contributions of the enslaved Africans in Concord.
The Bench in honor of Caesar Robbins and his descendants will be a constant reminder of all who visit Concord of the contributions of the Robbins family to the town and to the cause for freedom in the United States.
To view the photo gallery of the Caesar Robbins Bench placement click here.