Barber’s Engraving of Monument Square, 1839

The engraving “Central Part of Concord, Mass.” was prepared as an illustration for John Warner Barber's Historical Collections, Being a General Collection of Interesting Facts, Traditions, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, &c., Relating to the History and Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts (Worcester: Dorr, Howland & Co., 1840). Drawn by Barber, the image was engraved by J. Downes. It shows Monument Square from the vantage point of the present-day Colonial Inn. The version of the Middlesex Hotel depicted (to the far right) burned in 1845 and was rebuilt in 1846. The engraving also shows the meetinghouse of the First Parish before it was reoriented to face Lexington Road (1841) and (to the far left) the county courthouse that burned in 1849. Barber's Historical Collections was published a decade before the construction of Concord's Town House.