National Park in Concord Faces Government Shutdown at Patriot's Day

It's not the Fourth of July, but in Concord and Lexington, the events surrounding the mid-April Patriot's Day come a close second.

For it was in the Minute Man National Historical Park, where the famous North Bridge spans the Concord River, that the farmers from the fields of Concord defied the British Regulars and fired "the shot heard 'round the world," according to Ralph Waldo Emerson, on April 19, 1775 to start the Revolutionary War.

Presidents and dignitaries have visited the park. Gerald Ford came in 1975 for the 200th anniversary of the Concord Fight. But this year, because of a threatened federal government shutdown, the annual parade and commemorative events around the Revolutionary War may have to go on outside the Park with its sweeping vistas of history.

As of noon on Friday, the Meriam's Corner Exercises have been canceled on Saturday, according to the Concord Police Chief Barry Neal. That means the town cannon will not  be fired at the corner of Lexington Road and Old Bedford Road where the town honors the soldiers that died "chasing the Red Coats back to Cambridge," as one historian put it. Meriam's Corner is in the Minute Man park.

Park Communications Director, Lou Sideris, is meeting almost hourly with Superintendent Nancy Nelson and other staffers to find out how the budget negotiations in Washington are proceeding. If the Park is closed, the annual parade of Minute Men troops, Boy and Girl Scouts, Independent Batteries, school bands and horse-drawn carriages will march over another bridge, and the town cannon will not fire its traditional "dawn salute" to honor the patriots.

Another part of the Patriot's Day observation at risk is laying a wreath at the tomb of an unknown British soldier who died at the North Bridge and is buried nearby.

The Battle Road runs through Concord from the Park through neighboring Lincoln to Lexington. Though traffic will not be closed off, the typical historical events will not happen along the five-mile stretch: the site of Paul Revere's capture, the cannon fire at Meriam's Corner, and the like.

Sideris said logistically, the Battle Road won't close, but the parking lots, the Buttrick Mansion and the Visitor Center that depicts the events of April 19, 1775 will be locked, as well as the historic homes that have been restored to their 18th century form will be locked.

"The biggest impact at this time of year is the school groups that plan on a visit to the park way in advance," said Sideris. "They reserve buses. When they are here, we have a ranger give them tours."

He said letters have gone out to the schools that booked a tour in the near future "to give them a heads up," Sideris said.

Sideris said "essential personnel" would be on duty: safety and security people. Each of the homes along the Battle Road has a fire alarm.

"We have rangers trained in law enforcement," said Sideris.

For more information, call NPS Chief Spokesman David Barna, 202-208-6843,
david_barna@nps.gov or Lou Sideris Chief of Planning and Communications Minute Man National Historical Park, 174 Liberty Street, Concord, Mass. 01742
978-318-7833 Lou_Sideris@nps.gov. Nancy Nelson, park superintendent, is at nancy_nelson@nps.gov