Built in 1733, in what was then Concord, it is staffed from Memorial Day weekend to October by park rangers dressed in colonial attire who offer programs daily.

[1] The building, whose main façade faces south, was originally constructed as a home for Ephraim Hartwell (1707–1793) and his newlywed wife, Elizabeth (1714–1808), in 1733.

The Hartwells raised a family and, in 1756, when they had nine children living in the house, Ephraim applied for a license to run the home as an inn.

Three of the Hartwells' children — Samuel, John and Isaac — were in the Lincoln minutemen that fought at Old North Bridge and on the battle road.

[1] Paul Revere and William Dawes were detained by a British Army patrol nearby during the "Midnight Ride" to Concord of April 18.

Mary then relayed the message to Captain William Smith, commanding officer of the Lincoln minutemen,[10] who lived a little to the west and whose home still stands along Battle Road.