305 Main Street
Concord, Massachusetts · Est. ca. 1790
Architectural Style
Federal / Colonial
Historic Name
Captain Jonas Minot House
Known Occupants
6 Families · Since 1758
Introduction
The house at 305 Main Street stands on land that has been farmed since the earliest years of English settlement in Concord. The parcel was granted to Ebenezer Minot in 1758, though the Minots had been working this stretch of the Lexington Road for at least a generation before.
Ebenezer's son Jonas was fifteen years old on April 19, 1775, when the alarm reached Concord that British regulars were marching from Boston. He ran from his father's farm to join the muster at the North Bridge — the opening engagement of the American Revolution.
After the war, Jonas returned to Concord, married, and inherited the family farm. Around 1790 he replaced the old house with the Federal-style dwelling that stands today — a confident, symmetrical five-bay structure with a fanlight entrance.
The farm passed to Jonas's son Samuel, who added the ell around 1830. Samuel attended Emerson's Lyceum lectures — Thoreau, Hawthorne, and the Alcotts were all neighbors.
In 1842 the property passed to Asa Wheeler, a farmer and cider maker. The Wheeler family held it for nearly seventy years. Dorothy Wheeler Pratt maintained it with quiet devotion until her death in 1962.
Property Details
Year Built
ca. 1790
Federal / Colonial
Lot Size
1.4 acres
Assessor 1F-2-44
Registry ID
CON.312
Historical Commission
Condition
Good
Single Family Residence
Setting · Concord Center
The house sits on a gently sloping lot along Main Street approximately one mile east of Concord Center. The property retains its agricultural character with mature elms, a stone wall boundary, and open meadow to the rear.
Architecture
A two-and-a-half-story timber frame dwelling in the Federal style with Colonial proportions. The house has a five-bay facade with a center entrance featuring a Federal-period surround of fluted pilasters and a fanlight transom. Windows are twelve-over-twelve double-hung sash on the first floor and eight-over-eight on the second.
Building Materials
Foundation
Granite fieldstone
Walls
Clapboard
Roof
Wood shingles (replaced with asphalt)
Alterations: Ell addition ca. 1830; kitchen wing rebuilt ca. 1910; barn demolished 1965
Changes Over Time
Original construction
Two-and-a-half-story Federal dwelling with five-bay facade, fanlight entrance, and granite fieldstone foundation.
Ell addition
One-and-a-half-story ell added connecting the main house to the barn. Two smaller end chimneys added.
Kitchen wing rebuilt
Kitchen section rebuilt with new foundation and modern plumbing.
Barn demolished
The connected barn was demolished after decades of deferred maintenance.
Ownership Timeline
Ebenezer Minot
Concord farmer who received the original town grant. Father of Captain Jonas Minot.
Captain Jonas Minot
Revolutionary War veteran who built the current house ca. 1790. Served at Saratoga and Valley Forge.
Samuel Minot
Jonas's son. Expanded dairy operations and added the ell. Attended Emerson's Lyceum lectures.
Asa Wheeler
Farmer and cider maker. Operated a cider press and served as Concord selectman.
Dorothy Wheeler Pratt
Rebuilt the kitchen wing. Maintained the house through two world wars. Member of the Concord Antiquarian Society.
John & Margaret Collins
Demolished the barn in 1965. Placed the property under a historic preservation restriction in 1998.
Notable People
Builder of the house
Captain Jonas Minot (1760 - 1834)
Born in Concord, Jonas was fifteen when the battles at Lexington and Concord erupted. He enlisted in the Continental Army, serving at Saratoga and enduring the winter at Valley Forge. He returned to build this house around 1790.
Second family owner
Asa Wheeler (1810 - 1889)
A Concord farmer and cider maker who purchased the property in 1842. He operated a cider press supplying taverns in Concord and served two terms as a Concord selectman.
Long-term family steward
Dorothy Wheeler Pratt (1880 - 1962)
Asa Wheeler's granddaughter, Dorothy oversaw the rebuilding of the kitchen wing and maintained the property through two world wars. A member of the Concord Antiquarian Society.
Area History
Concord, incorporated in 1635, was one of the first inland settlements in Massachusetts Bay Colony. The area along Main Street east of the town center was among the earliest divided into house lots and farming parcels.
The town's place in American history was sealed on April 19, 1775, when minutemen engaged British regulars at the North Bridge. Captain Jonas Minot, the builder of 305 Main Street, was fifteen years old that day.
In the 1830s and 1840s, Concord became a center of American intellectual life. Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Alcott all lived within a mile of the Minot farmstead.
Land Use Over Time
Part of the original Concord land grants. Subsistence farming by successive generations of town proprietors.
Owned by the Minot family. Jonas Minot replaced the earlier house with the current Federal-style dwelling ca. 1790.
Active farming under Captain Jonas Minot and his son Samuel. The ell was added ca. 1830.
The Wheeler family continued farming on a smaller scale while operating a cider press. Barn demolished 1965.
Single-family residence. Preservation restriction placed in 1998.
Historic Maps
Plan of the Town of Concord (Ephraim Wood Jr.)
One of the earliest detailed maps of Concord. The Minot farmstead is shown along the road to Lexington.
Map of the Town of Concord (Henry F. Walling)
'S. Minot' labeled at 305 Main Street, indicating Samuel Minot's ownership.
Additional Maps Referenced
Atlas of Middlesex County (F. W. Beers)
The house and barn appear under 'A. Wheeler' ownership. The cider press operation is noted.
Historic Photos
The farmstead from Main Street, ca. 1895
Main Street looking west, ca. 1910
The fanlight entrance, ca. 1960
Stone wall and meadow, ca. 1935
The ell and barn before demolition, ca. 1960
Rear meadow looking toward the house, ca. 1920
Notable Events
22
April 1775
“Among the men of Concord who turned out on the 19th instant were Jonas Minot, age fifteen, who ran from his father's farm to join the alarm.”
Massachusetts Spy
6
July 1834
“Died on the 28th ult., Captain Jonas Minot, aged 74, a soldier of the Revolution and for many years one of the town's most respected citizens.”
Concord Freeman
14
October 1843
“Mr. Asa Wheeler of the Lexington Road has commenced pressing cider for the season.”
Concord Freeman
18
March 1998
“The Collins family has placed a preservation restriction on the historic Minot-Wheeler house, ensuring the 1790 Federal dwelling will be protected in perpetuity.”
Concord Journal
Deed & Land Records
Concord town grant to Ebenezer Minot. Farmland along the Lexington Road, approximately 40 acres.
Ebenezer Minot estate to Jonas Minot.
Jonas Minot estate to Samuel Minot. House, barn, and 28 acres.
Samuel Minot heirs to Asa Wheeler. House, barn, and 22 acres.
Cyrus Wheeler estate to Dorothy Wheeler Pratt. House and 8 acres.
Estate of Dorothy Wheeler Pratt to John and Margaret Collins. House and 1.4 acres.
Collins family to Collins Family Realty Trust. Preservation restriction recorded.
Sources
- 01Middlesex County South Deeds: MSD 56:321, MSD 102:88, MSD 312:45, MSD 421:199, MSD 3421:112, MSD 10244:78, MSD 29881:455
- 02Massachusetts Historical Commission, MACRIS Inventory Form B (CON.312)
- 03Concord Town Records, 1635 - 1900
- 04Concord Freeman, various editions 1830 - 1860
- 05Concord Journal, various editions 1960 - 2000
- 06Shattuck, Lemuel. A History of the Town of Concord (1835)
- 07Gross, Robert A. The Minutemen and Their World (1976)
Prepared 2025