Editing Bedford, Massachusetts (section)

== Historical sites ==
{{Multiple image
|image1=Bedford Flag.gif
|caption1=Bedford Flag – First Battle Flag (1775)
|image2=Seal of Bedford, Massachusetts (c. 1904–1929).png
|caption2=Old seal of Bedford, used until 1929.}}
[[File:Wilson-Mill-Sign BedfordMA sm.jpg|thumb|Wilson Mill Site marker]]
[[File:Unitarian Meeting House (exterior) Bedford, Massachusetts.JPG|thumb|Exterior, Unitarian Church (1816)]]
[[File:Unitarian Meeting House (interior) Bedford, Massachusetts.JPG|thumb|Interior, Unitarian Church]]

{{Anchor|Library}}

===Bedford Flag===

{{Blockquote|By the rude bridge that arched the flood, their flag to April's breeze unfurled - here once the embattled farmers stood, and fired the shot heard 'round the world.|[[Ralph Waldo Emerson]]}}

The [[Bedford Flag|Bedford flag]] on display at the Bedford Free Public Library is the oldest known surviving intact battle flag in the United States. It is celebrated for having been the first U.S. flag flown during the [[American Revolutionary War]], as it is believed to have been carried by [[Nathaniel Page (minuteman)|Nathaniel Page]]'s outfit of [[Minutemen]] to the [[Old North Bridge, Concord, Massachusetts|Old North Bridge]] in [[Concord, Massachusetts|Concord]] for the [[Battle of Concord]] on April 19, 1775.

Though the flag previously had a border of silver tassels, the tassels were cut from it to adorn the dress of Page's daughter.

The [[Latin]] motto on the flag, "Vince Aut Morire", means "Conquer or Die."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://flagspot.net/flags/us-mabed.html | title=Bedford, Massachusetts (U.S.) |website=Flags of the World | date=February 5, 2006| first=Rick | last=Wyatt | access-date=April 24, 2009 |url-status = live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706205742/http://flagspot.net/flags/us-mabed.html | archive-date=July 6, 2009 }}</ref>

===Two Brothers Rocks===

When Governor Winthrop and his Deputy Thomas Dudley viewed their lands in early 1638, they decided to use two great stones on the eastern bank of the Concord River to divide the property. Winthrop claimed the land to one side of one rock; Dudley claimed the land on the other side of the other rock. They named the rocks "The Two Brothers". Over the years, the two men had many differences; however, they learned to work together and even considered themselves "brothers" by their children's marriage. The rocks have come to symbolize the men's spirit of cooperation and democracy. The Two Brothers Rocks can still be seen near the banks of the Concord River in the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. In 2009 the site was restored for an [[Eagle Scout project]]  in collaboration with the [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife]] service, and the Bedford Historic Preservation Commission.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LWV/RSC RIVER AWARD WINNERS 2003-2010 |url=http://www.sudbury-assabet-concord.org/perch/resources/130503931620032010awardwinnerslist.doc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606195706/http://www.sudbury-assabet-concord.org/perch/resources/130503931620032010awardwinnerslist.doc |archive-date=June 6, 2022 |access-date=June 6, 2022 |website=The Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Wild and Scenic River Stewardship Council}}</ref> The area around the site was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2010 as the [[Two Brothers Rocks–Dudley Road Historic District]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2008a}}</ref>

Access to the site is possible through the Altmann Conservation Area, named after [[Madeleine Altmann]] and source of much of her [[video art]].

===Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge===

The early settlers called this area along the Concord River the "Great River Meadow" because they could harvest hay along the grass banks when the water retreated each summer. Today, this {{convert|12|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch of freshwater wetlands is a sanctuary for migratory birds and wildlife. Deer, cottontail rabbit, fox, raccoon, muskrat, beaver, weasel and over 200 species of birds may be seen here.

===Job Lane House===

This traditional [[Saltbox house|saltbox-style]] home at 295 North Road dates back to the early 18th century and was built by Job Lane (3), the grandson of one of Bedford's earliest settlers, Job Lane (1), a master carpenter. Job Lane (3) was a church deacon and also a town officer. His son Job Lane (4) was a Minuteman; he was wounded in the battle of Concord. The house and grounds, not far from Huckins Farm, has been restored and is open to the public from 2–4 pm on the second and fourth Sunday of the month, May through October.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.joblanehouse.org/|title=Friends of the Job Lane House, Bedford, Massachusetts USA |website=Job Lane House|access-date=April 30, 2018|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307200343/http://joblanehouse.org/|archive-date=March 7, 2018}}</ref>

===Fitch Tavern===

[[File:Bedford, Fitch Tavern - DPLA - 5ad30db2472ac25c6e1a151dffd54c50.jpg|alt=Bedford, Fitch Tavern, ca. 1895–1905. Archive of Photographic Documentation of Early Massachusetts Architecture, Boston Public Library.|thumb|Bedford, Fitch Tavern, {{circa|1895–1905}}. Archive of Photographic Documentation of Early Massachusetts Architecture, Boston Public Library.]]
Early on the morning of April 19, 1775, an alarm sounded warning the people of Bedford that British soldiers were marching from Boston to Concord. Their captain, Jonathan Willson, told them, "It is a cold breakfast boys, but we'll give them a hot dinner." The Fitch Tavern is located in Bedford center, a little over a mile from Huckins Farm.

===John Wilson Corne Mill===

The ruins of this old mill over Vine Brook (on Wilson and Old Burlington Road) were added to the national historical register in 2003 ([[Wilson Mill-Old Burlington Road District|see photo]]). A 1972 "Bedford Landmark Tour" says, "Site of the Wilson mills dating from about 1685; mills, dam, and pond passed from the Wilson family about 1770 to Oliver Bacon, then bought by Jonas Gleason (1782) and by Simeon Blodgett (1816); through the years, the site was operated as a grist mill, a saw mill, and later a cider mill."<ref>Excerpt from a copy of "Bedford landmark Tour, presented by Bedford Historical Society, written by the society's president John Abbott, 1972.</ref>

===Elijah Stearns Mansion===

The Elijah Stearns Mansion is located in the heart of Bedford's Historic District and across from Wilson Park at 4 Great Road. Built by Stearns around 1800, it is a fine example of [[Federal architecture]], which features brick ends, four chimneys and a doorway arched in glass and [[wrought iron]]. A [[carriage house]] is attached to the main house, and, until 1895, a structure which was known as The Boston Cash Store also resided on the property. It was the first store in the village at the time. It also became the first post office for the town when Elijah Stearns was appointed postmaster in 1825. Later, in 1867, the building became the Bedford Public Library. The building which housed the store, post office, and library has since been moved to 22 Loomis Street.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bedfordmahistory.org/documents/Historic%20District%20brochure.pdf |title=The Historic District |publisher=Bedford Historical Society |access-date=July 22, 2024}}</ref> The home is part of the Bedford Center Historic District which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/AD_77000165_06_13_2014.htm| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170526063129/https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/AD_77000165_06_13_2014.htm| archive-date = May 26, 2017| title = Old Bedford Center Historic District}}</ref>