This week, I take a look back on my most popular podcast episode from the past year. I’m joined by David Wood, the curator of the Concord Museum in Concord Massachusetts since 1985. 

David and I talk about the exhibits from the museum, and how some leave lasting impressions, not only on the community but in the history that it’s taken part in telling. We also discuss what it means to see history, not only as an adult, but also as a child, and how understanding how we look at history can help foster a deeper love in the exhibits we see and also show to our audiences.

It’s a fascinating look at curation, history exploration, and understanding how moments in history can continue to affect us, even after they’ve long since happened. 

It doesn’t take hindsight to realize you’re living in historic times. This last year has taught us that.  This week’s guest, David Wood, told me that residents of Lexington and Concord immediately recognized the significance of April 19, 1775, and saved pieces to document that day. A few years ago, the Concord Museum in Concord, Massachusetts assembled a temporary exhibit called The Shot Heard Round the World.  It was an amazing display of ordinary and extraordinary bits of history.  Now they’ve created a permanent exhibit of the same name. It’s one of my favorite museums but don’t worry if you can’t travel to see it. Their website is worth exploring.  Concord Museum was the first cultural institution to be officially recognized by the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission for this “Shot Heard Round the World” microsite. We’ve plenty of time before the 250th celebration in 2026.   

Related Episodes:

Episode 49: Women Patriots with Mary Tedesco

Episode 79: The American Revolution and Abraham Lincoln

Links:

• Concord Museum
• A Revolutionary Trio
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About My Guest:

David F. Wood has been Curator at the Concord Museum since 1985. He has published The Concord Museum: Decorative Arts from a New England Collection and An Observant Eye: The Thoreau Collection at the Concord Museum, which won the American Association of State and Local History Leadership in History Award and the Historic New England Honor Book award for 2007. He has also published a variety of other articles regarding cabinetmaking and clock-making in Concord, Massachusetts

About Maureen Taylor:

Maureen is a frequent keynote speaker on photo identification, photograph preservation, and family history at historical and genealogical societies, museums, conferences, libraries, and other organizations across the U.S., London and Canada.  She’s the author of several books and hundreds of articles and her television appearances include The View and The Today Show (where she researched and presented a complete family tree for host Meredith Vieira).  She’s been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Better Homes and Gardens, The Boston Globe, Martha Stewart Living, Germany’s top newspaper Der Spiegel, American Spirit, and The New York Times. Maureen was recently a spokesperson and photograph expert for MyHeritage.com, an internationally known family history website and also writes guidebooks, scholarly articles and online columns for such media as Smithsonian.com. Learn more at Maureentaylor.com

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The post Episode 159: The Shot Heard Round the World at the Concord Museum appeared first on Maureen Taylor.