Hancock-Clarke House (1737)
About
The Hancock-Clarke House is a 1737 parsonage in Lexington, built for John Hancock I, grandfather of the patriot John Hancock, and later home to the Reverend Jonas Clarke and his family. In the early hours of April 19, 1775, Paul Revere rode up to warn guests John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the Regulars were out, not, as the popular version has it, that the British were coming.
Owned and operated by the Lexington Historical Society, the house is shown by guided tour only, with tours starting on the hour and running about 50 minutes. Rooms hold period furnishings and portraits. Grant funding has supported new research and exhibitions on the enslaved and indentured Black populations of Lexington in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which are presented at the site alongside the story of the Revolution’s opening hours.
What to Know
- Combination tickets cover the Lexington Depot plus one or three historic houses, and children get in free.
- Free admission extends to active-duty military personnel and their families, active teachers and members of several museum reciprocal programs.
- A barn behind the house is planned as the Ruth Morey Education Center.
- Closures can occur in May and June during school group season.
Is this your business?
Claim it to add hours, photos, a description and a spotlight story.