America's 250th Anniversary starts this month at Lexington and Concord. In case you can't travel there for the commemorations, we have photographed some of the significant sites you can see.
The events on April 19, 1775 were internationally significant. But they were also a very local experience for the residents of the area. Their fathers and sons died defending their homes and their liberty, houses were burned, property taken. So many of the "witness" buildings were preserved by the generations afterwards and can be seen today.
The following slides showcase some of the most important homes and memorials that still stand in the area. Many of them fall along what is now known as Battle Road, a five-mile trail that connects the towns of Lexington, Concord, and Lincoln. Colonial militia would have followed this route as they fought British regulars during their retreat to Boston.