What The Concord Museum does

The Concord Museum, operating under the legal name Concord Antiquarian Society, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit history museum founded in 1886 and located at 53 Cambridge Turnpike, Concord, Massachusetts. The museum stewards a permanent collection of more than 45,000 objects spanning approximately 12,000 years of history, with particular depth in American Revolution artifacts (including the original Paul Revere lantern from his midnight ride), Transcendentalist holdings (Thoreau's desk, bed, and chair from Walden Pond; Emerson's original study), and 18th–19th century decorative arts. Sixteen redesigned interactive galleries, state-of-the-art collection storage, and the Rasmussen Education Center were added as part of a $16 million New Museum Experience renovation completed in 2021.

The institution serves four primary customer segments: individual visitors and families (walk-in and online admissions ranging from $8 youth to $16 adult, with broad access tiers including EBT/WIC at $2 and free admission for military, MTA members, and select teachers), K-12 school groups (15,500+ students annually through onsite visits, classroom programs at $225–$250 per class, and Traveling Revolutionary Trunk rentals), adult groups and organizations (guided and walking tours at $10–$18 per person booked 3–4 weeks in advance), and private event renters (Lyceum at $1,200–$2,000, classrooms at $300–$500). A six-tier membership ladder ranges from $55 (Friend) to $1,500 (Lantern Society), with reciprocal admission to 1,300+ museums via the NARM network at Explorer tier and above.

Revenue is generated through a diversified mix of earned income (admissions, memberships, school programs, tours, event rentals, merchandise) and contributed income (endowment, individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Mass Humanities, Mass Cultural Council, Concord250, Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, and others). The museum is continuously accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (since 1973), named Best Small Town Museum 2026 by Best Things Massachusetts, and was named among the core programming partners for the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution. Its digital layer includes a Bloomberg Connects audio guide app with multilingual and accessibility features, virtual exhibitions, and globally livestreamed public forums featuring prominent historians and authors.

Name

The Concord Museum

Legal name

Concord Antiquarian Society

Website

https://concordmuseum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1886

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Concord Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit history museum in Concord, Massachusetts that stewards 45,000+ objects — including Paul Revere's lantern and Thoreau's Walden furnishings — and serves individual visitors, K-12 school groups, adult tour groups, and private event renters through admissions, memberships, educational programs, and rentals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historical Museum Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Museums (71211), Historical Sites (712120)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA), Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops (CRALAJAG), Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH)

Keywords

• Historical museum exhibitions
• Educational programs
• Museum membership programs
• Guided walking tours
• Special exhibitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Concord

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Admission Fees: Revenue from general admission tickets, group tours, and special exhibition fees. General admission ranges from free for members to $16 for adults, with discounts for seniors, students, and youth.
2. Memberships: Annual membership program with multiple tiers (Friend $55, Supporter $75, Explorer $125, Advocate $275, Lantern Society $1,500, Contemporary Leaders $500-$1,000) offering free admission, guest passes, discounts, and exclusive benefits.
3. Educational Programs: School programs serving over 15,500 students annually, with onsite programs at $10-$14 per student, at-school programs at $225-$250 per class, and traveling trunk rentals.
4. Private Event Rentals: Revenue from renting the Lyceum (80-100 people, $1,200-$2,000), classrooms ($300-$500), and patio access for private events including conferences, meetings, showers, and parties.
5. Annual Fund and Donations: Unrestricted ongoing support through Annual Fund donations, tribute gifts, monthly giving program, and corporate sponsorships. The Paul Revere's Ride Fund specifically supports school programs.
6. Merchandise Sales: Revenue from the museum shop offering Concord souvenirs, books, local crafts, and gifts near the museum entrance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Concord Museum operates as a nonprofit historical museum presenting over 45,000 objects across 16 interactive galleries covering 12,000 years of history, with particular focus on American Revolution and Transcendentalist artifacts. It sells general admission tickets, tiered annual memberships, curriculum-aligned K-12 school programs, guided and walking tours, rotating special exhibitions, public Forums programming, private event rentals, and museum shop merchandise, supported by a free Bloomberg Connects digital audio guide.

Product overview

The Concord Museum offers a unified visitor experience centered on its core museum admission product, supplemented by tiered membership programs, educational offerings including school programs and teacher resources, guided and walking tours, rotating special exhibitions, and the Concord Museum Forums public programming series. The museum also provides private event rentals and a digital audio guide through Bloomberg Connects. The museum's collection spans over 45,000 objects across 16 galleries covering 12,000 years of history, with major focus areas including the American Revolution, Transcendentalism, and Henry David Thoreau artifacts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Admission General admission tickets to the Concord Museum offering access to sixteen galleries, permanent collections, and special exhibitions. Tickets available for adults ($16), seniors/students ($13), youth aged 6-17 ($8), and free for children 5 and under; special discounted/free rates for active military, EBT/WIC/ConnectorCare cardholders, MTA members, NARM/NEHR members, and library pass holders.
• Museum Membership Programs Tiered annual membership program including Friend ($55/year), Supporter ($75/year), Explorer ($125/year), Advocate ($275/year), Contemporary Leaders ($500-$1,000/year), and Lantern Society ($1,500/year). Benefits include free admission, guest passes, reciprocal admission to 1,300+ museums via NARM, merchandise and rental discounts, exhibition opening reception invitations, and recognition in the Annual Report.
• School Programs Curriculum-aligned educational programs for K-12 students covering Native history, colonial history, American Revolution, and Concord authors (Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne, Alcott). Delivered onsite ($10-$14 per student), at schools ($225 first class/$225 additional class plus mileage), or through Traveling Revolutionary Trunk rentals. Programs include Digging into the Past, Two Worlds Meet, and various themed tours.
• Guided and Walking Tours Guided tours (Highlights, American Revolution, Authors, Special Exhibition) and walking tours (At the Center of Revolution, Emerson's Circle, A Walk in Thoreau's Concord) led by trained Museum staff for groups of 8 or more. Pricing: members $5, non-members $10 for guided tours; $14 per person self-guided; $15-$25 for walking tours including Patriot Pass bundle option.
• Special Exhibitions Rotating special exhibitions including Revolutionary Legacies (March 27-September 7, 2026), Mark Dion: Eccentric Collectors Like Us (October 2026-March 2027), and prior exhibitions like Transformed by Revolution and Whose Revolution. Developed with curatorial direction and supported by grants from Mass Humanities, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Decorative Arts Trust.
• Concord Museum Forums Public programming series featuring leading authors, scholars, and public figures held in the Churchill and Janet Franklin Lyceum and livestreamed globally. Covers historical, contemporary, and cultural topics tied to the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution and Concord's literary heritage.
• Private Event Rentals Rental of event spaces including the Lyceum (80-100 people standing/lecture, 60 for sit-down meals, $1,200-$2,000 for 5-hour rental including setup and cleanup), Classrooms (up to 10 seated or 15 standing, $300-$500), and seasonal Patio Access. Available for conferences, meetings, bridal/baby showers, retirement parties, staff parties, and other private events; requires 2 months advance booking.
• Bloomberg Connects Digital Guide Free digital guide accessible through the Bloomberg Connects mobile app featuring audio tour of highlight objects voiced by the Curator and Director of Education & Visitor Experience. Includes multilingual support via Google Translate and accessibility features such as screen reader support, zoom, font size adjustment, transcripts, subtitles, and alt-text.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves over 15,500 students annually through school programs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• New BalanceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides custom-designed T-shirts for the annual Paul Revere's Bike Ride event
• Concord250coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of the 250th Anniversary programming including Revolutionary Legacies exhibition and forums featuring prominent historians
• WBURminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner supporting the Revolutionary Legacies exhibition
• Middlesex Savings BankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBib sponsor for the Second Annual Paul Revere's Bike Ride, providing event branding support
• Peterborough PlayersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in presenting Walt Whitman's American Dream play, collaborating on performing arts programming
• Whitman CrossingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in presenting Walt Whitman's American Dream play at the museum
• Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of MassachusettsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-sponsor of the 1774 and All That forum featuring historian Mary Beth Norton
• Bloomberg ConnectscoreTechnology or IntegrationDigital platform providing free audio guides and multimedia content accessible through the Bloomberg Connects app

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Minute Man National Historical Park: National Park Service site in Concord/Lexington/Lincoln covering the opening battles of the American Revolution. Draws the same Revolutionary-history audience, but at zero admission cost, exerting significant downward pressure on the Concord Museum's value proposition.
• Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum: Boston-based immersive American Revolution history museum with a similar object-driven, experiential education model. Comparable in thematic focus (Revolution) and educational programming approach but at larger scale.
• USS Constitution Museum: Navy-operated museum in Charlestown, MA focused on the War of 1812 and early American naval/Revolutionary history. Directly comparable in mission (American history education), size, and educational programming model.
• Walden Pond State Reservation: Massachusetts state park in Concord preserving the site of Thoreau's cabin. Strongly overlapping Thoreau-focused audience; free admission but with parking fees — competes for the same literary heritage visitor.
• Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House: A small Concord, MA literary-heritage house museum operating in the same town, targeting overlapping Transcendentalist/19th-century literary visitors, with comparable scale and ticket pricing. Direct competitor for the same Concord day-tripper audience.
• The Old Manse: Concord-based Revolutionary-era historic house museum managed by The Trustees of Reservations, featuring Emerson and Hawthorne connections. Directly competes for visitors interested in Concord's Revolutionary and literary history within walking distance.

Broad incumbents

• Plimoth Patuxet Museums: Major Massachusetts history museum complex covering Plymouth Colony and Wampanoag heritage. Comparable as a regional history museum with immersive educational programming, but operates at much larger scale with broader thematic reach.
• Massachusetts Historical Society: Major research library and historical institution in Boston holding early American manuscripts and artifacts. Comparable as a Massachusetts-based history collection institution, but operates primarily as a research/archive rather than visitor-focused museum.
• Peabody Essex Museum: Major Salem, MA art and culture museum with strong American and regional history holdings. Comparable as a Massachusetts cultural institution with educational programming, but operates at much larger scale with broader art/culture scope.
• Old Sturbridge Village: Larger Massachusetts living-history museum covering early 19th-century New England life. Shares the New England history museum category and educational programming model, but operates at significantly greater scale with broader thematic scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/concordmuseum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/concord-museum
• Instagraminstagram.com/concordmuseum/?utm_source=concordmuseum.org&utm_medium=site
• Xx.com/concordmuseum

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Concord Museum