Modern Footsteps on Historic Ground at Walden Pond

At Walden Pond

As we head into the week of July 4th, I am dedicating this week’s blog post to a trip the kids and I took to Walden Pond, the site where Henry David Thoreau engaged in his social experiment about which he wrote in his book Walden. As a student and teacher of economics and government, I have long valued Thoreau’s work and ideals. I once ran across a video of a scholar urging all young people to read Walden (or at least a synopsis), as it challenges the economic and political systems that shape our lives. Thoreau inspired and was respected by great and influential Americans like Martin Luther King, Jr., John Muir, Rachel Carson, Alice Paul, John Updike, and Robert Frost.

After a couple days in Maine in the summer of 2019, we headed down I-95 through New Hampshire and into Massachusetts. I was excited at the thought of my kids and I walking on the same ground that Thoreau had walked on 175 years ago. I called it a pilgrimage because I was seeking a connection with Thoreau and to see the space where he had spent this time. At least once a year, I return to Walden to reread a couple chapters to see the words of a person whose ideas still resonate with so many. I was expecting a calm and serene place where I could have Zen-like moments of contemplation along the water and in the woods. Surely, I thought, there can’t be that many people who want to visit Walden Pond on a hot weekday.

As we traveled to Concord, I saw signs for towns and communities I recalled both from history books about the American Revolution and from religiously watching This Old House every week when I was growing up. We drove through the town of Concord and came upon Walden Street, which took us into the Walden Pond State Reservation.  We were close. And then we came upon a large and packed parking area. My first thought after the disappointment of there being so many cars was this is awesome that all these people were coming to pay homage to Thoreau and connect to this space. But as kids started walking by in swimsuits with towels over their shoulders, it became clear that Walden Pond is now a local swimming spot.

We could hear splashing and laughter long before we saw the water. It was not what I expected but I have to believe that Thoreau would have approved.

There is no right way to approach a place like Walden Pond especially with kids. Historical sites are tricky. As a kid, I remember visiting Gettysburg and Antietam without fully grasping the human tragedies behind them.

The Cade, Liberty, and I started at the visitors’ center, took a bathroom break, and read up on Thoreau’s life. One of my favorite displays was a tree cross-section showing the timeline of Thoreau’s influence on others by the rings on the tree.

Then we made our way to the path to see the original site of his one-room cabin. I must say that the contrast was vivid of people playing in the water, while others sat cross legged having a transcendental experience. That juxtaposition was both unexpected and striking.

From Donna Marie Pryzbojewski's writings.

Along the path, the writings and art of Donna Marie Pryzbojewski were posted on stakes at regular intervals discussing Thoreau’s place in history and his advocacy for social justice reforms.  At this point Cade and Liberty became much more engaged. Learning about Thoreau standing up in support of women having the right to vote and in opposition of the institution of slavery were things with which they instantly connected. The posts also discussed Thoreau’s civil disobedience in not paying the taxes which supported the Mexican American War.

We eventually made our way to the original cabin site and then made it back to see the reconstructed cabin and Thoreau’s statue. But none of that matched the feeling of watching my kids connect with the ideas and values of Henry David Thoreau. For me, this was the true highlight of the experience.