Hancock-Clarke House

The house where John Hancock and Samuel Adams were sleeping when Paul Revere arrived

The Hancock-Clarke House, built in 1698, was the home of the Reverend Jonas Clarke and his wife Lucy Bowes, who was John Hancock's cousin. Hancock and Samuel Adams were staying here as guests on the night of April 18–19, 1775, when Paul Revere rode up to warn them that the British were coming.

The house is now a museum with period furniture and exhibits on the events of that night, including the drum captured from the British during the battle. Guided tours run May through October. The house is a short walk from the Battle Green, along the original road that Revere rode down.

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Paul Revere arrived here shortly after midnight on April 19 to wake John Hancock and Samuel Adams, the two Patriot leaders the British were most anxious to arrest. Both escaped before the Regulars arrived. Revere was captured briefly on the road to Concord but released — the British were less interested in a silversmith than in the rebel leadership.

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