Minute Man Monument (Ephraim Kimball Store Marker)

Fitchburg’s Minute Man Monument marks the place where the town’s minute men gathered on April 19, 1775 before departing for Concord. Because of its geographic position nearly thirty miles west of the fighting, Fitchburg received the alarm rather late. After starting their muster at 9:00 in the morning, two companies, one lead by Captain Ebenezer Bridge and another by Captain Ebenezer Woods, left Fitchburg and reached their destination that evening.

The minute men’s initial meeting place was Ephraim Kimball’s store. Kimball was a prominent resident of Fitchburg, holding various town offices and serving as a church deacon, making his store a local landmark.

The marker’s present location off of Boulder Drive is not where it was first erected. The marker was originally sited on Laurel Street and nicknamed the “Laurel Street Monument.” Laurel Street was later redirected toward Water Street and the marker suddenly found itself at an entirely different address, even though it had been relocated only a few yards away.

The inscription on the plaque reads:

NEAR THIS SPOT,
IN 1775, STOOD THE STORE OF
EPHRAIM KIMBALL.
IT WAS THE RENDEZVOUS OF
FITCHBURG’S MINUTE MEN.
HERE, AT 9 O’CLOCK, A.M.,
ON THE 19TH OF APRIL, 1775,
THE ALARM GUN WAS FIRED
AND A COMPANY OF FORTY-TWO MEN, UNDER
CAPT. EBENEZER BRIDGE,
MARCHED FOR CONCORD,
WHERE THEY ARRIVED THE SAME EVENING.
ANOTHER COMPANY, UNDER
CAPT. EBENEZER WOODS,
FOLLOWED, THE SAME DAY.