A Revolutionary 24-Hours in Central MA

Breakfast, with a Side of History

Start your day in Worcester with one of these three great options, from historic diner cars to a high-end, historic destination:

Up Before the Sun: Boulevard Diner

Opens 12:00am Friday-Monday, 7:30am Tuesday-Wednesday, 7:00am Thursday

Built in 1936 by the Worcester Lunch Car Company, it's the oldest diner in Worcester and one of the best-preserved diners from the company's era. Breakfast is served anytime of the day, and Boulevard also offers Italian American cuisine characteristic of the Shrewsbury Street neighborhood. Praised by the New York Times for its comfort food, this diner was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
 

Early Risers: Miss Worcester Diner

Opens 5:00am weekdays, 6:00am weekends

Voted Best Diner in Massachusetts in Food & Wine, Miss Worcester Diner is a historic, old-school diner car known for its famous stuffed French toast and classic New England breakfast. Opened in 1948, while independently owned and operated, it was used by the Worcester Lunch Car Company as a "showroom" diner, and a testbed for new features, and earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Sunday Brunch Enthusiasts: deadhorse hill

Opens 10:00am on Sundays

Treat yourself to a high-end Sunday brunch by the hospitable team at deadhorse hill, led in the kitchen by Jared Forman, formerly chef at renowned New York restaurants such as Gramercy Tavern, Momofuku and Per Se. Locals love the elevated classics like the Soft Scramble (shown below), Shakshuka, and Smoked Salmon Benedict, and splurge on the half dozen oysters and mimosa bottle service.

The restaurant is located at the site of the historic Heywood Tavern, a destination notable for its role in the Worcester Revolution of 1774. The Heywood Tavern was etched into history when 4,622 people from Worcester County gathered on September 6^th, 1774, and peacefully seized control of the government, ending Royal authority in Central MA for good. The Worcester County militias kept the judges, justices of the peace, lawyers, and sheriff of Worcester County from entering the courthouse, so the officers of the court gathered at the Heywood Tavern, a Tory stronghold, to find a solution. Ultimately, the Patriots forced the court officers to walk a gauntlet from the tavern to the courthouse, stopping several times along the way to repeat their resignation to the assembled militiamen.

The consequences of this event were enormous. The following spring, when General Gage decided to mount an offensive his spies warned him not to attack Worcester, where patriots were too strong, but to go after Concord instead. What we know as the Revolutionary War started there on April 19th, 1775, but the revolution, the actual transfer of political and military authority, occurred in Worcester first, nine months earlier.

Explore Worcester’s Revolutionary History

With so many historic destinations to visit in the city, we recommend you choose from one of these notable institutions:

American Antiquarian Society

Open 9:00am-5:00pm Monday, Wednesday-Friday, 10:00am-5:00pm Tuesday

Visit a nationally renowned library, housing millions of historical items, including Revolutionary War-era materials. On April 16, 1775, printer Isaiah Thomas smuggled his printing press out of Boston to Worcester so it wouldn’t be seized by the British. Three days later the Battles of Concord and Lexington started the American Revolution.  On May 3, 1775, with his press safely in Worcester, Thomas produced the first thing ever printed in the city: his newspaper, The Massachusetts Spy, which included his eyewitness account of the battles. Thomas would later found the American Antiquarian Society, a national research library that collects and makes accessible to all more than four million original printed, handwritten, and visual sources from North America before 1900. The Society was presented with the 2013 National Humanities Medal by President Obama in a White House ceremony.

Public tours are free and given every Wednesday at 3:00 pm, and may include a view of the Society's eighteenth-century printing press, the library stacks, and the reading room. If you have a group of 10-30, there is also the option of scheduling a private customizable tour for a fee.

Museum of Worcester & Salisbury Mansion

Open 10:00am-4:00pm Tuesday-Saturday

Explore Museum of Worcester, which showcases artifacts and exhibits on Worcester’s impressive 300-year history, celebrated through displays of inventions and innovators. The Museum is also responsible for the restoration of Salisbury Mansion, built in 1772 by Stephen Salisbury, with an attached storehouse from which he sold imported goods. Today the mansion is a living museum and the only historic house within the city of Worcester. You can call to schedule a tour of the mansion, or look out for special events like “Home for the Holidays” or “Candlelight Tours” which typically happen towards the end of the year.

Worcester Art Museum

Open 10:00am-4:00pm Wednesday-Sunday

With a massive collection of works from around the world, Worcester Art Museum’s American Art collection includes over 3,800. Portraiture is central to this collection and includes the oldest known self-portrait by an American artist, Thomas Smith, as well as the oldest American portrait paintings, by the Freake-Gibbs Painter. The collection has over 100 objects of Paul Revere silver and significant examples of 19th-century and early 20th-century American paintings with works by Edward Mitchell Bannister, Winslow Homer, and John Singer Sargent.

Check out the museum’s events calendar, as there are often Arms and Armor Demonstrations from the collection, the second largest in the United States, and some events may include 17th-Century Colonial Militia weapons and equipment.

Lunch & Living History Experiences Outside the City

Spend your afternoon outside the city, visiting one of these immersive and historic museums:
 

Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA

Days and hours vary throughout the year, check their website

Step back in time at Old Sturbridge Village, a living history museum that recreates rural New England life in the early 1800s. Walk through period homes, watch live demonstrations, and experience how Revolutionary ideals shaped post-war New England. Have lunch at Bullard Tavern, where you’ll find comfortable cafeteria style served in an 18th-century atmosphere.

Check their calendar for special events that include reenactments, such as Independence Day weekend and their late summer Red Coats and Rebels weekend (a reenactment from the event shown above).

Samuel Slater Experience, Webster, MA

Open 10:00am-4:00pm Friday-Saturday, 12:00pm-4:00pm Sunday

Explore 20 unique, often high-tech, immersive exhibits at Samuel Slater Experience, a historical museum recently opened to focus on textile manufacturing and the life and work of Samuel Slater (1768 – 1835), called by some the “Father of the American Industrial Revolution.”

Before you go, enjoy an artisan coffee and lunch at The Rose Room Café in Webster, a short drive from the museum. For a bigger menu, there is also Samuel Slaters Restaurant which sits on the lake and features outdoor dining during the warmer months.

Have a Historic Tavern Dinner

In the Worcester County countryside, dine as the Patriots once did, at warm and welcoming taverns:

The Publick House, Sturbridge, MA

Dine at this historic 1771 historic inn & country lodge, The Publick House Historic Inn, where Revolutionary-era travelers once stayed. At Ebenezer’s Tavern, enjoy a traditional Yankee menu featuring colonial-inspired New England fare. The chef has been loyal to the traditional favorites, while also expanding the selections to include modern twists and a gluten-free menu.

The Historic Tap Room is the Inn’s original dining room. The magnificent six-foot open-hearth fireplace is the centerpiece and will warm you as it did early American travelers. Post n’ beam ceiling and rustic wide plank floors held fast by cast nails make this a truly authentic revolutionary period dining atmosphere.

Salem Cross Inn, West Brookfield, MA

The Salem Cross Inn is a restored 18th-century farmhouse nestled on 600 acres of New England countryside. They’re nationally recognized for their sell-out Fireplace Feasts events, which are well worth planning your trip around if you can get tickets. This series of 1700's style feasts, prepared on the open hearth of a great fieldstone fireplace, includes prime rib roasted 'to a turn,' as the only known authentic Roasting Jack still operating in America rotates slowly over a crackling fire of wild cherry logs.  As a bonus, you can enjoy a horsedrawn wagon or sleigh ride, weather permitting, around the property.

These events are typically held Friday-Sundays from November through April, but you should check their calendar as other unique dining events pop up through the summer. You can also dine at the restaurant 4:00pm-8:00pm Thursday-Saturday, or 12:00pm-5:00pm Sundays.

Hitchcock Tavern, West Brookfield, MA

This 263-year-old tavern on Main Street in West Brookfield recently reopened under its original name, Hitchcock Tavern. The name is in tribute to Captain David Hitchcock, the young patriot who built the tavern in 1760. You’ll find a classic American menu at this lovingly renovated, historic building. It’s a perfect gathering place for friends and family, in line with the tavern tradition across New England.

Staying Overnight

The Publick House Historic Inn, Sturbridge, MA

For those staying overnight, The Publick House Historic Inn is a perfect option when you’ve ended your day in the western region of Central MA. The Historic Inn prides itself on delivering an 18th-century ambiance with 21st-century comforts. The 17 guest rooms in their historical building are decorated with period antiques or reproductions, and each room is unique. There are also additional, more modern accommodations on site, such as Chamberlain House, Country Motor Lodge and lastly Tillyer House, which includes a fitness room and spa.