About Hancock-Clarke House
Built in 1737, the Hancock-Clarke House served as Lexington's ministerial home and later the residence of Reverend Jonas Clarke. John Hancock and Samuel Adams were staying here when Paul Revere arrived early on April 19, 1775, warning that British regulars were approaching.
Guided tours lead through furnished rooms that interpret the Clarke family, the patriot leaders' stay, and the alarm that sent Hancock and Adams away before the fighting began. Exhibits also examine the lives of Black people who were enslaved or indentured in Lexington, including individuals connected to the household and the wider community.
The house adds a personal, domestic perspective to the familiar military story of Lexington. Rather than viewing the Revolution only as a battlefield event, visitors see how political resistance, family life, religion, and slavery intersected within an eighteenth-century home.
