| Virginia Road | |
| Location: | Lincoln, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Direction A: | East |
| Terminus A: | Massachusetts Route 2A (North Great Road) |
| Direction B: | West |
| Terminus B: | Old Bedford Road |
Virginia Road, also known as North County Road, North Country Road and Bay Road, is a historic road in Lincoln, Massachusetts, United States. It was part of Concord until 1754.[1] Today, located in Lincoln, it is in the care of the Minute Man National Historical Park.
The road runs from today's Massachusetts Route 2A (North Great Road) in the east to Old Bedford Road in the west, and is located on the northern side of Battle Road, of which, in colonial Massachusetts, it was a part. It was formerly the main road connecting Lexington and Concord,[2] two of the main towns involved in the American Revolutionary War.
It is possible that the road originally began in Lincoln, to the south. Historian Coxey Toogood noted that the road between Lincoln and Bedford "passed close by the Hartwell house and tavern" and that it "passed through Hartwell's property, and close to his tavern." A Hartwell Road runs to the north of Hanscom Field, but its relevance to the developments of the late 18th century is not known.
Another historian, Joyce Malcolm, countered the theory put forth by Toogood, after consulting the deed of Hartwell Tavern:
The route taken by "Virginia Road" on today's maps continues northwest for around from Hartwell Tavern to around southeast of the Bloody Angle, where British regulars were ambushed by the local militia on their retreat from Concord to Boston on April 19, 1775. At this point, the road turns due north, shortly before a short stretch of an "Old Bedford Road" joins from the east. (This is not the Old Bedford Road at which Virginia Road terminates in the west.)
The terrain in the area features gentle hills, with variations in elevation from to above mean sea level.[2]
The below buildings stand beside the road (from east to west):