By Bonnie Allison, with thanks to Concord Art Association, the Special Collections of the Concord Free Public Library, and Mary R. Fenn's "Old Houses in Concord."

John Ball built the house in 1753 at what is now 37 Lexington Road, just off Monument Square in Concord Center. Ball was known as an excellent goldsmith, and some of his pieces are held in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston's collection.

In 1763, he sold the house to Simon Hunt, reserving a portion of it for his parents. In 1773, Thomas Cordis became the owner. His widow married Jonas Lee -- the leader of the Democrats and son of an infamous Concord Tory -- and he thereby came to live in this house. When his wife died, he married Rebecca Wheeler Colburn, the widow of Brigader General James Colburn (see here for an article about the Colburns' son). (Mr. Lee having married three or four widows during his lifetime, this was to be his final marriage.)

Lee was a man of strong convictions, and it seems the last Mrs. Lee was an equally opinionated woman. A well-known story is about the time Mr. and Mrs. Lee decided to build a new wing on the east side of the building. There was a difference of opinion about where the fireplace should be placed: Mr. Lee choose the side wall and Mrs. Lee preferred the corner. When the mason began laying bricks in the corner, Mr. Lee kicked them down. When he laid bricks along the side wall, Mrs. Lee kicked them down. She was eventually carried from the room --"in hysterics," it was reported. The fireplace was built on the side wall, where it remains.

The house passed through many hands and at one time was owned by Sam Staples. Mr. Staples is famous as Henry David Thoreau's jailkeeper when the latter spent his famous night in jail. This was as a result of his refusing to pay his poll tax as a protest against slavery. Not long thereafter, this house was a station on the underground railroad. Thoreau is said to have upon occasion aided fugitive slaves on part of their journey though Concord. It is often that events come to an ironic full circle like this throughout Concord's history.

Since 1917, the Concord Art Association has been located in the Ball House. The building was purchased in 1922 -- always to remain an art association.