Annual Reenactment of Lexington’s 1773 Tea Party
December 13, 2025 @ 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
On December 13, 1773, unfair British taxes were on everyone’s mind as three ships sat in Boston harbor, carrying shipments of East India Company tea. Lexington Town Meeting concluded a multi-day debate with a resolution to stop purchasing or drinking imported British tea. The crowd spilled out onto the common behind the meeting house and made a bonfire, throwing the entire town’s supply of tea into it. Three days later, the Boston Tea Party would make headlines, but Lexington was there first.
Each year, Lexington History Museums reenacts this occasion with a day of tea history! Join us for fun, interactive activities to learn more about why tea was so important to the Revolution. Meet with the Lexington residents of 1773, portrayed by the Lexington Minute Men, to hear their side of the story, find out where tea comes from, and end the day by gathering around the fire and burning the tea!
Stop by for all the festivities:
LHM’s Buckman Tavern museum will be open 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, with holiday decorations. Admission will be “pay what you can!”
From 12:00 – 3:00 PM, learn more about the history of tea and its alternatives during the Revolution, with drop-in activities with Lexington History Museums and the Chinese-American Association of Lexington.
At 12:00 PM, join local children’s book author Sabrina Bhattacharjya in Buckman Tavern for a reading and signing of her new book, The Midnight Writer, sharing the story of the Battle of Lexington from the perspective of a young girl of the time.
From 12:00 – 1:00, meet with the Lexington Minute Men and learn more about the town’s role in the coming Revolution as the fire begins to grow in front of the Visitors Center.
At 1:00 PM, join us to burn the tea! We will open with a performance by the William Diamond Jr Fife and Drum Corps, and will be throwing real tea in the fire, generously donated by Mark T. Wendell Tea Company of Acton.
At 2:00 PM, warm up in the tavern with a special performance by the Lexington History Museums Singers to go along with your tea and historical hot chocolate!
Presented by Lexington History Museums in collaboration with the Lexington Minute Men, Chinese-American Association of Lexington, Boy Scouts Troop 160, and Mark T. Wendell Tea Company.
See more events: https://www.lexingtonhistory.org/events#calendar-73cd8540-5406-466b-b86b-a8793c3cb73c-event-lkssmqha