On this day 250 years ago Isaiah Thomas, publisher of the Massachusetts Spy, smuggled his printing press out of Boston with the assistance of Timothy Bigelow and Joseph Warren. Thomas removed his press and paper to Bigelow’s home in the Patriot stronghold of Worcester were it would be safe from seizure by the British Army. The Massachusetts Spy resumed publishing in Worcester in early May, and from there it would remain a leading Patriot newspaper throughout the Revolutionary War.
Sources: https://www.discovercentralma.org/articles/post/patriots-day-worcesters-role-in-the-american-revolution/; https://collections.americanantiquarian.org/earlyamericannewsmedia/items/show/19
Also on this day 250 years ago in Boston, Joseph Warren dispatched Paul Revere to ride to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the British were planning to send troops to raid Concord. Revere then rode to Cambridge and Charlestown to meet with the committees in those towns to work out a plan to provide warnings when the British began their raid. They agreed that Revere and other express riders would leave Boston through Boston Neck and by rowing across Back Bay to carry the warnings to Lexington and Concord, but in case they were unable to get through, Revere would hang lanterns in the steeple of the North Church to signal whether the British were moving by land (one lantern) or by sea (two lanterns).
After learning of Revere’s warnings of the planned raid by the British Army, the Patriots in Worcester that night moved the military supplies stored in their town to hidden locations.
Sources: https://www.americanhistorycentral.com/entries/american-revolutionary-war-timeline-1775-january-june/; Fischer, Paul Revere’s Ride at 88.
And this week in 2025, the National Park Service, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the towns of Lexington and Concord and many Revolutionary heritage organizations have events planned to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The events will be ongoing for several days and you can find links to some of the events here:
https://www.nps.gov/mima/planyourvisit/patriots-day.htm
https://www.nps.gov/mima/planyourvisit/250-battle-road-demo.htm
https://concordma.gov/3813/Patriots-Day-Weekend-2025
On This Day In The Revolution 