Walking the Freedom Trail: Behind Boston’s History

Hello fellow travelers! One thing I absolutely adore about Boston and New England in general is the amount of history in each area. The biggest historical attraction in Boston is definitely the Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail is a 2-mile long brick line that stretches from Boston Common and stretches to the Boston Naval Yard and to the Bunker Hill Monument. I managed to walk the entire trail, even stopping at both the Boston Naval Yard to sneak a peek at the USS Constitution and to the Bunker Hill Monument.

About the Freedom Trail

The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile long (4.0 km) path that runs through 16 historical locations that are significant to US history. Most of the sites are free to go through, although some stops require payment. The list of locations includes:

• Boston Common
• Massachusetts State House
• Park Street Church
• Granary Burying Ground
• King’s Chapel and the accompanying burial ground
• Boston Latin School
• Old Corner Bookstore
• Old South Meeting House
• Old State House
• Boston Massacre Site
• Faneuil Hall
• Paul Revere House
• Old North Church
• Copp’s Hill Burying Ground
• USS Constitution
• Bunker Hill Monument

The Freedom Trail is noted by a red brick path that stretches through Boston.

Each stop on the Freedom Trail is denoted with a marker.

The red bricks that denote the Freedom Trail. The path is outlined for parts of the city that also contain red brick.

Boston Common

Boston Common is the oldest public park in the United States. Boston is also home to the first subway system that was implemented in the United States. The first subway system had many flaws, and was the basis of the New York City subway system. The first two subway stations in the United States (Park Street Station and Boylston Station) are located in the Common as well.

Boston’s subway system, run by the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority)

Brewer Fountain

The three statues of Parkman Plaza

The Embrace

The Boston Massacre memorial and the Soldiers and Sailors monument

The Parkman Bandstand

The Robert Gould Shaw Memorial, dedicated to Robert Shaw, a Union Army colonel who was killed trying to retake Fort Wagner in South Carolina during the Civil War.

The Nova Scotia Tree is the official Christmas tree for Boston. Every year, the people of Nova Scotia located in Canada give a tree to the city symbolizing their thanks for Boston’s assistance during the Halifax explosion. In 1917, a ship carrying high explosives caught fire and detonated, which did major damage to the Richmond area of Halifax, Nova Scotia’s capital. At least 1700 people were killed during the explosion.

The Boston Common Tablet

Massachusetts State House

The Massachusetts State House is the state capitol and seat of government for Massachusetts. The roof of the State House is covered in gold leaf. If you took all the gold leaf off the State House roof, it would make a ball that would be worth $500,000. The roof used to be made of wood, until Paul Revere made a copper roof for it. However, copper tarnishes, and so the roof was eventually covered in gold leaf.

Park Street Church

Park Street Church is an evangelical Congregational church located on Park Street in downtown Boston. The church is part of the Freedom Trail because “My Country, Tis of Thee” was first performed here on July 4, 1831. My Country, Tis of Thee was the official anthem of the United States until Star Spangled Banner was created.

Granary Burying Ground

The Granary Burying Ground is Boston’s third oldest cemetery and contains the graves of several Revolutionary War patriots. Historians estimate that at least 5,000 people are buried in this graveyard. Most headstones from the Granary Burying Ground are dated from the 1700s.

Contrary to popular belief, Benjamin Franklin is not buried in the Granary Burying Grounds. That is the grave of his parents and sibling. Benjamin Franklin is actually buried in Philadelphia.

John Hancock’s grave

Paul Revere’s tomb marker compared to his actual tomb. Paul Revere was a very modest man, so he requested a regular stone like everyone else.

Samuel Adams’ grave.

The 5 victims of the Boston Massacre are also buried here.

King’s Chapel and King’s Chapel Burying Ground

King’s Chapel sits on top of the King’s Chapel Burying Ground, the oldest graveyard in Boston. King’s Chapel was the first Anglican Church in colonial New England. The chapel was built in 1754, while the graveyard was founded in 1630, almost 100 years apart. Some famous figures are buried in the King’s Chapel Burying Ground, including John Winthrop, Massachusetts’ first Puritan governor and Mary Chilton, the first European woman to step foot on New England. This graveyard is mostly filled with Puritans.

Boston Latin School

The Boston Latin School is the oldest public school in the United States. Established in 1635, the Latin School was modeled after the Grammar School of Boston located in England. There is a statue of Benjamin Franklin at the front of the building. Franklin is a noted dropout of the school. Five signers of the Declaration of Independence also attended the Boston Latin School, as well as four governors of the state and four Harvard presidents.

Old Corner Bookstore

The Old Corner Bookstore (previously a jewelry store, now a Chipotle) is the oldest commercial building in Boston. It was built in 1718 as a residence, and was later converted into an apothecary and residence. Many writers from the American Renaissance were also published here. Before the 1700s, it was the home of dissident Anne Hutchinson, who was expelled from the colony of Massachusetts for heresy.

Old South Meeting Point

The Old South Meeting point is a Congregational church that served as the organizing point for the famous Boston Tea Party. Over 5,000 colonists gathered for the Tea Party. The Old South Meeting Point was the largest building in Boston at the time.

Old State House

The Old State House was the original seat of government for the colony of Massachusetts. It is also one of the oldest buildings in Boston. The original building was constructed from wood, but burned down in the Great Boston Fire of 1711. Part of the Old State House has been converted into an MBTA station, but half of it remains a museum. There is a unicorn and a lion on top of the building, symbols of the British monarchy.

Boston Massacre Site

The Boston Massacre Site is located between Congress and State Streets. Originally, the massacre took place at the intersection, but due to the street being a very busy one, the site was moved below the Old State House to a much safer location so people would not hold up traffic.

The story of the massacre is that on March 5, 1770, a young shopkeeper’s assistant was harassing a redcoat soldier. The boy accused the soldier for not paying for a wig, and the redcoat soldier hit the boy with the butt of his gun. Upon seeing this, outrage grew among witnesses until a large crowd of 300-400 colonists surrounded the boy. As backup, seven other redcoat soldiers appeared on scene. The captain at the time, Thomas Preston, gave the command to “hold their fire”, but the soldiers heard “fire” and fired their muskets into the crowd, killing 5 colonials. The soldiers were promptly recalled to Castle Island and John Adams (future 2nd president) testified for the soldiers.

Faneuil Hall

Faneuil Hall is perhaps the most well-known stop on the Freedom Trail. It is the current government center for Boston. The hall itself has been converted into a retail space and a museum. Across from Faneuil Hall is Quincy Market, which is the food court. Located around Faneuil Hall are North Market, which is now a restaurant, and South Market. Faneuil Hall is referred to as the “Cradle of Liberty”. Faneuil Hall opened in 1742 and became an important center for people who pushed for American independence, including Samuel Adams and James Otis.

Paul Revere House

The Paul Revere House was the home of Paul Revere. Yes, that Paul Revere who warned the colonists about the redcoats. Contrary to what many believe, he did not shout “The British are coming” as the colonists were considered British themselves. Instead, he would have yelled something akin to “the redcoats are coming!”. Redcoats are a reference to the uniforms that people who were opposed to the colonists’ want for independence wore. Next to the house is the Pierce-Hichborn house, which now serves as a museum by the Paul Revere foundation.

Old North Church

The Old North Church is Boston’s oldest church. The church is pivotal in the Freedom Trail as it played a very important role during Paul Revere’s midnight ride. One of the church’s sextons hung two lamps on the church steeple (“one if by land, two if by sea”). Paul Revere and William Dawes, another Patriot, made the ride over to Concord to warn the Massachusetts Provincial Government about the redcoat attack. If the redcoats were coming by land, one lamp would be lit in the steeple. If they were coming by sea, both lamps would be lit up. Revere ended up being captured by the redcoats, but Dawes was able to escape unscathed.

Copp’s Hill Burying Ground

Copp’s Hill Burying Ground is the second oldest cemetery in Boston. The cemetery contains the graves of William Copp’s children (William Copp was the original owner of the cemetery), the African American community who lived in the “New Guinea” part of Snow Hill, and Robert Newman, one of the Patriots who hung the lamps for Paul Revere during his midnight ride.

USS Constitution

The USS Constitution is the oldest naval warship in the world. The ship was first built in 1794 and launched in 1797. The ships nickname is Old Ironsides because the ship seemed to be impervious to cannonballs and other damage. The USS Constitution is most known for the War of 1812, where its crew took down 5 British ships. The ship is docked next to the USS Cassin Young, a destroyer ship used during World War I.

Bunker Hill Monument

The Bunker Hill Monument is a memorial erected to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill, which took place on June 17. 1775. This battle was one of the first major battles between the United Colonies and the British Empire during the Revolutionary War. Contrary to what many think, the battle did not take place on Bunker Hill, but rather on Breed’s Hill.

Other spots

There were some other interesting spots we came across while doing the tour of the Freedom Trail and later walking it by ourselves.

Beantown Pub

Beantown Pub is a cornerstone in the Boston pub scene. Its name comes from Boston’s nickname, Beantown. Boston is known for their famous Boston baked beans, which are beans flavored with molasses and bacon.

Union Oyster House

The Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in the United States, having opened in 1826.

The Bell-in-Hand

The Bell-in-Hand tavern is the oldest continuously run tavern in the United States, having been established in 1795.

Boston Irish Famine Memorial

The Boston Irish Famine Memorial is a memorial dedicated to the Irish potato famine. There are 3 statues in this little plaza which shows the perfect contrast of a well-off American family versus a family that came from Ireland.

A beautiful work of art depicting the start of the North End, Boston’s oldest neighborhood.

A plaque advising tourists to look up at the Old North Church’s steeple.

The Clough house, located on the grounds of North Church.

Have you ever been to Boston? Have you ever walked the Freedom Trail?

Pin it!