American Revolution Tourist Sites in Boston, MA
If you’re visiting Boston, MA and looking to explore American Revolutionary War sites, the first thing to do is hop on what’s called “The Freedom Trail” (http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/) The Freedom Trail is a footpath marked out through the city which takes you to sites you won’t want to miss. Marked with either red brick or red paint, the tour takes “three or four hours” according Boston’s city website and hits sixteen Revolutionary War sites. The National Park Service can guide you along the Trail (starting at 15 State St. across from the Old State House) or you can go at your own pace. There are also a number of trolley companies around town that will hit the hotspots. But you don’t need a guide to follow the Freedom Trail.
The Old State House (Corner of State and Washington Streets. 617-720-1713) is a good place to start and is in fact where guided tours begin. The Old State House currently holds a Boston History Museum. (www.bostonhistory.org) How is it connected to American Revolutionary War history? Well, right outside the building, the famed Boston Massacre occurred in 1770. This even was was widely publicized and used by anti-British colonists like Sam Adams to win people over to their side. Crispus Attucks, considered the first Black Man to die in the American Revolution, was among those killed in the shooting. In fact, the spot of the massacre is marked by the Freedom Trail, too. It’s currently a cobblestone traffic island, if you can believe that.
Speaking of Sam Adams, among the other sites connected to the American Revolution along Boston’s most patriotic footpath is The Old South Meeting House (www.oldsouthmeetinghouse.org) located at 310 Washington Street. (617-482-6439). This 18th century church, built for Puritans, is where the Boston Tea Party got started. Here, revolutionary rabble-rouser Adams rallied the townspeople to dump English tea into the Boston Harbor. Inside, an exhibit called “Voices of Protest” tells more about the different movements which have gotten their start inside those walls. This is also where Bostonians heard the Declaration of Independence read for the first time.
Interested in the tea party itself? Step off the Freedom Trail and visit the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
(380 Dorchester St., Boston, Ma 02127,617-269-7150 ). Here, you can step on a re-creation of the British East India Tea Company boat that the rebelling colonists boarded on Griffin’s Wharf in 1773 – fresh from the Old South Meeting House…Perhaps the most famous American Revolutionary act to precede the actual battles, the actual dumping cost the East India over 300 boxes of tea and led to major tension between England and her American subjects. The Museum features historical artifacts, activities and re-enactments. (NOTE: The Boston Tea Party Ship & Museum will be closed for renovations until Spring, 2007.)
Another great spot where the spirit of revolution burst forth in America is Fanueil Hall, now the centerpiece of Quincy Market. Here’s where town meetings were held and patriots-in-the-making discussed unfair taxes and the tea problem among other things. Now, you can visit and hear guides give historical talks about these town meetings. Called “the cradle of liberty” for its importance as a gathering place where ideas were freely exchanged in the time leading up to the American Revolution, Fanueil Hall is a must-see locale. And Quincy Market is a great place for shopping with souvenir and retail shops and a huge variety of eateries.
“One if by land, two if by sea.” The Old North Church (193 Salem Street, 617-523-6676) also on The Freedom Trail is the famous building Paul Revere looked to to find out what he and the minute men were up against. For more on Revere, check out his home. Paul Revere House (9 North Square, 617-523-2338) lets “visitors obtain a fascinating glimpse into everyday life for the Reveres during the Revolutionary” according to the Freedom Trail site.
Not only can you see where some of the American Revolution’s most interesting characters lived, but you can also see where they’re buried. Boston, established in the 17th century, has many old burial grounds. Granary Burial Ground is the final resting place of Revere, Adams, Pete Fanueil (builder of the hall) and John Hancock (not his gravestone markings aren’t fifty times larger than everyone Else’s. Copp’s Hill Burial Ground is the cemetery where many of Boston’s free Black citizens were buried. It’s also a place British troops used to get a good look at Bunker Hill.
As for Bunker Hill, the site of the first big battle of the American Revolution, it’s located on the Freedom Trail but not in Boston itself. The memorial – looking something like a miniature Washington Monument – is located at Monument Square in Charlestown (617-242-5641). Take the Orange Line “T” (subway) – and don’t get off til you see the whites of their eyes.
Outside of Boston there are several other American Revolutionary War sites. The most notable one is the Lexington Green where the war’s first skirmish happened on April 19th, 1775, beginning the war. Lexington Green hosts several monuments and a tourists center. (1875 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington. Phone: 781-862-1450). You also won’t want to miss, if you’re in the neighborhood, Lexington National Historical Park, which actually encompasses parts of several towns. ( Route 2A. Phone: 978-369-6993.) The park includes battle sites, monuments, and offers information on the events of the 1775 battles. You might also want to check out The National Heritage Museum ( 33 Marrett Road, Lexington Phone: 781-861-6559).
And while we’ve mentioned Sam Adams a few times, he’s really the third most famous Adams in American history, and the most famous perhaps is John Adams, Sam’s cousin, founding father and 2nd U.S.. You can visit his (and his son’s) birthplace in Quincy, MA at the Adams National Historical Park (135 Adams Street Quincy, MA 02169-1749). Just one note, the
park is closed from mid-December til April 19th.
American Revolution took place over 230 years ago. It’s hard to think of the people who took part in the war as real- especially the less famous ones, the average people. Taking a walk through Boston and visiting historical sites in the Boston-area is one way to connect with the past. Standing where these first Patriots stood, seeing what they saw, knowing they walked the same paths definitely builds a kind of bridge between then and now.
