Last weekend Rosie came in town and we decided to do something extremely touristy. We picked the Freedom Trail because it is easy to get to and basically free. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, the Freedom Trail is a marked path that starts in the Boston Commons and takes you around to numerous historical sites around the city that were important during the American Revolution. If you're smart you can print out information at home about each stop. If you're like us, you can also purchase a book from the tourist information center for $7 that does the same thing.
Here we are on the T, making our way to the Commons.
Stop #1: Boston CommonsThe Boston Commons are 44 acres of park, gardens, pathways, and ponds. It is America's oldest public park and in the 1700s it was used as a training ground for the colonial militia, a space for public executions, and protests. In 1765 the sons of liberty hung an effigy of the Stamp Collector in the commons to protest the Stamp Act.
Below is one of the famous Swam Boats in the Boston Commons. They began operating in the 1870s and these manually propelled boats have become a Boston icon.
Stop #2: Robert Gould Shaw MemorialRemember the movie Glory? This memorial is dedicated to the people and events depicted in the movie. Robert Gould Shaw was from a very wealthy Boston family and was an ardent abolitionist. When the Civil War broke out he quickly enlisted and became a captain and then colonel. In 1863 he was asked to lead a regiment of all black soldiers but when he learned they were paid less than white troops, they successfully protested and won equal pay. The black troops risked death and slavery to fight in the South. Shaw was killed during a charge in South Carolina.
The memorial was built in 1897 and from an art history standpoint it is notable because the black troops are not depicted in the stereotypical fashion typical at that time, but in a more realistic manner.
Stop #3: The State HouseOn the 4th of July, 1795, Sam Adams and Paul Revere laid the cornerstone of the State House. The stone was brought from the old state house in a carriage drawn by 15 white horses, one for each state in the union. The golden dome was initially covered in shingles, but Paul Revere's firm covered it in copper to prevent leaking. In the late 1800s it was gilded in 23 carat gold.
Stop #4: Park Street ChurchFounded in 1809, this 217-foot-tall church once towered over Boston's skyline. The church considers itself to be a church of "firsts." For example, the first Sunday School classes were organized here in 1816, William Lloyd Garrison gave his first anti-slavery speech here in 1829, and on July 4th, 1831 Samuel Francis Smith's hymn "America" (AKA "My Country 'Tis of Thee") was first sung on the front steps of this church.
Stop #5: The Granary Burying GroundFirst established in 1660, this graveyard contains a number of famous "inhabitants."
Here is John Hancock's memorial
And Paul Revere's memorial and tombstone.
Yup, that tiny thing to the right is his tombstone.
I don't know who this person was, but I liked the tombstone
Stop #6: King's ChapelKing James II of England declared that a new Anglican church should be built in the center of Boston. Obviously, the Puritans were not thrilled about anything to do with the church that oppressed them, so they refused to sell the King any land for the church. The Royal Governor solved the problem when he seized a part of land owned by the city of Boston that had been used as burying grounds since the dead had no say about the matter. Of course this meant that the new Anglican church was built right on top of a large number of dead Puritans.
Stop #7: The Old Corner BookstoreBoston was known as the "Athens of America" in the 1800s due to the flourishing of intellectual culture in the area. The Old Corner Bookstore was the home of Ticknor and Fields publishing company from 1833-1865. They published works by authors such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Dickens, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry David Thoreau, and Mark Twain.
Today the building is a diamond store.
Stop #8: The Old South Meeting HouseOver 5,000 colonists met here in 1773 to plan the Boston Tea Party. In 1775 the British vandalized it in retaliation by covering it with dirt and using the space for riding practice. It took eight years before the citizens had enough money to restore it.
Stop #9: The Old State HouseBuilt in 1713, this brick building replaced a wooden version that was destroyed in the Boston fire of 1711. In 1761, James Otis delivered a speech against the Writs of Assistance, the writ giving the King the ability to issue search warrants without cause.
On July 18, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed from the balcony of this building. Now it is a T stop. Seriously. You go in the side doors to get to the subway.
Stop #10: Boston MassacreI actually didn't get a shot of this because I overlooked it. The marker is a circular set of stones with a star in the center that commemorates the site of the Boston Massacre. In 1770 a large crowd of angry civilians encountered a small group of armed soldiers. Tensions ran high and the soldiers felt threatened. The troops opened fire and three men were killed, two wounded. An engraving done by Paul Revere portrayed it as a bloody, one sided massacre. But John Adams represented the soldiers in court and six of the eight were acquitted, the two convicted were branded on their thumbs.
Stop #11: Faneuil HallBuilt in 1742 as a market, this area is now full of shops and behind it are even more places to eat and shop.
We stopped here because it was getting late, we were tired, and the promise of ice cream was too hard to pass up. We also got to see some fun street performers.
We walked around the shops and Rosie and I made a new friend.
The rest of the Freedom Trail will have to wait for another day.
