Faneuil Hall interior photo

Donated by Peter Faneuil in 1742, rebuilt after a fire in 1761, then enlarged in 1805, Faneuil Hall served as market and meeting place – the “Acropolis of Boston,” a marketplace of ideas and resistance. Later known as the “Cradle of Liberty.”

Old State House Boston reading the Declaration

Old State House, Boston, MA Freedom Trail site of Boston MassacreOn July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to the public for the first time in Boston, from the Old State House, at 1PM. Colonel Thomas Crafts was the reader.

Latin School – Freedom Trail – photo

Latin School site, School St., Boston, MA Freedom TrailIn 1635, Boston established the first “public” Latin or Grammar School in America, resolving that Philemon Purmont, a shopkeeper, “be entreated to become a schoolmaster for the teaching and nourtering of the children with us.” The original Latin School was demolished in 1844 to make way for City Hall. This plaque decorates the sidewalk nearby.

Paul Revere ride photo Freedom Trail

Celebrating Paul Revere’s midnight ride on April 18th, 1775, this statue stands near Old North Church in Boston’s North End. Patriot’s Day, and the Boston Marathon, take place on the monday closest to the 18th.

Paul Revere House photo, Boston, MA

Paul Revere House, BostonBuilt in 1681, this is the oldest residence extant in Boston. Paul Revere, prospering as a silversmith, bought it for 214 pounds in 1770. The Revere’s bedroom probably occupied the front of the second floor. Other rooms in the rear of the house and on the third floor provided space for the many children borne by Revere’s two wives.

Old South Meeting House photo

In 1729 master builder Joshua Blanchard completed the new brick structure of Old South, replacing a simple two-story cedar structure on the site and creating the largest space for public meetings of any Boston building. Here the Tea Party was begun.

Boston Tea Party woodcut image

December 16, 1773 – A great crowd gathered at the Old South Meeting House to hear speeches protesting new taxes on imports, including tea. Shouting “Boston harbor a tea party tonight,” they went down to the nearby docks. Thinly disguised as “Mohawks”,  fifty men boarded three East India ships – Dartmouth, Beaver and Eleanor. Breaking open 342 chests of imported tea, they dumped the lot into the harbor. The “Intolerable Acts” soon followed as punishment.

Kings Chapel photo

King’s Chapel, the center for Anglican worship, was completed in 1754. Designed by Peter Harrison with four-foot-thick walls of Quincy granite, it was the first stone church in the Province.

Granary Burying Ground photo

Granary Burying Ground, Boston, MA

The Old Granary Granary contains the earliest casualties of rebellion.  Victims of the Boston Massacre and the Battle of Bunker Hill lie here, alongside Paul Revere, John Hancock, Samuel Adams and James Otis.

Faneuil Hall postcard photo

Faneuil Hall postcard

Donated by Peter Faneuil in 1742, rebuilt after a fire in 1761, then enlarged in 1805, Faneuil Hall served as market and meeting place – the “Acropolis of Boston,” a marketplace of ideas and resistance. Later known as the “Cradle of Liberty.”