The Freedom Trail is a path through

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, that passes by 16 locations significant to the history of the United States. Marked largely with brick, it winds from

Boston Common The Boston Common (also known as the Common) is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street (139 Tremont St.), Park Street, ...

in downtown Boston through the North End to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Stops along the trail include simple explanatory ground markers, graveyards, notable churches and buildings, and a historic naval frigate. While most of the sites are free or suggest donations, the Old South Meeting House, the Old State House, and the Paul Revere House charge admission. The Freedom Trail is overseen by the City of Boston's Freedom Trail Commission and is supported in part by grants from various nonprofits and foundations, private philanthropy, and

Boston National Historical Park The Boston National Historical Park is an association of sites that showcase Boston's role in the American Revolution and other parts of history. It was designated a national park on October 1, 1974. Seven of the eight sites are connected by th ...

. The Freedom Trail was conceived by local journalist William Schofield, who in 1951 suggested building a pedestrian trail to link important local landmarks. Boston mayor John Hynes decided to put Schofield's idea into action. By 1953, 40,000 people were walking the trail annually. The National Park Service operates a visitor's center on the first floor of Faneuil Hall, where they offer tours, provide free maps of the Freedom Trail and other historic sites, and sell books about Boston and United States history. Some observers have noted the tendency of the Freedom Trail's

narrative frame A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional ( fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc.). Na ...

to omit certain historical locations, such as the sites of the

Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell ...

and the Liberty Tree.

Official trail sites

The official trail sites are (generally from south-to-north): #

Massachusetts State House The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the New State House, is the state capitol and seat of government for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston. The buildin ...

# Park Street Church # Granary Burying Ground # King's Chapel and King's Chapel Burying Ground #

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum f ...

Site/ Statue of Benjamin Franklin # Old Corner Bookstore # Old South Meeting House # Old State House #

Boston Massacre The Boston Massacre (known in Great Britain as the Incident on King Street) was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which a group of nine British soldiers shot five people out of a crowd of three or four hundred who were harassing t ...

Site #

Faneuil Hall Faneuil Hall ( or ; previously ) is a marketplace and meeting hall located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts. Opened in 1742, it was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others ...

# Paul Revere House # Old North Church # Copp's Hill Burying Ground # # Bunker Hill Monument The Black Heritage Trail crosses the Freedom Trail between the Massachusetts State House and Park Street Church. The

Boston Irish Famine Memorial The Boston Irish Famine Memorial is a memorial park located on a plaza between Washington Street and School Street in Boston, Massachusetts. The park contains two groups of statues to contrast an Irish family suffering during the Great Famine o ...

is also located along the Freedom Trail.

In popular culture

The Freedom Trail is a part of many fictional pieces of media, such as '' Fallout 4'', which requires players to walk along the Freedom Trail to find the Railroad faction.

References

External links

Freedom Trail Foundation

Boston National Historic Park

The Boston Harbor Walk

The Freedom Trail – Boy Scouts of America pamphlet

1798 Map of Boston

Clough's 1798 Atlas of Boston (circa 1900)

1640 Map of Boston

PDF Map of the Freedom Trail

Mapping Boston History
{{Coord, 42, 21, 36, N, 71, 3, 24, W, region:US-MA_type:landmark, display=title 1951 establishments in Massachusetts Boston National Historical Park Cultural history of Boston Historic trails and roads in Massachusetts Museology Urban heritage trails Tourist attractions in Boston

Official trail sites

In popular culture

References

Further reading

External links