Murph's Roadtrips: THE FREEDOM TRAIL

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

THE FREEDOM TRAIL - BOSTON

A sidewalk marker on The Freedom Trail

The Freedom Trail in Boston is a walking path of about 2.5 miles through old Boston leading to sixteen historic sites. We would have walked the entire trail but the exceptionally hot weather forced us to shorten the tour. A thunderstorm rolled in a little while ago which dropped the temperature down to about 80 degrees but the rain and lightning kept us indoors for now.

Boston Common

Our hotel is a block from Fenway Park. We walked about a half mile to the Kenmore Station and took the Metro to the Park Station. This put us at Boston Common, the large public park in downtown Boston where the trail begins. When the British Army occupied Boston in 1775-1776, the troops were encamped here. Boston Common itself is worthy of a good walk in milder weather but in this heat we limited ourselves to the path leading to the Massachusetts State House.

The Freedom Trail leads through Boston
Common to the Massachusetts State House

The State House is the State Capitol building which houses the Massachusetts General Court (state legislature) and the offices of the Governor. I'm sure you're familiar with at least a few of the past Massachusetts Governors such as John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Elbridge Gerry, Calvin Coolidge, Michael Dukakis, and Mitt Romney. This is the "new" State House which opened in 1798 and was built on land once owned by John Hancock. The "old" State House (where the Boston Massacre took place in 1770) is also on the Freedom Trail.

The Park Street Church

The next stop was the Park Street Church. This church is known for its involvement in social and humanitarian issues. The great abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison, gave his famous speech condemning slavery at this church on July 4, 1829.

The Boston Massacre victims and
Samuel Adams were buried here.

Directly behind the Park Street Church is the Old Granary Burial Ground. This is the final resting place for several patriots and martyrs from the revolution including John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and the victims of the Boston Massacre.

Old Boston City Hall

It's not one of the sites listed on The Freedom Trail but we passed by the building that served as Boston's City Hall from 1865 through 1969. It has a statue of Boston native, Benjamin Franklin, near the front steps. Franklin is usually associated with Philadelphia, his adopted home, but he was born and raised in Boston.

The Old South Meeting House

The Old South Meeting House had the largest capacity for meetings in colonial Boston. A common meeting place was Faneuil Hall, another site of The Freedom Trail. It was also known as the "Cradle of Liberty." If a meeting grew too large for Faneuil Hall, it could be shifted to the much larger Old South Meeting House. One such meeting called by the Sons of Liberty led to the Boston Tea Party.

The Boston Massacre occurred near
the spot where Shannon is standing

The Old State House was the seat of British Colonial government from 1713 until the Revolutionary War. After the war, it served as the Massachusetts State House until the "new" State House opened in 1798. (The "new" State House is still in use today as the State Capitol.) The Boston Massacre took place in the public square in front of the Old State House on March 5, 1770. When the Old State House was built in 1713, it was the tallest building in Boston. Now it sits in the shadows of skyscrapers that dwarf it.

As the hot weather wore us down, we had to stop our tour at the Old State House. We wanted to continue and see sites such as Paul Revere's house (built in 1680, it's the oldest house in downtown Boston) and the USS Constitution but it just wasn't possible.