The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile (4.0-kilometer) path through Boston, Massachusetts, that passes by 16 locations significant to American history. It winds from Boston Common in downtown Boston through the North End to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown and is mainly marked with brick. Simple explanatory ground markers, graveyards, notable churches and buildings, and a historic naval frigate are among the stops along the trail.
While most of the sites are free or suggested donations, admission to the Old South Meeting House, the Old State House, and the Paul Revere House is charged. The Freedom Trail is managed by the Boston’s Freedom Trail Commission. It is partially funded by grants from various nonprofits and foundations, private philanthropy, and the Boston National Historical Park.
The Freedom Trail was conceived in 1951 by local journalist William Schofield, who proposed constructing a pedestrian trail to connect important local landmarks. Boston Mayor John Hynes decided to implement Schofield’s idea. By 1953, the trail was being walked by 40,000 people each year.
The National Park Service maintains a visitor’s center on the first floor of Faneuil Hall, where they offer tours, free maps of the Freedom Trail and other historic sites, and sell books about Boston and US history.
One Station entrance and exit are on the ground floor of the Old State House, another on Washington St. at the Old South Meeting House, and another on Congress St. at New Sudbury St., which is just down the street from the Old State House.
The Freedom Trail concludes in Charlestown at the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill Monument. To return to downtown Boston, you can walk or take the Charlestown Water Shuttle.
The Boston Common is the first stop on tour.
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Outside the Park St. Subway Station, the first subway in the United States is the oldest public park in the United States (1634). (1897).
From 1634 to 1830, the Boston Common was used as a common space for cattle grazing, and it is still a popular spot for visitors and locals to meet, relax, and enjoy a day in the park.
Massachusetts State House is the next stop.
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Follow the Trail up to the Massachusetts State House (1798), America’s oldest continuously operating state capitol building. The dome was originally made of wood and is gilded in 23k gold. Paul Revere covered the dome in copper in 1802 and gilded it for our country’s 100th birthday in 1876.
Robert Gould Shaw Memorial is at Stop C.
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Return across the street to the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial, which depicts Gould-Shaw and his men from the Union Army’s 54th regiment. The 54th Regiment was formed in 1863 during the American Civil War as the first all-volunteer African American unit in the US Army Glory, a 1989 film starring Matthew Broderick as Col. Robert Gould Shaw, tells the story of the 54th regiment. The Robert Gould Shaw Memorial is located on the Black Heritage Trail, passing through our Beacon Hill neighborhood.
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The Park St. Church is located at Stop D.
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Follow the trail back into Boston Common to the starting point, turn left down Tremont St. (follow the brick line), and cross Park St. (1809). This church hosted the first Sunday school in the United States in 1818; abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison delivered his first anti-slavery speech from its pulpit in 1829; and the church choir sang “My Country Tis of Thee” in public for the first time on July 4, 1831.
Granary Burial Ground (Stop E)
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The Granary Burial Ground is the next stop on the Trail, just on the other side of the Park St. Church. Three signers of the American Declaration of Independence, Paul Revere, Mary Goose (credited with being Mother Goose), and Benjamin Franklin’s parents and siblings, are buried here.
Stop F is the King’s chapel.
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This church was constructed near the original wooden church built in 1688. The wood from the church was carefully disassembled and shipped to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, where it was rebuilt to become St. John’s Anglican Church.
It’s worth going inside King’s Chapel, which is free and open to the public for self-guided tours (there’s a donation box at the entrance). Although the church appears plain on the outside, the inside is ornate, and you can pick up a self-guided tour information pamphlet at the church’s entrance to help guide you through this wonderful stop.
House of Paul Revere
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Follow the Freedom Trail down Union St. (notice the Union Oyster House, the country’s oldest restaurant) and Hanover St. into our Northend/Little Italy neighborhood.
The path descends Richmond Street to North Square. The Paul Revere House, Boston’s oldest structure, is located in North Square (1680). From 1770 to 1800, Paul Revere lived for 30 years.
You can now visit the Paul Revere House, which is now a museum.
Paul Revere Statue
Follow the Paul Revere Trail to the Paul Revere Prado to find one of Boston’s most photographed statues, the Paul Revere Statue, which sits in the church’s shadow that made him famous, The Old North Church.
Cross the Paul Revere Prado to the Old North Church (1723), Boston’s oldest church structure.
The church is free to enter, and there are guides inside who will give you a quick overview of Paul’s Midnight Ride, which took place on the night of April 18, 1775, and resulted in the battle that started the American Revolution.