Boston Freedom Trail Stops 13-14

Boston Freedom Trail

Stop 13-Old North Church

Old North Church is where the lanterns were hung to signal the beginning of Paul Revere's ride. Here is a Paul Revere statue. 

We didn't go in the church, we just kept walking. We had been in a few churches already! 

This part of the walk was our really rainy part. Luckily, we had our umbrellas so we were fine! 

Looking back at the Old North Church

Stop 14: Copp's Hill Burying Ground

Copp's Hill was Boston's largest colonial burying grounds dating from 1659. Because of it's height and location overlooking Boston Harbor, the British used the burying ground to aim their cannons on Charlestown during the Battle of Bunker Hill. 

One thing we found different between where we live and the east coast was the number of cemeteries we saw. It seemed like they were everywhere! It makes sense though. They have had 200+ more years of burying people than we have. More cemeteries would be needed indeed!

The kids liked that tiny little house you can see behind the burying grounds. 

Copp's burying ground was our last stop before we took quite a long walk across the Charles River for our last 2 stops on the trail. 

We crossed the river into Charlestown. The houses here were so pretty!!! 

Charlestown is the oldest neighborhood of Boston and was founded in 1629 and named after King Charles I. 

They had a monument here for the men who died during the Revolutionary War. I presume the men were from this general area. 

Boston Freedom Trail Stops 7-12

Boston Freedom Trail

Stop 7: Old South Meeting House

The Old South Meeting house was built in 1729 and is the second oldest church in Boston. It was the largest building in colonial Boston so it was used for meetings. Many of the crucial events that led up to the revolution occurred here. The most famous meeting was in 1773 when 5000 people gathered to protest the tax on tea. 

Stop 8: Old Corner Bookstore

The original building here was the home of Anne Hutchinson who was banished from Massachusetts in 1638 for her religious views. By the mid 1800's this was a bookstore. It is currently a Chipotle. We did not go get food. However, this is about when it started to rain on us pretty steadily and we were really starting to get wet. 

The site of the first post office in America!! Laura was so happy when I sent her this picture!! 

Stop 9: Faneuil Hall

Faneuil Hall was originally where Bostonians met to form their opposition to British authority. It was built in 1742. 

We were very lucky this was our next stop as it was under cover and we were able to buy umbrellas here!! It was quite the happening place so it was the perfect place to be when the rain really started to pour.  It was also lunchtime so we ate our lunch inside in the basement. While there, everyone's phones kept buzzing with severe weather alerts for flash flooding. We picked a good time to get inside and eat our lunch and buy our umbrellas! 

We also bought our postcards here and watched the rain pour outside. 

We rushed inside so I didn't take any pictures. 

Stop 10: Old State House Museum/Stop 11: Boston Massacre Site

Built in 1713, the Old State House is Boston's oldest surviving public building. 

On the south side of this spot is where the Boston Massacre took place. 

Inside waiting out the storm, we saw a printing press demonstration. There were all kinds of little shops and exhibits. 

Being from the desert, we never even thought about packing umbrellas. Oops. However, it appeared it was not a slight drizzly sort of day. The rain was really coming down and we needed umbrellas to stay dry and not be miserable. So $38 later, we all had umbrellas so could carry on and enjoy our day. We did! All it took was the umbrellas and we were fine. The rain was warm so no one minded it. After the huge downfall ended we headed back on our market. We had a nice break. 

Quincy Market

Stop 12: Paul Revere House

Built in 1680, the Paul Revere House is the oldest remaining structure in downtown Boston. It was from here that Paul Revere set out for his midnight ride. We did not go inside and just kept walking along to our next stop. 

Boston Freedom Trail Stops 4-6

We will continue our Boston Freedom Trail tour pictures!

Stop 4: Granary Burying Ground

Our next stop was a famous graveyard. A lot of famous Bostonians were buried here like John Hancock, Paul Revere, Sam Adams, the Boston Massacre victims and Ben Franklin's parents.

John Hancock's grave

Paul Revere's grave

Ben Franklin's parents. They sure got a huge stone! Ben Franklin was buried in Philadelphia. 

Stop 5: King's Chapel

This was the setting of the first Anglican Church in 1686. By 1749, the original church was too small so this current church was built around the old church. The canopied pew was for famous people who came to visit like George Washington. 

The kids liked that the pews had little doors. 

Keep following the red brick road! 

Stop 6: First Public School Site and Benjamin Franklin Statue

Our next stop wasn't that exciting. This is Old City Hall. Before city hall was here, this was the site of the first public school in America. Ben Franklin, Sam Adams, John Hancock and Ralph Waldo Emerson all went to school here. 

In this spot is a statue of Ben Franklin that was placed in 1856. 

Ben Franklin statue

Steps where the first public school in America used to be. 

Elizabeth and I walking along the red bricks. 

Massachusetts Vacation-Boston Freedom Trail Stops 1-3

After we left Maine, we headed for Massachusetts. We stayed the night at the best Best Western Plus we had ever found! It was in Danvers. The rooms were huge, it was off the highway so it was quiet, and the breakfast was great. 

We woke up early and drove down to Boston with plans to walk the entire 2.5 mile Freedom Trail and do all the stops. It has 16 historical sites worth stopping and seeing. We did stop and see all 16!!! It was pretty amazing that we actually did the whole thing.

Luckily, it was cloudy and overcast most of the day which kept it nice and warm but not too cold and not too hot! It was perfect!! We even had quite a lot of rain, but with umbrellas, it was comfortable. I was not cold at all even walking through the rain wearing shorts! That's unusual for me. Usually, if it's raining, I am cold. I wasn't even cold. So really, the rain made for a great day. 

The kids were pretty exhausted by the end of the day and our feet hurt a lot, but we saw a lot of history and learned a lot! We also gained 4 new umbrellas! I will list the 16 stops and what we saw. 

1. Boston Commons

Boston Commons is the country's oldest public park. In the old days, they had duels and hangings here and all kinds of rallies. 

2. Massachusetts State House

Well, we visited the state house in Maine, so it made sense to visit the one in Massachusetts too! 

This state house was finished in 1798. the land was originally owned by John Hancock and Paul Revere was the one who covered the dome in copper. Since then, it was covered with gold. 

3. Park Street Church

Park Street Church was built in 1809 and kept the gun powder for the War of 1812. 

The great part about the Freedom Trail is that it's super easy to follow! Follow the red brick road!! Nathan was very good at keeping us on track and was always following the red bricks to every stop. 

A close up view of Park Street Church. 

Inside Park Street Church