&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Freedom Trail was conceived by journalist William Schofield in 1951. By 1953, his idea had become a reality and thousands of people were visiting and walking the brick-lined trail from Boston Common to the USS Constitution.&nbsp;In addition to this visitor information, the National Park Service operates a visitor's center on the first floor of Faneuil Hall.&nbsp;

Metal plates appear marking the 16 sites along the brick road trail. 

Official site with links to the sites you can see 

Website

More Info

This visitor's center offers information about Boston Common and the Freedom Trail, a two-and-a-half brick trail that links sixteen sites related to Boston before and during the American Revolution. Most decided to take the free self-guided tour option, although there are formal walking tours that include a guide available. Tour highlights include the home of Paul Revere, the site of the Boston Massacre, the Bunker Hill Monument, and the Old South Meeting House. While most sites are free to see, there are some that include an admission fee to enter. 

The Freedom Trail Visitor's Center

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The Puritans first built a wooden meetinghouse, called
the “Third Church,” on this site in 1669.&nbsp;
Over the years, the congregation grew and the building became too small
for their services, so the existing structure was built in 1729.&nbsp; It was the largest building in colonial
Boston at the time.&nbsp; According to the Old
South Meeting House’s website, it was used both for church services and public
gatherings.&nbsp; Town meetings were typically
held at Faneuil Hall.&nbsp; However, if the
expected crowd was too large for that venue, the meeting would be moved to the more
spacious Old South Meeting House.&nbsp; 

Revolutionaries met in this building prior to the
War to discuss their opposition to the series of Acts passed by the British
Parliament and imposed upon them in the new colony.&nbsp; On June 14, 1768, they met in this building
to protest the legislation which allowed the British Navy to force New England
sailors into its service.&nbsp; Nearly two years
later, on the day following the Boston Massacre which killed five residents of
the city, another meeting was held.&nbsp;
Originally scheduled for Faneuil Hall, it was moved to the Old South
Meeting House to accommodate the thousands of furious colonists.&nbsp; They demanded that Britain remove both regiments
of the soldiers, stating that the soldiers and the colonists could no longer
survive together.&nbsp; 

Colonists also met several times in 1773 to
protest the controversial tax on tea which had been levied by Britain upon the
people of Boston.&nbsp; These meetings led up
to the famous Boston Tea Party celebrated in New England history.&nbsp; 

Another interesting historical note about the Old
South Meeting House concerns the clock on the building’s exterior.&nbsp; The tower clock was added to the structure in
1768.&nbsp; Today the clock remains the nation's oldest tower clock (that
was made in America) and which continues to operate in its original location.

Built in 1729, the Old South Meeting House is best known for its role during of Boston Tea Party.  On December 16, 1773, several thousand colonists gathered at the meeting house to discuss the proper response to British taxation. From this historic church, the participants launched the most famous political protest in colonial history. 

Old South Meeting House

Park Street Church began as a
small group of twenty-six devoted Christians who broke away from the Old South
Church.&nbsp;&nbsp; They formed the “Religious
Improvement Society” in 1804 and stated to hold their own weekly prayer
meetings and lectures.&nbsp; In 1809, they
established the Park Street Church and raised enough funds to build the
magnificent structure that still stands at the edge of the Boston Common
today.&nbsp; The Park Street Church was
designed by Peter Banner and constructed in 1809.&nbsp; It sits on the former site of a colonial
granary near the edge of Boston Common.&nbsp;
Banner was a well-known English architect who designed several buildings
at Yale in New Haven prior to moving to Boston.&nbsp;
Here, he designed and constructed a home for Ebenezer Craft as well as
the buildings at India Wharf.&nbsp; Banner was
also a skilled mason and carpenter.&nbsp; He
was often involved in the hands-on work at the buildings that he had designed. The church is notable for its
tall steeple.&nbsp; The spire extends 217 feet
into the air.&nbsp; At one time, this steeple
was one of the first landmarks that visitors to the city would see upon their
arrival.&nbsp; He created the steeple as a
homage to British architect Christopher Wren.&nbsp;
Wren had implemented a similar design at St. Bride’s Church in London.Nearly ten years after its
construction (1818), the Park Street Church hosted the country’s first Sunday
School.&nbsp; In the coming years, the church
would serve as a beacon for social justice. Speeches arguing for the
abolishment of slavery and the rights of African-Americans took place on these
steps, including the first public speech delivered by a rising member of the
anti-slavery movement, William Lloyd Garrison.&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp;On July 4, 1831, the children’s
choir of the Park Street Church gave the first a capella performance of “My
Country ‘Tis of Thee” at the site. The site of the Park Street
Church is often referred to as “Brimstone Corner.”&nbsp; There are two theories about why the location
was given that nickname.&nbsp; First, it may
have been because the basement was used to store gunpowder and other sulfuric
components during the War of 1812. The other theory is that the types of
passionate sermons given at the church gave it the fiery nickname.&nbsp; 











Today, the Park Street Church describes
itself as an Evangelical, Congregational, and International house of worship.&nbsp; Sermons and study groups are still held several
times a week.&nbsp; In addition, the church is
open for Freedom Trail Tours throughout the year.&nbsp;Historic Marker
Inscription: 

Park Street Church

Freedom Trail

<blockquote>The English architect Peter
Banner designed Park Street Church. It was built in 1809 on the site of the old
Granary for which the adjoining burying ground, much older than the church, was
named. / On July 4, 1829, William Lloyd Garrison delivered his first
anti-slavery speech here and so launched his emancipation campaign with the
words: “Since the cause of emancipation must progress heavily, and must meet
with much unhallowed opposition – why delay the work?”</blockquote>

The Park Street Church was founded over 200 years ago by a band of Christians who decided to break away from the worshipers at the Old South Church.  They chose the site at the corner of Park and Tremont Streets, atop the site of Boston’s town grain storage building, for construction of their new church.  The church’s towering 217-foot steeple was one of the first landmarks travelers saw when approaching Boston by sea.  Park Street Church also became known for supporting abolitionism and social justice.  On July 4, 1829, a young William Lloyd Garrison delivered his first major public speech against slavery.

Park Street Church

In 1740, a Boston merchant Peter Faneuil offered the city council a donation of a substantial building for a market house that would be a gift to the people of Boston. While there was some opposition to building a market house, Faneuil's notion was accepted by the majority of seven councilmen. In 1764, Faneuil Hall was the scene of the most significant protest against British rule to that time when citizens protested the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act. The building was home to public meetings of all sorts, and as a result, many of the meetings and protests against British rule in the next decade also occurred here. Many supporters of independence gave speeches at Faneuil Hall, including Samuel Adams. Today, a statue of Adams that stands at the entrance to Faneuil Hall. While most of history focuses on Faneuil Hall as the meeting place of the Revolution, the building's main purpose was to support economic development. Details of the building's construction demonstrate its connection to trade, including the grasshopper weather vane as the insect was a symbol of commerce at this time. Originally, the first floor of Faneuil Hall served as a market and the second floor served as the government hall. The top floor served as an armory for the town's protection. In 1806, the hall expanded to hold offices and a large assembly room on the top floor. Faneuil Hall was renovated in 1806 and 1989. In 1960, Faneuil Hall was registered as a National Historic Landmark and was restored in 1992. Today it still operates as a marketplace as part of a much bigger complex known as the Faneuil Hall Marketplace, which includes three long granite buildings: North Market, Quincy Market, and South Market. The complex itself is an indoor/outdoor mall and a food eatery. Here one can shop, get a bite to eat and even get a feel of what life was like in Boston during the 18th Century.

Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts was built in 1742 by merchant Peter Faneuil as a gift to the city to support civic and economic life as both a marketplace and a place for public meetings. The original structure was destroyed by fire in 1761 but rebuilt the following year. Similar to some New England merchants in the colonial period, Faneuil owned slaves earned some of his fortune from the slave trade, and some of Boston's earliest slave auctions took place at this location. Despite its connection to slavery, Faneuil Hall was also the location of numerous gatherings by future rebel leaders in the years leading up to the American Revolution. For example, in 1764 this building was the site of a protest against the Sugar Act. As a result of its connection to many patriot leaders, this building is sometimes referred to as the "Cradle of Liberty" and remains one of the most significant sites related to Boston's early history and its connection to the American Revolution.   

Faneuil Hall

Established in 1635 in the home
of headmaster Philemon Pormont, Boston Latin School became the first public
school in America. It began as a post-secondary school that prepared young boys
for college.&nbsp; The school was modeled
after the Free Grammar School of Boston, England.&nbsp; Latin and Greek were taught to the pupils,
and emphasis was placed on the study of humanities.&nbsp; &nbsp;It opened
its doors on this site in 1645, when the first schoolhouse was constructed. &nbsp;For the previous ten years, the school had
operated out of the home of Philemon Pormont (an early Puritan settler), whose
house was located near the spot where Causeway Street and the Charleston Bridge
meet today. James Otis published a book in 1910 entitled “Ruth of Boston.” In
part of the book (a link is included below and the section about Master Pormont’s
school begins on page 112), early life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony under
the instruction of Headmaster Philemon Portmont was described. 

The first three schoolhouses were
located on South Street. The first building was a small schoolhouse on the North
side of the street. This building was demolished one hundred years later (1745)
to make way for the expansion of King’s Chapel.&nbsp;
The Boston Latin School moved across the street. In 1812, the school was
reconstructed and stayed there until 1922, when it moved to its current location
in the Back Bay. 

Some of the Boston Latin School’s
most well-known alumni include five of the signers of the Declaration of Independence:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine, William Hooper and Benjamin
Franklin. On the front lawn of the Old City Hall, there is a statue of Benjamin
Franklin.&nbsp; The monument marks the spot of
the original schoolhouse.&nbsp; It is
interesting that Franklin was chosen to mark the site, since although he was
definitely one of the most significant figures in American history to have
attended the school, he never graduated from it.&nbsp; Franklin dropped out of Boston Latin School
after just two years because his family could now longer afford to p ay the
cost of tuition.&nbsp; He later moved to
Philadelphia, where he spent most of his adult life. 

The Boston Latin School is still
a fully functioning public school, with students enrolled in grades 7-12.
However, it has changed with time, becoming coeducational in 1972 and moving
locations several times. In 1922, the school moved to its current home in
Boston’s Fenway neighborhood. Admission to Boston Latin is very competitive and
is limited to residents of the city.

The Boston Latin School was the first public school established in America.  It was established on April 23, 1635. The first classes took place in the home of its first headmaster, Philemon Pormont, in 1635. The school's first building was located here between 1645 and 1745. That wooden school was later demolished to allow for the expansion of King's Chapel, but the institution continued to educate young men for two centuries before admitting its first female students in 1972. Boston Latin continues to operate in the Fenway neighborhood, educating future leaders. Among the many distinguished graduates, five of the signers of the Declaration of Independence attended classes at Boston Latin School. A statue of Boston Latin School attendee Benjamin Franklin stands where the school once stood.

Benjamin Franklin Statue & Boston Latin School

Established in 1686, King’s Chapel was the first Anglican congregation in New England. In a region famous for its Puritan beginnings, an Anglican, or Church of England, parish was a rarity; King’s Chapel was the first official non-Puritan church in Boston. Although the congregation was founded in 1686, they would not worship in a church building of their own until 1689. That first King’s Chapel was a small, wooden church occupying the same location as the current structure. The plot of land the church is built on had been part of Boston’s first English burial ground, which was established in 1630 the same year the city was founded. The smaller building fitted the needs of the congregation in the late-1600s, but by the mid-1700s it was far too small. A wealthy congregation in one of the richest cities in the thirteen colonies, the King’s Chapel community had the means to build a church on par with the elegance of Georgian London. Architect Peter Harrison was hired in 1749 and construction on a stone building soon began. This larger church was completed in 1754 and was considered one of the most refined buildings in the American colonies. Harrison was heavily inspired by contemporary churches in London and the work of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. As a stone structure, King’s Chapel would have stood out in the sea of wood and brick of colonial Boston. The interior was designed to be eye-catching as well; the colorful paint and intricate carvings were intended to display the congregation’s cosmopolitan style and prominence as the head Anglican church of the region.    The prosperity and growth of King’s Chapel in the mid-18th century would be halted by the Revolutionary War. Despite the modern conflation of the Church of England and Loyalist, the members of King’s Chapel (and Anglican congregations across the colonies) were politically divided. For those whose political sympathies or economic necessities aligned them with the Loyalist cause, life in Boston became dangerous. While the minister, the Reverend Henry Caner, and about a third of the congregation fled Boston during the Revolution, those who remained would go on to reimagine their church in a new country. Nearly six years after Rev. Caner left Boston, the congregation settled on a new man to lead their community. Hired as a lay reader in 1782, James Freeman would go on to become King’s Chapel’s first lay-ordained minister; a five-year journey in which Freeman and the church leadership would forge a path to become an independent parish and America’s first Christian Unitarian church.  An active congregation today, King’s Chapel holds services on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Celebrating a tradition that dates back to 1713, the church has a strong music program led by organist Heinrich Christiansen, hosting weekly noontime recitals on Tuesdays and formal evening concerts throughout the year.  Next to the church is the King’s Chapel Burial Ground, a historic graveyard that has been owned and operated by the city of Boston since 1630. Although its name seems to imply a connection to the church, the burial ground is civil space and has never been associated with the congregation; it follows a Puritan convention of naming places of burial for the nearest landmark (the Granary Burial Ground down the block follows the same naming custom). Like King’s Chapel, the King’s Chapel Burial Ground is open as a historic site on Boston’s Freedom Trail.

Founded as the first Anglican congregation in New England in 1686, King’s Chapel also holds the distinction of being America’s first Christian Unitarian church. Located on the corner of Tremont and School Streets since the 17th century, the current Kings Chapel is the congregation’s second church on the site and was completed in 1754. Designed by architect Peter Harrison, it is a National Historic Landmark and often considered to be the best example of Georgian architecture in America. Over 333-years-old, the congregation is still active today hosting services and a popular music program. 

King's Chapel

The land on which the Ebenezer Hancock House now stands was once home to William Courser, Boston's first Town Crier, in 1660. In 1737, the site was the home of James Davenport, Benjamin Franklin's brother-in-law [3]. John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, the first Governor of Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Revolutionary patriot, inherited land from his uncle Thomas in 1763. On part of this land, the Georgian-style Ebenezer Hancock House was constructed circa 1767, a three-story Flemish bond brick residence-and-shop with three chimneys and a central stairwell [1]. John Hancock's own home was on Beacon Hill, and he never lived on the property [2; 3]. By 1776, John's younger brother, Ebenezer, was in residence. That same year, Ebenezer was appointed as Deputy Paymaster General of the Continental Army. During the Revolution, the house doubled as Ebenezer's home and the headquarters for his post. Troops' pay was disbursed from the house, and the 2 million silver crowns loaned by King Louis XVI of France to fund the Continental Army was stored there in 1778 [1; 3].With the Revolution won, John Hancock sold the house in 1785 to Boston glass and china merchant Ebenezer Frothingham, whose shop opened up on the first floor. In 1798, the store became a shoe shop owned by Benjamin Fuller (later owners were William H. Leonard and George H. Tarbox), and continued operation as a shoe store until 1963, making it the longest continuously operating shoe store in the United States [1; 3]. Other sections of the first floor and the second and third floors were occupied by a boarding house, a restaurant and tavern, an officer's club, and a privately operated museum. Aside from additions built in 1929 and 1942, the house retained its historic integrity, and is the only vernacular structure of its age left in Boston. It is also considered the most intact, most important Georgian interior in the city [1]. Thanks to its designation as a Boston Landmark and National Historic Landmark through the efforts of Swartz &amp; Swartz lawfirm in 1976, the building has been preserved and restored. The house was vacant and in decline at the time, but Edward Swartz supervised the restoration, which left intact the building's handmade bricks, original beams, hand-wrought finishings, and working fireplaces [3]. Historic Marker Inscription:Ebenezer Hancock HouseThe Ebenezer Hancock House, built in 1767, is the only remaining house in Boston associated with John Hancock. He owned the house but it was lived in by his brother Ebenezer, who was Deputy Paymaster General of the Continental Army. / This is one of the few downtown residences surviving from the late 18th century. From 1798 to 1963 the country’s oldest continuously run shoe store occupied the building’s first floor. / Erected by The Boston Landmarks Commission, City of Boston [2].

One of Boston's oldest remaining brick building and one-time home of John Hancock's brother, the Ebenezer Hancock House (built circa 1767) is a National and Boston Historic Landmark. The restored structure—Boston's only remaining building associated with John Hancock—is now home to a lawfirm [1; 2; 3].

Ebenezer Hancock House

Established in 1634, Boston Common is America’s oldest public park. Puritan colonists purchased the land rights to the Common’s 44 acres from the first settler of the area, Anglican minister William Blackstone. The price was 30 pounds, and each homeowner paid him six shillings. The pasture then became known as the "Common Land" and was used to graze local livestock until 1830. Boston Common was a place for celebration as well; bonfires and fireworks celebrated the repeal of the Stamp Act and the end of the Revolutionary War. Over 1000 Redcoats made camp on the Common during the British occupation of Boston in 1775. It was from here that three brigades of Redcoats left to make the fateful trip to Lexington and Concord.

Boston Common

<div>The original three-story house was built about 1680, making it the oldest house in downtown Boston.&nbsp; It occupied the former site of the Second Church of Boston's parsonage, home to Increase Mather and Cotton Mather, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1676. Its first owner was Robert Howard, a wealthy merchant. His L-shaped townhouse contained spacious rooms and would have been enhanced by exterior features such as a second-floor overhang and casement windows.</div><div> </div><div>As is typical of early Massachusetts Bay timber construction, the main block of the three-story dwelling consisted of four structural bays demarcated with heavy framing posts and overhead beams. The larger ground-floor room in this main block was dominated by its chimney bay and adjoining lobby entrance. Although some contemporary Boston houses had separate kitchen buildings, the two-story extension behind the Revere House was typical. As the Revere House was set quite close to neighbors, its double casement windows were installed in the rear elevation rather than the more common placement in a gable.</div><div> </div><div>Around the middle of the eighteenth century, the Paul Revere House went through two major renovations. First, the roofline facing the street was raised substantially to bring the house in line with the Georgian architectural style that had become prevalent at that time (the roofline was returned to its original pitch, albeit without a gable, by the restorers in 1907–1908, which gave rise to a commonly held misconception that the attic had been removed). Second, a two-story lean-to was added in the ell between the two 17th-century portions of the house (this lean-to was removed by the restoration in 1907–1908).</div><div> </div><div>Paul Revere owned this house from 1770 to 1800, although he and his family may have lived elsewhere for periods in the 1780s and 1790s. It is believed that during the Revere occupancy the rear chimney was added (c. 1790) including the kitchen that visitors see in the first room they enter.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>After Revere sold the house, it became a tenement with its ground floor remodeled for use as shops, including at various times a candy store, cigar factory, bank and vegetable and fruit business. In 1902, Revere's great-grandson, John P. Reynolds Jr. purchased the building to prevent demolition, and restoration took place under the guidance of architect and historic preservationist Joseph Chandler. In April 1908, the Paul Revere House opened its doors to the public as one of the earliest historic house museums in the United States.</div><div> </div><div>Despite the substantial renovation process which returned the house to its conjectured appearance around 1700, ninety percent of the structure (including two doors, three window frames, and portions of the flooring, foundation, inner wall material and raftering) is original to 1680, though none of the window glass is original. Its heavy beams, large fireplaces, and absence of interior hallways are typical of colonial living arrangements. The two chambers upstairs contain several pieces of furniture believed to have belonged to the Revere family.</div><div> </div><div>Immediately adjacent (across the entry courtyard, the original site of the John Barnard House) is the brick Pierce–Hichborn House, built about 1711 as an early Georgian house, and also operated as a nonprofit museum by the Paul Revere Memorial Association.</div><div> </div><div>In December 2016 the Paul Revere Memorial Association opened a 3,500 square foot visitor and education center connected to the house by an elevated walkway. Purchased in 2007, $4 million in renovations allow the new education center to provide additional exhibit space on Revere's Midnight Ride, his work as a silversmith and his industrial work after the American Revolution. The renovations permit wheelchair users to access the second floor of the house for the first time while classrooms and a library will allow for expanded research and educational outreach.</div>

Paul Revere's second home in Boston, which has become a national historic landmark. He owned it from 1770 to 1800. It is downtown Boston's oldest building, and one of the few remaining from an early era in the history of colonial America. In 1902, Paul Revere's great-grandson, John P. Reynolds Jr. purchased the building to ensure that it would not be demolished. Money was raised and the Paul Revere Memorial Association formed to preserve and renovate the building. In April 1908, the Paul Revere House opened its doors to the public as one of the earliest historic house museums in the U.S. The Association still oversees the preservation and day-to-day operations of this national treasure. 

The Paul Revere House

Paul Revere was born on January 1, 1735, in Boston as the son of Apollos Rivoire, a French immigrant who had come to America on his own at the young age of 13 and later married Deborah Hichborn. His father later changed his name to Paul to sound more "American.” He ran a goldsmith shop and Revere followed in his father's footsteps. Even as Revere's business did well, he saw other American colonists struggle and knew action needed to be taken against the British. Revere joined the Freemasons and eventually became a spy for the American colonists. He also partook in the Boston Tea Party conducted by the Sons of Liberty on December 16, 1773. The Sons of Liberty and Revere threw out crates of tea coming over from China in protest of the Townshend Acts along with the taxes imposed inside the legislation. Revere rose to fame when he conducted his Midnight Ride on April 18, 1775, where he attempted to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the British approaching. While Revere was only one of many riders who spread the alarm, the dominant story remains of Revere and a warning symbol of two lanterns in the bell tower of Christ Church in Boston to indicate that the British were crossing the Charles River to Cambridge. The network of colonists that included Revere helped American troops prepare for the upcoming Battles of Lexington and Concord became the first military confrontations in the American Revolutionary War. After the war, Revere became interested in other metalwork outside of just gold and silver. He took some profits he made in silver working and put them towards building a large furnace in 1778. Revere would soon open an iron foundry on the north end of Boston where items such as stove backs and fireplace tools were made. His industrialization practices put him apart from his competition in the area. One of the biggest changes for Revere in his foundry was the organization of labor. As time went on, he hired plenty of employees to work for him.Revere remained a force in politics as Alexander Hamilton’s national policies in regards to banks and industrialization match what Revere wanted to accomplish. He promised to build a robust economy to help supply jobs and make America a greater nation. On the issue of protective tariffs, Revere and his son sent a petition to Congress in 1808 to help pass legislation that would protect his sheet copper business. Even after retiring from his business, Revere kept up his political discussions well until his death on May 10, 1818. He was buried in the Granary Burying Ground located on Tremont Street.This statue of Paul Revere commemorated his Midnight Ride after being cast in 1940 using a model created in 1885. The statue itself rests on a granite base made by Y. Lovell Little and Raymond A. Porter within the Paul Revere Mall.

Originally commissioned in 1884, this statue depicting Paul Revere during his famous "Midnight Ride of April 18, 1775, was not completed and dedicated until 1940 after a series of political disputes regarding nearly every aspect of the statue. Revere was among numerous colonists who rode on horseback to warn colonial leaders John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the movements of the British. Revere was detained while other riders were successful in their mission, but Revere became immortalized by the nation's leading poet and remains the most famous of the colonial riders at that time. To this day, the poem and its dramatic story of Revere and the signal in the bell tower of Christ Church in Boston remain a dominant symbol of the Revolutionary period and resistance against the British leading up to the battles of Lexington and Concord.

Paul Revere Statue

Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan
began on October 7th, 2001 with Allied air strikes on Taliban and al
Qaeda targets. This was in response to the 9/11 attacks on the United States,
which were linked to al Qaeda, an organisation linked to the
Taliban in Afghanistan. This was the start of the global ‘War on Terror’. The
operation formally ended after 13 years on December 28, 2014 after President
Obama announced its close during&nbsp;May 2014. The total
number of American deaths is 2,403 as of 2017. 

 

Operation Iraqi Freedom officially began on
March 20th, 2003 after President Bush announced that US-led coalition forces had begun military action in Iraq three days previously, on March 17, 2003. This was because the U.S Secretary of State, Colin Powell, made
the case to the U.N that Saddam Hussein posed an imminent threat. Despite the
UN Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix reporting to the Security Council that his
team had found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, President
Bush issued an ultimatum to President Hussein and his family – leave Iraq in 48
hours or face military action.&nbsp; This operation would continue till December 18, 2011 when the last US troops
crossed the border into Kuwait. The total number of US casualties for this
operation is 4,424 as of July 29th, 2016.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

In 2006, the Old North Church and its
neighbours created the nation’s first public memorial to the soldiers who lost
their lives in these two operations. Initially the memorial consisted of wooden
‘popsicle stick’ crosses and stars of David that were marked with the names of
the fallen soldiers. However with an increase in deaths in 2006 and 2007, the
creators of this memorial sought a more durable and less laborious alternative and hung blank dog tags on chains between the fence posts. This
new method of memorialization was more likely to survive the New England
winters and also invited participation from people in the surrounding
neighborhoods. 

&nbsp;

The new plan included a meditation bench
along with a small garden and a walkway. Construction for this new memorial
began in mid-May 2007 and the memorial was fittingly dedicated on Memorial Day
of that year. Before the new memorial was dedicated, the organisers set up
tables with nameless dog tags and invited people to help them string up the dog tags as
they walked through the courtyard. The website for this memorial states that on
the day of the dedication, during the reading on the fallen soldiers from
Massachusetts, a light breeze went by and the dog tags acted as a wind chime. 

&nbsp;

The memorial includes a birdbath, which is
meant to symbolise the water of life, as well as some flowers. The foliage displayed is in red and white, the red flowers are meant to represent
the bloodshed and sacrifices of war, whereas the single white flower represents
the hope for peace. There is also a large ‘peace’ stone that is centrally
placed under the birdbath. The remaining stones placed at the foot of the
birdbath are inspired by the Jewish tradition of leaving stones at grave sites to symbolise
prayers. The stones are also marked with the number of Massachusetts deaths during
the given years. Today, whenever an American soldier falls during the Afghanistan
or Iraq/ISIS conflicts, a gardener from the Old North Church hangs a dog tag in
memoriam. The tags try to represent, as closely as possible, the number of
deaths and currently total at 6,884 as of July 4th, 2016.&nbsp;

The Old North Church houses many gardens, one of which is the Memorial Garden. Opened in 2006, the Memorial Garden was the nation’s first public memorial honouring the American lives lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Today the memorial features nameless dog tags to symbolise the number of fallen American soldiers, totalling 6,884 as of July 4th 2016. 

Old North Church Memorial Garden

The church was built in 1723 as Christ Church and was considered more Anglican that Congregational of the churches in the New England area. The parishioners who attended the church were split in terms of politics. A good majority of the church were loyalists who sought to keep ties with Great Britain while another majority wanted independence from the king and were willing to do anything to make that dream a reality. Robert Newman, the sexton of the church, and vestryman John Pulling concocted a plan with fellow patriot Paul Revere to aid in lighting the flames of revolution. On the night of April 18, 1775, Newman and Pulling climbed into the scaffolding of the church to place one or two lanterns into the steeple to indicate to those outside of Boston how the British were to arrive in the area while Revere rode through the countryside to warn every nearby patriot of British movement. Seeing that the Regulars were crossing the Charles River, Newman and Pulling place two lanterns and fled to avoid arrest. By the following afternoon, skirmishes were occurring in the cities of Lexington and Concord, marking the official start of the Revolutionary War. Garnering over half a million visitors each year, the Church has not only become a beacon of religious freedom to the Boston area, but an icon of patriotism and revolution when a country needed it most. If not for the actions of a few brave individuals that night, independence may not have been reached. The events of that night have been forever enshrined in William Wadsworth Longfellow's famous poem "Paul Revere's Ride," a poem many a student has heard or even recited in a history class.&nbsp;

The Old North Church is an Episcopal church located in the North End area of Boston, Massachusetts. The church is most famous for spreading the warning of incoming British troops to Paul Revere as he made his historic "Midnight Ride" through the Massachusetts countryside, launching the beginning of the American Revolution. Guests today who visit the church will take away a sense of pride and respect towards the pioneers of patriotism who literally lit the way towards independence. The church holds an annual celebration to mark the anniversary of the Midnight Ride by reenacting the placement of the two lanterns in the church's steeple. 

Old North Church

The Boston
Skinny House, built sometime in the 1870s, sits on a lot that is only 274
square feet. It is directly across from the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground and old
North Church can be seen from it. Because of this, it looks as if it might be a
stop or a sight on the Freedom Trail. However, it has recently been&nbsp;inhabited
by a couple with one daughter who loved living in this tiny house.&nbsp;It was also rented to tourists&nbsp;who claim that the house felt like home to them, despite its size. In terms of living comfortably, though, it provides very
little space. At their widest point, the walls inside measure 9.2 feet across,
and each floor consists of one room, except for the floor that houses the living
room and bathroom, which is the only floor that is separated by a door. The challenge of
living in a house so small has not deterred owners of the house. For example,
the previous owners said that shopping for furniture to fit inside the house
was more math than shopping, as intense measuring was needed, but the house’s
location&nbsp;and history make it an interesting and unique place to
live. Information about the Skinny House is scattered and differs between
sources, but there are commonalities among them. Accounts of the origins of the house, while fuzzy, converge on
the idea that the house was built out of spite. One local legend claims that
two brothers inherited the land in the North End from their father and, when
one brother went away to fight in the Civil War, the other built a large house,
leaving his brother with only a tiny plot of their father’s land. Instead of
moving somewhere else, and because he did not have very much money to buy more
land, he built the tiny house to spite his brother and to block light and the
view from his brother’s house. This is why the Skinny House is also sometimes
called the ‘Spite House’. &nbsp;Another story, common in the 1920s, claims that a Tory built the house to block light from shining on&nbsp;his neighbor’s house with whom he quarreled, another example of why the idea of the house being a ‘spite house’ has endured through the years. Though these stories&nbsp;have persevered throughout the years, it is not known what&nbsp;the true story of the house is. The legends of the origins of the house, while mysterious, have
continued and evolved through time, apparently since the early 20th century. It
is hard to imagine wanting to build a house so narrow, but it is also an area
of Boston with notoriously tight lots, and it is conceivable that someone
simply used the space they had to build a very narrow house. Furthermore, the
North End during this time was struggling and, while it had once been a very
important part of town, it was becoming a very poor area. Therefore, it is
possible that the original builder&nbsp;simply had only enough money to buy the small plot of
land that the Skinny House is built on and enough to build that small of a
house.&nbsp;Regardless of the original intentions of the building of the house,
the term ‘spite house’ has remained, pointing to a possibility that it was
actually originally built out of spite.&nbsp;The exact year in which the Skinny House was erected is also up
for debate, but according to Ward maps from 1874, it seems that the Skinny
House must have been built later, as the empty lot, though small, is visible
there. The ward map shows how narrow the lot is and also how the backyard of
the Skinny House has a larger square footage than the actual foundation of the
house. The house has been renovated over the years and no longer looks like it
must have in 1874, but its width and surprising appearance still remain. It has
no front door, and can only be accessed through a narrow side alley, but it has
been lengthened since its building, and is now about 30 feet long. The house
stands as an extreme example of the narrow roads and small but expensive
housing that is common in Boston and especially common in the North End. The
last time the house was sold in 2017, it went for $895,000, in large contrast
to its 2000 sale price of $345,000.1 It goes to show that even a ten-foot-wide house
could be a hot commodity in the real estate market of the North End today.&nbsp;


































Regardless of whether the
original builder was a slighted brother or a Tory fighting with his neighbor,
the Skinny or Spite House at 44 Hull street has been a landmark through time,
attracting tourists and visitors to see the spectacle of the narrowest house in
Boston. While it is unknown who built the house originally, the idea that the
house was built out of spite has remained. However, the Skinny House is now
sandwiched on both sides by much larger apartment buildings, so if the
builder’s intention was to block someone else’s light or view, that intention
has not aged as well as the house.

The four-story house at 44 Hull Street in Boston’s North End has earned itself the title of the skinniest house in Boston. Built sometime in the 1870s, it has been renovated and kept up over the years and is still a privately owned home. At only about ten feet at its widest point, it stands out from other North End apartments because of its extremely narrow proportions. Although there is some disagreement as to why the house was built so narrow, many local stories support the idea that is was built as a “spite house”. 


The Boston Skinny House

The Liberty Tree was likely a century old when it became the center of the&nbsp;1765 protest against the Stamp Tax. British officials attempted to remove the effigy, but were dissuaded by the crowd amidst threats of violence. At first, violence was only directed against property as a crowd gathered at this tree decided to visit the office and home of Andrew Oliver. After learning that the mob had completely dissembled the tax office and also destroyed his home, Oliver announced that he would no longer serve as a tax collector.&nbsp; After dissuading Oliver (and just about anyone else) from collecting taxes in Boston, and after several other meetings, someone affixed a sign to the elm bearing the words "The Tree of Liberty." The sign appeared on September 11, 1765 and word soon spread throughout the colonies, inspiring other opponents of the Stamp Act to designate a "Liberty Tree" in their own community.&nbsp; By 1770, the tree had become more than a meeting place and a symbol for the colonists- it had become a symbol of colonial ingratitude in Britain. The tree and its meetings were mentioned frequently in London newspapers, and many remarked that it should be removed as a lesson to the colonists. This is precisely what occurred in 1765 when British troops aided by Loyalists in Boston took their revenge upon the elm tree.&nbsp; Cambridge August 31 – The Enemies to Liberty and America, headed by Tom Gage, lately gave a notable Specimen of their Hatred of the very Name of Liberty. A Party of them, of whom one Job Williams was the Ringleader,&nbsp;a few Days since, repaired to a Tree at the South End of Boston, known by the Name of Liberty Tree, and, armed with Axes, etc. made a furious Attack upon it. After a long Spell of laughing and grinning, sweating, swearing and foaming, with Malice diabolical, they cut down a Tree because it bore the Name of Liberty.- New-England Chronicle1&nbsp;

Near this historic marker stood a large elm tree where residents of Boston held numerous public meetings throughout the mid-18th century. On August 14, 1765, opponents of the Crown's recent taxes affixed threatening messages and hung an effigy of Andrew Oliver, the newly appointed tax collector for the royal government. Those who opposed the Stamp Tax and other British policies increasingly used the tree as the site of their protests. In the years that followed, more colonists began to call for political independence from Britain and they began to refer to this elm as the Liberty Tree. As more meetings and protests were held near this tree, the elm became a symbol of resistance and rebellion. Because the opponents of the Crown referred to the elm as "The Liberty Tree," supporters of the British Crown targeted the tree during the siege of Boston in August, 1775. Loyalists cut the tree down, but the site remained important to the patriot cause and continued to be a site of pro-independence rallies. The location of the former tree is commemorated by a plaque on the side of the building and a bas relief sculpture 

The Liberty Tree

It can be hard to imagine that a simple children’s book has the potential not only to influence Boston’s culture but also to serve as a symbol of improvements in the US-USSR relationship. That’s exactly what Robert McCloskey’s 1941&nbsp;book, Make Way for Ducklings did. The book was inspired by McCloskey’s observations of ducks in the Boston Public Garden as he commuted every day to the Vesper George School of Art. His Caldecott Medal winning book tells the story of a family of ducklings, Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack, who follow their mother into a permanent home in the Boston Public Garden after a lot of wandering around. The book's main message of respectful co-existence between humans and ducks captures McCloskey’s observation that the increasing amount of traffic in Boston caused many problems in the interactions of the two groups.The public reacted very well to McCloskey’s book. &nbsp;It was the&nbsp;winner of the prestigious Caldecott Medal, which awards the most distinguished American children’s book each year. It won this award despite critics such as Alice Fannin, who commented on the book’s "loose plotting" and the absence of an explanation for&nbsp;Mrs. Mallard's leaving of the&nbsp;Lagoon Island.8 &nbsp;These critical commentaries didn’t affect the public's overwhelmingly positive response to the book&nbsp;and in 1987, a statue was erected in the Boston Public Garden’s cobblestones. In 2000, it became the official children’s book of Massachusetts.The book also has a broader public&nbsp;influence.&nbsp;Boston Magazine's&nbsp;Madeline&nbsp;Bilis suggests that the independent and non-submisive&nbsp;Mrs. Mallard has been viewed as&nbsp;<blockquote>"one of the first feminist children’s book characters. Why? Mrs. Mallard is a capable female who completes the single-parented act of transporting her children safely across a busy road."7</blockquote>It also&nbsp;played a role in the January&nbsp;2016&nbsp;Boston Women's March, when the ducks were&nbsp;decorated with pink yarn hats to represent gender equality. The story and statue have become a part of Boston’s culture and the book has been continuously in print&nbsp;since its publication in 1941.The book appeared shortly before the attack on&nbsp;Pearl Harbor and the official declaration of war on Japan. The wartime public cheered the book for its surprising merriness, beautiful, well-detailed illustrations,&nbsp;optimism and comedic value. In the years following the book’s publication, the US and allied forces defeated the opposition, ending with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This catastrophic and tragic time of war, where families were split apart through the draft and many soldiers ended up lost or dead, required a cheery balance for the children living through this. The feminism and independent mother empowerment inherent in the book captured this as many fathers were missing during the time of its publication. However, the need for the ducklings didn’t end with World War II. The ending of this hot war inspired the start of the Cold War, lasting from 1947 to 1991.As Boston radio commentator, Bob Shaffer noted, the Cold War is where the significance of the ducklings shines through. The biggest issue during this time was the nuclear tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. These ducklings represented a resolution of the issue, being a gift to the Soviet Union and a symbol of peace. In 1991, the Cold War ended through the signing of the START Treaty and a replica of the Make Way for Ducklings statue was built in Moscow. The treaty itself limits how many nuclear and intercontinental missiles the two countries could have and shows that they were committed to peace. Furthermore, the signing of the treaty symbolized diplomacy on a personal level. The ducklings captured these symbols as they were being installed in Moscow, and represented how far the US and USSR had gone in terms of international relationships. The gifting of it stemmed from the interactions between the First Lady of the time, Barbara Bush, and Raisa Gorbachev, Mikhail Gorbachev’s wife.<blockquote>"The public art offering came as the two countries signed a major nuclear arms treaty — the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The START I treaty limited how many warheads and intercontinental ballistic missiles the U.S. and the USSR could have."6</blockquote>The gift represented the improving relationship between the two nations through friendship, love, and diplomacy. Because of the innocence of the Make Way for Ducklings statue, especially the replica enjoyed by the children of Moscow, it was able to ease tensions between two nations engaged in war.&nbsp; The Make Way for Ducklings statue, inspired by McCloskey’s book, evolved from being just about ducks and humans to being a symbol of Massachussetts and world peace. McCloskey never had the intention of writing to symbolize the easing of&nbsp;nuclear tensions, but it became such a big part in Boston’s culture and female empowerment that it eventually seeped over into international politics. Overall, this statue, located in the Boston Public Garden’s Cobblestones is still enjoyed by many children but has a history of influence along with numerous symbolic meanings.

Installed in old Boston cobblestones on October 4, 1987, this bronze statue represents Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings from Robert McCloskey’s book, “Make Way for Ducklings.” In addition to being the official Massachusetts state children’s book, Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings have been highly influential in Boston’s culture. While this statue serves as a tourist attraction for young children, it has also played a role in such historical events as easing US-Soviet nuclear tensions as well as many feminist movements. This statue has been affecting the culture of Boston and its people for over 30 years.

Make Way for Ducklings Sculpture

The event of the Boston Tea Party was a very crucial event which kickstarted the Sons of Liberty’s pursuit to help America declare independence from British control. This was a protest against the Tea Act of 1773 which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea from China to the colonies without the need of paying taxes. However, the protest did not have concern about the high taxes, but rather “no taxation without representation” along with the concern of Parliament’s control over the colonies without them having a voice in the matter. Samuel Adams and others in his group began boarding all three vessels that were transporting tea in which they toss every crate overboard over the course of three hours. The men committed property damage up to about 92,000 pounds of money, according to the British East India Company.Parliament quickly took action against the colonies for this heinous act and passed the Intolerable Acts. These pieces of legislation were for the main purpose of making Boston pay for destruction of private property. They also allowed British to retake control of Boston and reorganized colonial government in the colonies. The Boston Tea Party is etched into history as one of the events that led to the war of the American Revolution in the fight for independence. It is remembered through this museum.Visitors can embark on one of the most entertaining and interactive museum experiences. They can meet actors portraying the colonists. Visitors can explore the three ships and dump tea overboard just as the Sons of Liberty did on that fateful night of December 16, 1773. Tourists can read the love letters that John and Abagail Adams wrote to each other in the archives. The museum’s website even has their own blog where they post opinion columns and hypothetical stories involving tea.

The Boston Tea Party and Ships Museum includes virtual exhibits, replica life size ships, and traditional exhibits about the history of the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773. The museum offers an extremely unique experience for visitors as it includes actors who play the role of eighteenth century colonists who take visitors to explore the ships. They also see where in the harbor tea crates were dumped into and visit Abigail’s Tea Room. The museum includes replicas of all 3 ships that sailed from London carrying British East India Company Tea to Boston in 1773: the Beaver, Dartmouth, and Eleanor, all of which were American built and owned. 

The Boston Tea Party & Ships Museum

Established in 1837, the Boston Public Garden is the first
public botanical garden in America. It lies adjacent to the Boston Common
(separated by Charles Street) on land which was once Round Marsh, a tidal
marshland along the bay of the Charles River in Colonial times. The shore was
the site of clam digging, snipe shooting, swimming, fishing, and (in winter)
skating. After the Mill Dam was built in 1821 to provide water power for Boston
factories and mills, the marsh became a malodorous mud flat. In spite of
filling efforts, the land continued to exude an unpleasant smell, and the land
remained vacant until, in 1837, a private association of 17 Boston citizens
proposed to establish a botanical garden on the grounds. The City Council
approved, and the following year the land was officially designated as the
Public Garden; in 1852, the city took over the care of the garden, and seven
years later, after citizen objections prevented the city from selling off the
land, the park was devoted to public use in perpetuity.

True to Victorian park style, the Boston Public Garden was
designed with vibrant colors, patterned arrangements, meandering pathways, a
serpentine lagoon, and exotic plants. George Meacham's design, selected by
public competition, featured new techniques of collection, hybridization, and
plant propagation to produce greenhouse-grown, imported plants and vibrant,
exotic annuals. At first, some Bostonians even complained that the intensely
colorful plants were in poor taste. During the 1860s, the gardens gained an
iron perimeter fence, four fountains, a bridge designed by William G. Preston
crossing the lagoon, and two statues: one of George Washington on horseback by
sculptor Thomas Ball, and the other a marble and granite fountain memorializing
the first use of ether as an anesthetic in 1846 at Massachusetts General
Hospital. The Ether Memorial was designed by Henry Van Brunt, with figures and
bas reliefs by John Quincy Adams Ward. In the 1870s, the first of four bronze
statues on granite pedestals was placed, honoring Charles Sumner, a Boston
statesman and abolitionist. Later, the Sumner statue was joined by a monument
to fellow anti-slavery Boston statesman Wendell Phillips (placed 1915) designed
by Daniel Chester French, Richard E. Brooks' statue of Union colonel Thomas Cass
(placed 1899), and Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson's statue of Polish general Tadeusz
Kosciuszko (placed 1927), who served George Washington as an aide during the
American Revolution. In 1877, shipbuilder Robert Paget, inspired by Wagner's
opera Lohengrin, designed and launched the foot-propelled paddle Swan Boats
which have become the centerpiece of the Boston Garden's lagoon. Although Paget
died the following year at the age of forty-two, his widow, Julia Paget, took
up management of the Swan Boat enterprise over the objections of male business
owners, and the fourth generation of Pagets continues to operate the boats
today. The original Swan Boats could carry eight passengers; the current six boats
can carry up to twenty and date from 1918-1956. Among the famous passengers who
have taken Swan Boat rides are Shirley Temple, Judy Collins, Calvin Coolidge,
and John F. Kennedy.

Though many of the Garden's oldest trees were removed to accommodate
an incline entrance to the Boston subway in 1897 and a forty-foot wide strip of
the Garden was destroyed yet again when the entrance was removed to Boylston
Street in 1914, the park endured. In 1904, a Japanese antique dealer donated an
iron Japanese lantern to the Garden, a statue was erected to author and
historian Edward Everett Hale in 1913, and a fountain monument to Boston
philanthropist George Robert White was erected in 1924. After World War II,
Boston's parks, including the Garden, gradually became neglected. By the 1960s,
the fountains no longer worked, the bridge was unsafe, the fencing was in
disrepair, the trees suffered from disease, and its maintenance staff and
equipment reduced. The civic non-profit Friends of the Public Garden was formed
in 1970 to address such issues in both the Garden and the adjoining Boston
Common. First, however, the group had to fight an urban renewal plan proposing
to, literally, overshadow the garden with six million square feet of
skyscrapers. The attention garnered by their winning battle against the Park
Plaza proposal led to successful restoration of the fencing, vegetation,
fountains and sculptures, and infrastructure of the Garden. In 1987, Nancy
Schön's bronze figures of the Duckling Sculpture, based on Robert McCloskey's
1941 children's book, Make Way for
Ducklings, were placed in the park at the corner of Beacon and Charles
Streets. A grimmer addition to the statuary of the Garden is the 9/11 Memorial
Garden of Remembrance designed by Victor Walker in 2004.

Today, the park continues to feature Swan Boat rides in the lagoon, seasonal
floral displays, tropical displays, rose beds and topiary, greenhouses with
over 80 species of plants, and over 100 varieties of trees, including a Dawn
redwood from ancient seeds discovered in China. Hour-long public tours are offered twice daily, May - September, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am and 4 pm.

Historic Marker
Inscriptions:

Monument to Ether

To commemorate the discovery that the inhaling of ether causes insensibility to pain. First proved to the world at the Mass. General Hospital in Boston October. A.D MDCCCXLVI / This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts which is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working / Isaiah / In gratitude for the relief of human suffering by the inhaling of ether a citizen of Boston has erected this monument A.D. MDCCCLXVII. / The gift of Thomas Lee /&nbsp; Neither shall there be any more pain Rev. / Erected 1867. 

Robert McCloskey

This sculpture has been placed here as a tribute to Robert McCloskey whose story Make Way for Ducklings' has made the Boston Public Garden familiar to children throughout the world / 1987

Established in 1837, the Boston Public Garden is the first public botanical garden in America. It lies adjacent to the Boston Common (separated by Charles Street) on land which was once Round Marsh, a tidal marshland along the bay of the Charles River in Colonial times. Today, the park features a number of statues and fountains, Swan Boat rides in the lagoon, seasonal floral displays, tropical displays, rose beds and topiary, greenhouses with over 80 species of plants, and over 100 varieties of trees, including a Dawn redwood from ancient seeds discovered in China. Hour-long public tours are offered twice daily, May - September, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am and 4 pm.

Boston Public Garden

<div>Exhibits and Programs The Boston Children’s Museum is the second-oldest children’s museum in the world and provides hands on experiences, education, and engaging exhibits for children and families.&nbsp; The museums exhibitions and programs focus on science, culture, the environment, health and fitness, and the arts. The museum’s interactive exhibits include Art Studio, Arthur and Friends, Boston Black, Countdown to Kindergarten, Investigate, Johnny’s Workbench, Kidstage, Our Green Trail, Playspace, Broken? Fix it!, Bubbles, Construction Zone, Healthyville, Japanese House, Japanese House Gallery, Kid Power, Native Voices, New Balance Climb, Peep’s world, Raceways, The Common (an exhibit that uses brain building activities to build gross motor skills), and The Gallery, which displays various local artists’ works. Museum exhibits
focus on science, culture, environmental awareness, health and fitness, and
the arts, and offers programs
and activities that address literacy, performing arts, science and math,
 visual
arts, cultures, and health and wellness. In addition, it is one of the 
only children's museums in the world to maintain a collection, with over
 50,000 items. The museum also provides learning resources, museum 
consulting services, and contributes to research on childhood 
development. A Brief History The Boston Children’s Museum was founded in 1913 by the Science Teacher’s Bureau and&nbsp; opened at Pine Bank in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Despite coal shortages during World War I, the museum remained open and offered special lectures on days when schools and libraries were closed due to lack of heating. By the 1930s, it had outgrown its original building and moved to the Mitton House. It once again became a refuge for children during the Second World War, while fathers served in the military and mothers worked in factories to support the war effort. In 1964, the museum opened the world’s first hands-on exhibit, known as “What’s Inside," and began educational outreach to local schools. Two years later, the City of Boston gave a Japanese tea house to the museum, which continues to be used to teach children about daily life in Japan. The museum created the fist exhibit for children under five, known as “Playspace,” in 1978, the year before moving its facilities to their present location at Museum Wharf. In 2007, it became the first LEED certified museum in Boston after an extensive renovation. The Collections Beginning with a donation of rocks and minerals the year of the museums founding, the Boston Children's Museum earliest collections included rare
objects from the Philippines, Japanese miniatures, artifacts from
the Passamaquoddy Indians, and a preserved and mounted baby elephant. The museum now holds over 50,000 objects in its collection. The Ancient Collection includes objects from the Middle
East, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Central America, and South America, including mummy masks, a Cuneiform tablet, Roman glass, and Peruvian textiles. The artifacts of the Americana Collection range from 1750 to today, and focus on the diversity of the American experience. The Dolls and Dollhouses Collection includes folk dolls from around the world, play dolls from as early as the 1700s, historic paper dolls, and 25 dollhouses including two replicas of the Paul Revere House.The General Cultural or Humanities Collection focuses on
world and historical cultures of Africa, Asia, the Arctic, Europe, Central and
South America, the Middle East and Oceania, particularly objects relating to
the lives of children, such as educational materials, dolls, toys, games, and
clothing. The Japanese Collection similarly features objects related to the lives of children in Japan, and is centered around the largest artifact in the collection: an authentic Japanese house donated to the museum by the city of Kyoto in 1980.The Natural History Collection is comprised of approximately
5000 botanical, entomological, geological, zoological and ornithological
specimens including birds, butterflies, giant shells, and small
mammals. The
Museum’s Native American Collection is considered one of the finest collections
of Native artifacts,&nbsp; from the Eastern Woodland tribes, ranging from pre-contact
archaeological materials to present-day Native art focused on cultural identity. The Victorian Era Play (1837-1901) Collection features children's toys and games including dollhouses, toy trains and soldiers, and paper cutout games. Historic and world children's clothing is represented in the museum's Clothing Collection. </div>

The Boston Children’s Museum is the 2nd oldest children’s museum in the world and provides hands on experiences, education, and engaging exhibits for children and families.  The museums exhibitions and programs focus on science, culture, the environment, health and fitness, and the arts. The museum’s interactive exhibits include Art Studio, Arthur and Friends, Boston Black, Countdown to Kindergarten, Investigate, Johnny’s Workbench, Kidstage, Our Green Trail, Playspace, Broken? Fix it!, Bubbles, Construction Zone, Healthyville, Japanese House, Japanese House Gallery, Kid Power, New Balance Climb, Peep’s world, Raceways, The Common (an exhibit that uses brain building activities to build gross motor skills), and The Gallery, which displays various local artists’ works.

Boston Children's Museum 

In 1794 the construction of six frigates (warships) was authorized under the Naval Armament Act. The USS Constitution was originally constructed in 1797 by Edmund Hartt, a master carpenter who owned a shipyard in Boston Harbor. The ship and her crew were engaged in their first battle just one year after the ship was completed. The Constitution saw action during trade conflicts with France and Britain during the early final years of the 18th century and the first decade of the 1800s.&nbsp;The Constitution engaged in three epic&nbsp;battles during the War of 1812 and&nbsp;defeated four British vessels: the HMS Guerriere, the HMS Java, the HMS Cyane and the HMS Levant. The ship earned the nickname “Old Ironsides” when a cannonball appeared to bounce off the side of the ship, causing a sailor to exclaim “Huzza! Her sides are made of iron!”&nbsp;After the War of 1812, the USS Constitution guarded American ports and accompanied American commercial vessels. From May 1844 to September 1846, the Constitution made international news by sailing around the globe under the leadership of&nbsp;Captain John “Mad Jack” Percival. During this extended mission aimed at demonstrating the growing strength of the US Navy, the Constitution&nbsp;traveled a total of 52,370.50 miles. After its long journey, the ship docked in Boston for repairs before sailing out to the Mediterranean Sea. Old Ironsides returned to New York three years later for more repairs.&nbsp;In 1853, the ship sailed across the Atlantic to serve as part of the African Squadron. Under the command of Commodore Isaac Mayo, the USS Constitution searched for slave traders operating in defiance of the United States' ban on international slave trade.&nbsp;During this mission, the Constitution pursued and captured several slave trading vessels, including the&nbsp;H.N. Gambrill. &nbsp;Several years later, Old Ironsides was refitted at Portsmouth, NH. The aging ship served as a training vessel for Union sailors in the American Civil War. Shortly after the war, naval leaders decided to preserve the historic vessel. From that time forward, the Constitution has been in a&nbsp;constant state of restoration and used as a floating museum of naval history. &nbsp;Information about the USS Constitution Museum&nbsp;The ship and the adjacent land-based museum preserves and shares the history of the USS Constitution. The museum's mission is to&nbsp;&nbsp;function as the “memory and educational voice” for the ship and the men who served as crew members. The museum was established in 1972 as a private nonprofit institution. In addition to visiting the ship, the museum is open daily and offers exhibits just across the pier. 

In the late twentieth century, the museum grew from giving tours of the ship to operating exhibits in two neighboring buildings. At&nbsp;the turn of the century, the USS Constitution Museum completed construction of its current exhibit space&nbsp;and research library.&nbsp; More Recently, the USS Constitution Museum opened the exhibit,&nbsp;All Hands On Deck: A Sailor’s Life in 1812, which incorporates the whole family and engages a variety of knowledge levels, ages, and styles of learning through interactive activities. Labeled as “groundbreaking,” this format is seen as the model for the future of family learning exhibits. This devotion to exemplary education has won many awards for the Museum. Some of its more current recognition include the 2003 National Award for Museum and Library Service, the 2010 Excellence in Exhibition Label Writing Award, the 2011 Leadership in History Award of Merit, and the 2011 Muse Award for Online Presence.<div>The museum also offers educational programs for instructors as well as an&nbsp;online game entitled&nbsp;A&nbsp;Sailor’s Life for Me&nbsp;that offers the opportunity to learn about naval history from the perspective of the officers and men who served aboard the Constitution and other sailing vessels.&nbsp;</div>

Launched in Boston in 1797, the USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship still afloat. The ship earned her nickname "Old Ironsides" during the War of 1812 when she engaged the British frigate HMS Guerriere. During this historic battle, crew members exclaimed that the Guerriere's cannonballs appeared to bounce off their ship's hull. When one of the crew declared that it seemed as if the Constitution's sides were made of iron, the ship's nickname and its aura of invincibility was born. The durability of Constitution is attributed to a three-layer wooden sandwich of live oak and white oak from all across America. The ship’s copper fastenings were constructed by Paul Revere.

The USS Constitution Museum offers the public a chance to step into history and examine the USS Constitution's storied past. Digital programs and interactive exhibits offer visitors the chance to see how the Ship fit into a historical context. The Museum is innovative and resolute in their efforts to create an enjoyable and educational environment for people of all ages. Each morning at 8AM, 50 visitors can witness a live ceremony including the firing of the ship's cannon. 

USS Constitution and Museum 

The current site of
the Trinity Church is the third building constructed for its congregation.&nbsp; The church was originally founded in 1728. It
took six years to secure funding to build the first church structure, and the initial
cornerstone was finally laid in 1734.&nbsp; The
first church was located at the corner of Summer Street
and Bishop Alley (now Hawley Street).&nbsp; 

The second site,
located in Downtown Crossing, was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1872, which further
led to the need for a new building.&nbsp;
The congregation had already started making plans for the third church. The
far grander Trinity Church on Clarendon Street, built in the very fashionable
Back Bay neighborhood, was completed in 1877. 

The current structure was designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson (commonly referred to as “H.H. Richardson”).&nbsp; The design was inspired by the 11th
century French Romanesque churches, but with Richardson’s style; hence, the
term “Richardsonian Romanesque” is often used to describe the structure’s
architecture. The design for the church was not his first masterpiece.&nbsp; However, it was the one that won him a
national reputation, many imitators, and so many New England commissions that it
became desirable for him to move his family from New York City to the Boston
area in 1874.&nbsp; 

Richardson’s design for the church consisted of an unusual Greek
cross plan, with chancel, nave, and transepts of equal size surrounding a
central square.&nbsp; The roof of the center
square rises 211 feet into the air, forming the eminent tower.&nbsp; The interior of the church has a Black walnut
finish.&nbsp; The vestibule is beautifully
completed with ash and oak.&nbsp; 

The building is not only significant for its architecture, but
also for the great amount of artwork within the walls.&nbsp; Murals line almost every square inch of wall
space in the interior of the church. &nbsp;Beautiful stain glass windows adorn the
structure.&nbsp; The murals and windows of the
Church were conceived by artist John LaFarge.&nbsp;
LaFarge was a watercolor painter and stained-glass artist who trained in
Paris under Thomas Couture. He was commissioned in 1876 to design the interior
of Trinity Church. LaFarge’s work was much admired and he was later commission
for several more important projects, including: St. Thomas’s Church, New York
(1878) and the Church of the Ascension, New York (1888). A photo gallery of the
church’s historic architecture and windows can be viewed on the church’s website
(<a href="http://www.trinitychurchboston.org/art-and-architecture" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.trinitychurchboston.org/art-and-architecture</a>).

The Church is open to the public for prayers and tours on Sunday
afternoons from 12:15 – 4:30 p.m. and Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m.
– 4:30 p.m.&nbsp; According to the City of Boston’s Assessing Department, the
church and the acre of land it is situated on are currently worth over $126
million.&nbsp;

The Trinity Church was originally founded in 1728, after determining that the two other Episcopalian churches in the City couldn’t take in any new parishioners.   The current church was completed in 1877.  Its architecture is nationally acclaimed for its unique “Richardsonian Romanesque” design.  The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.  

Trinity Church

On June 17, 1775, General William Howe led nearly 2,000 to the shores of the Charlestown Peninsula to begin one of the first offensive attacks on colonial forces of the formal American Revolutionary War. Days before, leaders of the colonial army learned that British were sending troops to occupy hills surrounding Boston which would effectively give them full control of Boston Harbor. As the British lined up in stark formation, they assaulted two colonial positions which resulted in some casualties for the British Army. Despite the colonial army putting up a fight, they were running low on ammunition quickly and were forced to retreat. The British forces took control over the land, but suffered the most deaths to their forces out of the conflict. The British forces lost 800 men in the war while the colonial army lost only 100 men.George Washington was given notice of the battle in a report during a visit to New York City and the report showed the many casualties on the British side despite his forces losing. Washington was filled with hope that this meant the conflict could turn over to his side’s favor in the long run. The Massachusetts Committee of Safety sent a report of the battle to England, but it did not reach the country. An official account arrived on July 20 to England leaders and the report caused friction between the Tories and Whigs with the high number of troops dead worrying the British. This only hardened King George’s disapproval against the colonies.The Bunker Hill Monument was one of the first ones constructed in the nation. There were two other memorials at the site of the monument that were dedicated to Dr. Joseph Warren and Col. William Prescott, who both were deemed heroes of Bunker Hill. Prescott is the one to have coined the phrase:<blockquote>”Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” ~Col. William Prescott</blockquote>The monument is not located on the actual Bunker Hill, but it is instead located on Breed’s Hill, where most of the conflict took place at. William Ticknor, a Boston lawyer, first suggested the monument while meeting a few men for breakfast at Col. Thomas Perkin’s home. It was completed and constructed between 1825 and 1843 made out of granite. The total number of steps leading to the very top is 294.

The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, during the years of the Revolutionary War. British forces defeated the Americans during battle, but despite this loss, the Revolutionary Army was able to inflict significant casualties on the British side. The battle demonstrated the potential of the newly-formed colonial army. Though the conflict is commonly called the Battle of Bunker Hill, most of the fighting occurred at Breed’s Hill outside Boston. 

Bunker Hill Monument

Harriet Tubman,&nbsp; born as a slave in 1820 in Dorchester County, Maryland became a symbol for women and human rights in the fight for Civil Rights in the United States. She is most remembered for her appearance at the opening of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896 in Washington, D.C. where Tubman was the oldest member of this association.1Her name at birth was Araminta “Minty” Ross. Tubman fled slavery in 1849 and made it her mission to help others. Tubman believed it was her faith that guided her through life and gave her the courage to save so many slaves. Tubman became one of the most active members of the Underground Railroad, rescuing over 300 slaves.2 Furthermore, in just a short lapse of ten years, Tubman made 19 trips into the South.Tubman's passion for helping others started in her earliest years fo life. When she was in her early teens, she blocked a doorway to protect another fellow slave from a furious master. After the master discovered Tubman blocking his passage, he threw a two-pound weight which hit Tubman in the head. Sadly, she never fully recovered from the head trauma. She suffered from various side effects from the trauma, including hallucinations and sleeping spells which lasted through her entire life.1

Harriet Tubman married her husband, John Tubman, a free laborer at the estate where she was enslaved, in 1844. Five years later, Tubman managed to escape slavery with the help of a white woman. After various days of struggle, she finally made it to Philadelphia, where she found work and managed to save&nbsp;up some money. Tubman, then returned to Maryland in 1857 to rescue her sister and her sister’s children from slavery.3 When she went back to the South to save her brothers, she sadly found that her husband had found another wife.Nevertheless, Tubman became more motivated to rescue more slaves and make the Underground Railroad a success. In 1856, Tubman became a wanted woman for her reputation as a leading woman of the Underground Railroad. The reward for finding her was 40,000 dollars.4

At the end of the Civil War, Tubman nursed the sick and wounded Black soldiers and Union soldiers in Florida and the Carolinas for three years after the end of the war. After she completed her work&nbsp;taking care of wounded soldiers, she moved to Auburn, New York, to help Blacks pave their way to freedom and a good life. She financed herself by selling copies of her biography as well as giving speeches throughout the United States. She is most remembered for her appearance at the opening of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896 in Washington, D.C. Tubman was the oldest member of this association.3&nbsp;Tubman never lived in Boston, but she had ties to many abolitionist friends who lived there.&nbsp;Fern Cunningham created the statue in 1999, and its installation was marked by a citywide celebration.&nbsp;The whole park that it is located in is dedicated to Tubman. Fern Cunningham wanted the statue to capture Tubman’s unique spirit.4Boston proudly commemorates both the Union and women with this statue. On the reverse side of the monument is a vertical slab that tracks the route that Tubman took when accompanying passengers on the Underground Railroad. There is also a quote from Tubman on the memorial that reads,&nbsp; "There are two things I've got a right to, and these are death or liberty. One or another I mean to have. No one will take me back alive.”4

The next quote on the slab belongs to Frederick Douglass, who as well as Tubman, was a runaway slave. Frederick wrote an autobiography in the early 1800s about the cruelty and abuse he faced as a slave. He became another significant icon in the abolitionist movement. The quote from Douglass reads, “The midnight sky and the silent stars have been the witnesses of [Tubman's] devotion to freedom and of [her] heroism.”3

Nonetheless, the last quote in this memorial belongs to Sarah Bradford, the author of the first Tubman biography. Bradford also included various stories of Douglass into the biography in order to provide the book with more of a purpose than just the narration of life struggles of Tubman and instead made it more of an advocacy piece. Bradford’s quote reads, “She expected deliverance when she prayed unless the Lord had ordered otherwise.” 

The creator of the monument, Fern Cunningham,&nbsp;included these phrases because she made it her mission to ensure that the Black experience had a powerful presence in the city of Boston. Cunningham, a colored woman herself, who studied at Boston University and who sought more recognition for the Black community's past and impact in Boston.2 The memorial was standing powerfully as a symbol for the liberated and not just the liberator as well as representing strong women leaders who have shaped the history of Boston, and the United States.

Harriet Tubman was a runaway slave, born in 1820. During the Civil War, she was one of the leading abolitionists in the Underground Railroad, saving more than 300 slaves. Originally from Maryland, she moved to Auburn, New York after the war where she published her biography and aided newly freed slaves in beginning their lives. The statue depicts Tubman with a bible in her left hand leading freed slaves. It is located in the South End of Boston and was created in 1999 by Fern Cunningham, a graduate from Boston University. Boston proudly commemorates both the Union and women with this statue. On the reverse side of the monument is a vertical slab that tracks the route that Tubman took when accompanying passengers on the Underground Railroad.

Harriet Tubman Memorial

The British had took
control of Boston during the Great War for Empire against the French. When the
British succeeded they began different taxing Acts that the Parliament imposed
on the colonist, to pay the Parliament for the British soldiers to be there and
also forcing colonists to house the soldiers. These events was frowned upon by
the colonist and aided in opening the eyes of the reason for the Revolutionary
War. &nbsp;

In
1775 the Continental Congress was facing a dilemma near Boston Ma, the British
was utilizing Boston’s coast as a point of entrance into North America. The
Congress also had needed to appoint a new commanding general to lead their
militia. Colonists’ was not willing to except such a position. They appointed a
new Commanding General for the Continental Army who was a former British negotiator
from Virginia, named George Washington. Washington was the same man the British
had sent to negotiate with the French to leave Fort Duquesne during the Seven
Year War in 1754. Washington was unsuccessful during that time, but would be
the one who led North America citizens to independence.&nbsp;

One
of his first commanding missions that Washington endured was to go to Boston
and contain the British and to try to&nbsp;keep them from bringing in more soldiers.&nbsp;Henry Knox, was commanded by
Washington to go to Fort Ticonderoga in Lake Champlain, NY and
retrieve the fifty nine cannons and haul them to Boston. The distance the men
had to bring the cannons was around three-hundred miles of rough as well as a&nbsp;snowy terrain.

Once the cannons arrived, Washington had fired
some of the cannons at different times of&nbsp;the day and night, while quietly arranging the rest of the cannons
along the hilltops of Dorchester Heights in two days’ time. He aimed them down toward
the camps of the British. The British Commander, Major General William Howe had
planned an attack against Washington and his army. Upon awakening one morning&nbsp;Howe had noticed he was surrounded by cannons,&nbsp;as it had seem to him as to have happened overnight, he was compelled by such efforts.&nbsp;Stormy weather, had also prevented him from landing other British ships on
the coast of Massachusetts, to perform any retaliation. These actions had
convinced Major General Howe to relocate to Nova Scotia, to adjust his&nbsp;attack strategies.&nbsp;

By
utilizing the strength of cannons to the highest point of Dorchester Heights, along with stormy weather conditions, Washington had discomforted Howe's decisions on attacking at that time.The removal of
the British from Boston had however, raised the morale of the Continental Army,
in order to continue fighting for their freedom. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Dorchester Heights was one of the first posts for George Washington in a battle in January of 1776. Washington had commanded Henry Knox to lead the mission of delivering fifty nine cannons to Boston from Fort Ticonderoga in New York. Which would have not been possible without the French men Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, whom captured the Fort Ticonderoga from the British and American rebels in May of 1775. The sight was utilized by Washington in order to contain the British, and raised interest of the Continental Congress to move forward against the British. Today, it is enclosed in a Historical National Park.

Dorchester Heights in Thomas Park

The 1767 Milestones were ordered to be placed starting in July of 1767 by the British Lords of Trade and Plantations and were placed in accordance with a survey done by a “Captain Miller” under the oversight of the British colonial government.&nbsp;&nbsp;The first of the stones had been placed previous to the official ordering of the milestones by Chief Justice Paul Dudley, the American-born son of the Colonial Governor Joseph Dudley who was also well known for his service as Attorney General of Massachusetts. The Milestones have been documented numerous times throughout the history of the United States, being included in the 1941 report by the Works Progress Administration and the 1960 preservations efforts of the Massachusetts Legislature Public Works Act.&nbsp;While there were once ninety-nine stones, not all stones have been located or preserved.&nbsp;&nbsp;However, as of the creation of the National Register of Historic Places nomination in 1971, at least forty milestones had been located, photographed, and preserved (either by creating a monument on-site or by the relocation of the stone.)One of the most iconic of the milestones is known as the Wait Guide Stone.&nbsp;&nbsp;This stone bears an engraving which reads:“This stone is erected by John Wait, Esq. of Brookfield for the benefit of travel here.”&nbsp;Additionally, the stone is marked with the year 1763, making it one of the earliest stones to predate the official milestone project.&nbsp;&nbsp;The milestones themselves serve as visitor destinations in their own right, but they also add context to the historically rich region of Massachusetts within which they rest.

The 1767 Milestones are a series of granite and sandstone milestones that span the length of the Old Post Road from Boston, Massachusetts to Springfield, Massachusetts.  Their purpose was to guide early colonial postal workers in their deliveries of packages from Boston to farms, plantations, and estates along the road and back. The Milestones are cherished as a vital snapshot of the development of Early American transportation, and many of the stones have been restored or memorialized along the route.

"Parting Ways" Stone; 1767 Milestones

Established not long after the settlement of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Boston Latin School was inspired by the grammar schools of England. The Puritans emphasized rigorous studies of language, literature, and religion to prepare students intellectually, morally, and spiritually for their futures. Originally, the school was open to all boys of all social classes and funded by donations. Philemon Pormort served as the school’s first headmaster. The purpose of the school was to prepare boys for university.The location of the school has changed five times but has remained at the current site since 1922. As funds allow, the school builds on to and improves the building. Former students have created monuments for Franklin as well as a civil war monument, which was the first in Boston. In 1963, the Boston School Committee approved requiring entrance tests. Before 1963, entrance examinations were not required. Students were admitted by earlier grades. The school once enacted at 35% minority policy, the school later removed the policy to make sure entrance was based on the best entrance exam scores.The school did not become co-educational until 1972 when Congress passed Title XI, which mandated equal education for both sexes. However, the first girl to attend occurred a century earlier. Helen Magill White was an exception; she was allowed to attend because her father was the school’s sub master. She graduated from the school in 1877 then went on to become the first woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D.&nbsp;The school sets high standards and serves as a model for other schools due to its success. U.S. News &amp; World Report magazine reported the school under the "gold medal" list, ranking 51 out of the top 100 high schools in the United States for 2016. It is known that the school sends more students to Harvard than any other high school. While the school is known for ranking high for testing scores, the school also has many competitive sports teams, including sailing, cross-country, baseball, football, and soccer.The school is known for having many famous attendees. The most well-known attendee is Benjamin Franklin, who attended before he decided to drop out of school completely. Pupils have gone on to do amazing things, including signing the Declaration of Independence and being president of Harvard University. The school’s graduates have gone on to be Senators, Pulitzer Prize winners, and other prominent members of society. As the school has grown and changed, the goals to produce students prepared to be successful in college studies has remained the same.

Boston Latin School is the first and oldest public school in the United States. It was established on April 23, 1635 by the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. When Boston Latin School opened, the goal was to provide boys with a free, quality education. With studies focusing on language, literature, writing, and religion, students who graduated from Boston Latin School would be prepared to go to the most prestigious universities, particularly Harvard University. The school has remained in operation since its founding, today a prestigious six-year preparatory school. 

Boston possibilities

The Freedom Trail Visitor's Center

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Additional Information