The Freedom Trail
Yet another stop my boyfriend and I made this summer was Boston, Massachusetts. Knowing we only had one day in Boston, we went to visit the Freedom Trail. We were able to park pretty near our starting point near the visitor center by the U.S.S. Constitution. After seeing the big ol' ship, we started heading toward the Bunker Hill Monument.
On the Freedom Trail
Although some of the 16 main sites on the Freedom Trail are spread out, it is easy to navigate to each by following the red bricks in the sidewalk which mark the trail. Periodically there are signs as well. I also followed along on Google Maps on my phone.
We navigated to the bunker Hill Monument. It's cool on the outside, but even neater from the inside. You can climb stairs all the way to the top. Yes, there are nearly 300 stairs you must go up to get to the top. Yes, it is a little bit tiring. I thought it was worth it though. You can see a lot of Boston from the top of this thing. It is a bit tight going up the stairs, as well as a bit stuffy. I wouldn't recommend it for people who are claustrophobic.
After Bunker Hill, we had to walk a while to get to the next parts of the Freedom Trail. This required us to cross a bridge of the Charles River, which I thought was neat.
Burial Ground
The first place to see after crossing the river is the Copp's Hill Burying Ground. For some reason, I kind of loved this place and the other burial ground on the freedom trail. Copp's Hill has been around since 1659, so it has all these really old graves. Many of the graves you can still read.
It may be macabre, but to me it was a trip to the past. Often times, people forget that what they learn in history class actually happened and these people really existed. It's a historic site that is physical evidence of the beginning of our country. Some of these people have been buried here for 350 years.
Historical Sites
Moving on, we saw the Old North Church. This is the place where Paul Revere had lanterns lit to signal to the colonists that the British were nearing their doorsteps during the Revolutionary War. This church is also the oldest church in Boston that is still intact. It's actually still a functioning congregation as well.
Nearby is also the Paul Revere House, which I think we might have missed somehow.
We headed to the more central area of the Freedom Trail that includes the biggest concentration of the sites.
The Old State House was one of these sites. A lot of discussion and debate leading up to the Revolution happened here. Right outside of this building is the Boston Massacre site. I was slightly disappointed that all that commemorates the Boston Massacre is this circle on the ground. At least it's a nice circle?
Anyway, we saw a couple more sites in passing, including the Old South Meeting House and the Old City Hall.
More Burial Grounds!
Then we got to the Granary Burying Ground-- which was pretty interesting in my opinion. It's another old burial ground. This once includes some very notable Americans. Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams are all here. Some of Ben Franklin's family is here too, including his parents.
End of the Day
That was the last main place that we saw on the Freedom Trail. We saw the current state building too, as well as hung out in Boston Common for a little while. Since we had to walk all the way back to the car yet, we didn't have time to do much else. I must also say that we missed a couple spots on the Freedom Trail. Somehow we just walked past them or something. We also didn't go to the Boston Tea Party area. Another area to see is the nearby Black Heritage Trail.
If you're a history buff, the Freedom Trail is a must. The great thing about this area is that even people who aren't into history can enjoy it. Get out there if you can!
On the Freedom Trail
Although some of the 16 main sites on the Freedom Trail are spread out, it is easy to navigate to each by following the red bricks in the sidewalk which mark the trail. Periodically there are signs as well. I also followed along on Google Maps on my phone.We navigated to the bunker Hill Monument. It's cool on the outside, but even neater from the inside. You can climb stairs all the way to the top. Yes, there are nearly 300 stairs you must go up to get to the top. Yes, it is a little bit tiring. I thought it was worth it though. You can see a lot of Boston from the top of this thing. It is a bit tight going up the stairs, as well as a bit stuffy. I wouldn't recommend it for people who are claustrophobic.
 |
| View from the top of Bunker Hill Monument |
After Bunker Hill, we had to walk a while to get to the next parts of the Freedom Trail. This required us to cross a bridge of the Charles River, which I thought was neat.
Burial Ground
The first place to see after crossing the river is the Copp's Hill Burying Ground. For some reason, I kind of loved this place and the other burial ground on the freedom trail. Copp's Hill has been around since 1659, so it has all these really old graves. Many of the graves you can still read.
It may be macabre, but to me it was a trip to the past. Often times, people forget that what they learn in history class actually happened and these people really existed. It's a historic site that is physical evidence of the beginning of our country. Some of these people have been buried here for 350 years.
 |
| Old North Church |
Historical Sites
Moving on, we saw the Old North Church. This is the place where Paul Revere had lanterns lit to signal to the colonists that the British were nearing their doorsteps during the Revolutionary War. This church is also the oldest church in Boston that is still intact. It's actually still a functioning congregation as well.
Nearby is also the Paul Revere House, which I think we might have missed somehow.
We headed to the more central area of the Freedom Trail that includes the biggest concentration of the sites.
The Old State House was one of these sites. A lot of discussion and debate leading up to the Revolution happened here. Right outside of this building is the Boston Massacre site. I was slightly disappointed that all that commemorates the Boston Massacre is this circle on the ground. At least it's a nice circle?Anyway, we saw a couple more sites in passing, including the Old South Meeting House and the Old City Hall.
More Burial Grounds!
Then we got to the Granary Burying Ground-- which was pretty interesting in my opinion. It's another old burial ground. This once includes some very notable Americans. Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams are all here. Some of Ben Franklin's family is here too, including his parents.
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| John Hancock |
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| Sam Adams |
That was the last main place that we saw on the Freedom Trail. We saw the current state building too, as well as hung out in Boston Common for a little while. Since we had to walk all the way back to the car yet, we didn't have time to do much else. I must also say that we missed a couple spots on the Freedom Trail. Somehow we just walked past them or something. We also didn't go to the Boston Tea Party area. Another area to see is the nearby Black Heritage Trail.
If you're a history buff, the Freedom Trail is a must. The great thing about this area is that even people who aren't into history can enjoy it. Get out there if you can!
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