Boston Freedom Trail – September 2022

Boston Freedom Trail – September 2022

by Kim · Published September 9, 2022 · Updated July 17, 2024

Boston Freedom Trail – September 2022

The first weekend in Massachusetts was Labor Day weekend so we had extra time for sightseeing. We spent Saturday and Sunday in Boston walking the Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail is a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution and beyond.

This is our home for September. It was built in 1830. Our space is in the back. It is musty, creaky and very charming! It is in Arlington, MA, just 15 minutes from Boston.

This is Mystic River and it flows just across the street from the home we are staying in. It's a nice walk along the river.

Dale shoots some video of the Duck Pond in the Boston Commons Park, the oldest public park in the U.S.

Established in 1660, some of America's most notable citizens rest here. Named for the 12,000-bushel grain storage building that was once next door, the historic burying ground has approximately 2,300 markers.

A marker for Paul Revere's grave.

Founded in 1686 as Boston’s first Anglican church, King’s Chapel is home to over 330 years of history. The 1754 granite building still stands on the church’s original site.

Dale and I stayed in this hotel, the Omni Parker House, several years ago. It is where Parker House rolls and Boston Cream Pie was "invented". It's old and has very small rooms! Or at least our room was small.

Boston’s oldest English burying ground.

Dale and I ate our Chiptole lunch under the watchful eye of Ben Franklin in this courtyard outside of the Old City Hall.

The Old South Meeting House is where the Boston Tea Party began! This hall rang with words from Puritan sermons, public meetings, and the tea tax debates.

Dale and I ate lunch at the Chipotle that is located in the Old Corner Bookstore which was constructed in 1718. It is downtown Boston’s oldest commercial building and was home to the 19th-century publishing giant Ticknor and Fields, producer of many venerable American titles including Thoreau’s Walden, Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Longfellow's Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, and the Atlantic Monthly including Ward Howe's Battle Hymn of the Republic.

The circle on the ground is where “The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street, Boston, March 5, 1770." The event was used by patriots to rally other colonists to their cause against British rule.

This unique brick path is called the Freedom Trail. It leads you from the Boston Commons to the USS Constitution. You get to see many unique sites and cover a lot of ground. We really enjoy it.

This poor guy, named James Otis (1725-1783) became "unhinged" by a hit on the head. He went into a "mad freak" in 1770 and broke many of the windows in the Old State House. He was killed by a bolt of lightning. Quite a life!

This is room in the Old State House was used by King George's political leaders.

The silver tankard was created by Paul Revere. He was a silversmith by trade.

Through Massacre, Revolution, and fire, the Old State House stands as the oldest surviving public building in Boston. Built in 1713, the building served as the center of civic, political, and business life. The "Boston Massacre" occurred in front this building.

A view of Paul Revere and Old North Church. A pretty good photo if I say so myself!

There were local tour guides in costume.

A typical Boston North End street.

North Church is the location from which the famous "One if by land, two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent. This phrase is related to Paul Revere's midnight ride of April 18, 1775, which preceded the Battles of Lexington and Concord during the American Revolution.

At the end of a long day of walking we rested at Langone Park on the Charles River. We headed home after this.

Across the river is the USS Constitution. We won't visit it until the following day.

The Charles River flows between Boston and Charlestown.

At the end of our first day in Boston we enjoyed a treat at a coffee shop in the North End.

I thought this was a neat shot.

Paul Revere's house was built in 1680 and wasn't purchased by the Revere Family until 1770. It is the oldest house in downtown Boston.

Yes, he is. One of the gravestones in the Copps Hill Burial Ground which was founded on February 20, 1659.

Lunch in the North End of Boston also known as Little Italy. It was delish!

The Bunker Hill Monument is erected at the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill which was among the first major battles between the Red Coats and Patriots in the American Revolutionary War.

The ship was launched in 1797, one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794. The name "Constitution" was among ten names submitted to President George Washington by Secretary of War Timothy Pickering in March of 1795 for the frigates that were to be constructed.

USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is a three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She is the world's oldest ship still afloat.

One of cannons on the deck of the Constitution.

The view of Boston from the deck of the Constitution.

Sleeping arrangements for the crew of the Constitution.

The captain had substantially better quarters than the crew!

The bulkheads were lined with cannons.

We caught the ferry back across the Charles River to the Boston wharf. It was much better than retracing our entire walk from our car.

A view of the Boston waterfront from the ferry.

Gotta have some clam chowdah! We shared a bowl before heading home Sunday evening. The waterfront was busy!

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