Boston’s Freedom Trail: Revolutionary America in a 2.5-mile trek
Boston has gained its reputation as a walking city because all its historic places can be visited and viewed through a 90-minute walk. It’s all because of one journalist’s vision that visitors to the Revolutionary War city can now experience the Freedom Trail.
The Freedom Trail is the first historic passage to help visitors to this New England town experience Colonial Revolutionary Boston first hand. A two-and-a-half mile path offers tourists a true sense of history through the remains and witnesses of the past. The 16 historical sites along the trail are interconnected by red bricks or painted lines that lead the way. The trail also allows visitors to experience the passage of time in Boston as certain structures along the trail evolve into more modern styles.
Thanks to the vision of local Herald Traveler editor and columnist Bill Schofield back in the middle of the 20th century, the Freedom Trail was first founded in 1958, and a foundation formed in 1964, with the goal of preserving the historic value of the trail.
The first information center opened in 1966 at Boston Common – the country’s oldest public park – and is where the Freedom Trail begins. The center offers free maps and brochures with complete information about the various sites along the trail. The Freedom Trail was included in the newly established Boston National Historical Park in 1974 as formally designated by the National Park Service.
Among the most prominent historical sites along the Freedom Trail: Boston Common; Massachusetts State House; Granary Burying Ground; King’s Chapel; Benjamin Franklin statue; the state’s old government house; the site of the Boston Massacre; Paul Revere’s home; the Old North Church; Copp’s Hill Burying Ground; the monument to the Battle of Bunker Hill; and “Old Ironsides,” the U.S.S. Constitution.
A “Walk Into History” tour featuring an authentically costumed 18th Century guide is available most weekdays during midday hours, weather permitting. These 90-minute tours are designed for individuals, groups, corporate team building and schools. A two-hour self-guided digital narrative is also available. Check the Freedom Trail Foundation web site for additional details.
- by Jim Brown , Boston Reporter for HelloMetro
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Jim Brown Jim Brown is a longtime freelance aviation, travel and destination writer and communications professional. A former reporter for Aviation Daily, Air Safety Week and World Airline News, Jim served for more than 15 years as a senior public relations executive for American Airlines, TWA and AirTran Airways.
