American history.
My son’s trip to Boston to check out prep schools coincided nicely with his history studies in intermediate school where he is in the middle of colonial and revolutionary American times, so at his teacher’s suggestion we took the Freedom Trail tour over the weekend to better soak up the history abundantly on display in downtown Boston.
The Trail covers over a dozen historical sites and is led by a guide dressed in period costume.
The Trail map.
Here is Winston, suitably bundled up, on Boston Common, ready to start the tour:
Bundled up and ready to go.
A goodly amount of time is spent at the Granary Burying Ground, named for the 12,000-bushel grain storage building that was once next door, which is the last resting place of Peter Faneuil, Paul Revere, John Hancock and Samuel Adams amongst others.
Wealthy individuals like Peter Faneuil enjoy large tombs.
Our tour guide is dressed in period slave costume.
Paul Revere’s tomb.
Sam Adams not only signed the Declaration of Independence, he also brewed beer, made to this day.
The picture on the beer bottle label is of Paul Revere.
The Boston Latin School. There is no spire as funds ran out!
Dating from 1635, it’s the oldest public school in America.
Five signers of the Declaration of Independence attended Boston Latin:
Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Robert Treat Paine, and William Hooper.
The old State House. Built in 1713 to house the colony’s government,
the Old State House was at the center of civic events that sparked the American Revolution.
The Boston Massacre took place right outside.
Another tour guide in period costume.
We enjoyed beautiful weather on the tour.
Built in 1729, Old South Meeting House was not a church,
but rather a meeting house for the Puritans to worship.
It was in this House that the momentous decision was
made to dump British tea in the harbor, rather than pay taxes.
A poster advertising the Trail.
The trail wends through many small alleyways.
This old bookshop typifies the setting.
Sign designating the original location of the Old Meeting House.
Faneuil Hall. Often referred to as “the home of free speech” and
the “Cradle of Liberty,” Faneuil Hall hosted America’s first Town Meeting.
All snapped by Winston and dad on iPhone6 cameras.