Freedom Trail

The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) walking path through Boston, Massachusetts that links 16 nationally significant historic sites, each connected to the story of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States. Originally conceptualized in the 1950s, the trail's red brick line snakes through some of the oldest parts of the city, navigating visitors to significant historic sites in the Downtown, North End, and Charlestown neighborhoods. Preserved and dedicated by the citizens of Boston in 1951, the Freedom Trail is a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and historic markers — and today it attracts over 4 million people annually to visit Boston's precious 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century sites. The trail is one of the most visited heritage tourism destinations in the United States and is responsible for generating over $1 billion in annual spending, helping create jobs in hospitality, tourism, and education fields.

Origins and History

The Freedom Trail was conceived by journalist William Schofield in 1951, who suggested building a pedestrian trail to link important landmarks. Boston mayor John Hynes decided to put Schofield's idea into action. Schofield had noticed that visitors eager to immerse themselves in the city's historic past were having trouble finding the landmarks they were looking for, and he proposed linking the most important sites in a numbered sequence along a clearly marked trail that could be walked from end to end.

The original idea for the Freedom Trail also drew support from Bob Winn, a member of the Old North Church, both of whom noticed the need for a clearer and more concise wayfinding tool for tourists visiting Boston's historic sites. The City of Boston installed "a series of painted signs along 30 prominent street corners" pointing toward the city's most famous historical shrines. In its original form, the Freedom Trail was measured at a mile and a fifth long, beginning at Boston Common and ending in the North End, with no red line on the ground — only a system of signs marking the path.

By 1953, 40,000 people were walking the trail annually. In 1958, the red line was added, and in 1972, the trail officially extended into Charlestown, incorporating all 16 of the present-day official Freedom Trail historic sites. Established in 1964, the Freedom Trail Foundation was the successor to the Freedom Trail Committee, a group formed in 1958 by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Advertising Club of Greater Boston to initially market the Freedom Trail.

In 1974, the National Park Service established Boston National Historical Park "to preserve for the benefit and inspiration of the people of the United States as a national historical park certain historic structures and properties of outstanding national significance located in Boston, Massachusetts, and associated with the American Revolution and the founding and growth of the United States." Seven of the eight sites included in this urban park are connected by the Freedom Trail.

Route and Landmarks

The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile-long path through Boston that passes by 16 locations significant to the history of the United States. It winds from Boston Common in downtown Boston to the Old North Church in the North End and the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Stops along the trail include simple explanatory ground markers, graveyards, notable churches and buildings, and a historic naval frigate. Most of the sites are free or suggest donations, although the Old South Meeting House, the Old State House, and the Paul Revere House charge admission.

The 16 official sites along the trail, generally running south to north, are:

• Boston Common — 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 European settler of the area, Anglican minister William Blackstone.
• Massachusetts State House — Designed by architect Charles Bulfinch, the Massachusetts State House was completed in 1798 and stands on Beacon Hill, overlooking Boston Common.
• Park Street Church — Founded in 1809 at the corner of Park and Tremont Streets atop the site of Boston's town grain storage building, the church's 217-foot steeple, designed by Peter Banner, was once the first landmark travelers saw when approaching Boston.
• Granary Burying Ground — At this historic burying ground, visitors will find the graves of Paul Revere; Benjamin Franklin's parents; victims of the Boston Massacre; and Declaration of Independence signers John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Robert Treat Paine.
• King's Chapel — King's Chapel was founded in 1686 as New England's first Anglican Church. Originally a wooden chapel, the existing stone structure was completed in 1754. Following the American Revolution, the church became Unitarian and remains an active Unitarian church today.
• Site of the First Public School (Boston Latin School) — Boston Latin School, founded on April 23, 1635, is the oldest public school in America, offering free education to boys — rich or poor — while girls attended private schools at home.
• Old Corner Bookstore — Constructed in 1718, the Old Corner Bookstore is downtown Boston's oldest commercial building and was home to the 19th-century publishing giant Ticknor and Fields.
• Old South Meeting House — The hall where fiery debates over British taxation took place and from which the Boston Tea Party was launched in December 1773.
• Old State House — 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.
• Boston Massacre Site — On March 5, 1770, after months of tensions due to occupation and taxation, Bostonians and Redcoats clashed in the streets of Boston. Five civilians — Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray, James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick, and Patrick Carr — were killed by gunfire, leading to the rallying of Bostonians against the Crown and the evacuation of troops from Boston.
• Faneuil Hall — A marketplace and meeting hall that served as a key gathering place for colonial debates and protest.
• Paul Revere House — Built around 1680, the Paul Revere House, owned by the legendary patriot from 1770 to 1800, is the oldest remaining structure in downtown Boston and the only official Freedom Trail historic site that is a home.
• Old North Church — Built in 1723, the Old North Church had an important role in the midnight ride of Paul Revere. It is most famous for hanging two lanterns from the steeple on the night of April 18, 1775. Paul Revere asked church sexton Robert Newman to use a light signal in the steeple to warn the Patriots about the British: one lantern meant the British were coming by land, and two lanterns meant they were coming by water.
• Copp's Hill Burying Ground — At Copp's Hill Burying Ground, visitors find the resting places of Cotton Mather and Increase Mather, two key figures in the Salem Witch Trials, and Edmund Hartt, who built the USS Constitution.
• USS Constitution — A historic 18th-century warship still berthed in Charlestown Navy Yard; the only official Freedom Trail site accessible by water.
• Bunker Hill Monument — The Bunker Hill Monument marks the site of the first major battle of the Revolutionary War.

Governance and Administration

The Freedom Trail is overseen by the City of Boston's Freedom Trail Commission and is supported in part by grants from various non-profit organizations and foundations, private philanthropy, and Boston National Historical Park. The Freedom Trail Foundation, the primary non-profit steward of the trail, handles marketing, education, and preservation fundraising. The Foundation is dedicated to marketing, promoting, and helping to preserve the Freedom Trail through varied tourist services and activities, educational programs, and marketing and public relations efforts. The Foundation's Preservation Fund helps support preservation, rehabilitation, and capital projects for official Freedom Trail historic sites to help avoid or mitigate adverse effects of the elements and manmade wear and tear on Boston's historic buildings.

The National Park Service operates a visitor center on the first floor of Faneuil Hall, where staff offer tours, provide free maps of the Freedom Trail and other historic sites, and sell books about Boston and United States history. The National Parks of Boston have also developed a free Freedom Trail Audio Tour for visitors, available online and through the NPS App.

Visiting the Trail

The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile experience that visitors can follow independently using the red pavement markings around the city, or they may join one of the selections of guided tours, which last around an hour and a half. Some choose to walk the entire trail end to end, while others select a handful of sites of particular interest and focus on those. Visits can be as short as a few hours, though those who wish to enter every historic site and explore what each has to offer can spend a full weekend along the Freedom Trail.

All Freedom Trail tours led by 18th-century costumed guides are excellent for families, school field trips, corporate team building, and convention activities, and can be customized to fit a group's schedule, available year round. Sixty-minute tours begin at the Visitor Center at historic Faneuil Hall and cover the heart of the trail from the Old South Meeting House to the Old North Church, departing at regular intervals in the spring, summer, and fall, weather permitting.

Overall the Freedom Trail follows a route along wide city sidewalks that feature curb cuts. Crossings at stoplights feature both visual and audible crosswalk signals. There are several portions of the trail, however, that traverse stairs. The MBTA's Green and Blue Lines provide convenient access to multiple points along the route.

Historical Significance and Criticism

The Freedom Trail takes visitors through sixteen sites in the city that were of importance before and during the American Revolution against British rule in the 18th century. Boston is known as "the birthplace of the American Revolution," mainly because it was the location of numerous historic events that ignited the War of Independence. Boston was also the capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, the home of the colonial government, and the center of trade and commerce of the colony.

The Freedom Trail contains many American firsts: Boston Common is America's oldest public park, the Old State House is the oldest surviving public building, and Bunker Hill Monument marks the site of the first major battle of the Revolutionary War. Paul Revere's house in downtown Boston is the oldest still-standing building in the city, and the Old North Church is America's oldest still-standing church.

The trail itself does not necessarily tell a linear narrative. Rather, it aids tourists with a starting point — an opening sampler of Boston's storied, complicated, and multi-faceted history. Some observers have noted the tendency of the Freedom Trail's narrative frame to omit certain historical locations, such as the sites of the Boston Tea Party and the Liberty Tree. The Black Heritage Trail, which intersects the Freedom Trail near the Massachusetts State House, offers a complementary perspective on Boston's African American history during the 18th and 19th centuries that the Freedom Trail does not fully address on its own.