Boston National Historical Park [MA]

Description

The Boston National Historical Park interprets the pre- and early Revolutionary War history of the Boston area, as well as U.S. Navy history. Many of the sites at which rangers conduct programs are located along the Freedom Trail, which possesses a separate entry in this directory. Collections include more than 70,000 photographs and negatives, 13,000 architectural drawings, and shipyard records.

Between mid-April and November, the park offers 90-minute tours of the downtown portion of Boston's Freedom Trail. Lectures are offered at Faneuil Hall and the Bunker Hill Monument. Tours are offered of the World War II and Cold War destroyer, the USS Cassin Young. The park also offers a Freedom Trail slide show, exhibits, a 10 minute Naval Yard introductory video, Junior Ranger activities, 13 educational programs for students with pre-visit materials, and teacher workshops. The website offers a virtual tour of the USS Cassin Young, videos of Navy Yard structures which are not publicly accessible, suggested reading lists for students and teachers, and Web Ranger activities. The USS Cassin Young is not wheelchair accessible.

Freedom Trail Foundation

Image
Detail, home page
Annotation

Dedicated in 1958 and now host to thousands of tourists annually, Boston's Freedom Trail links together 16 historic sites from the Revolutionary War era on a 2.5-mile red brick walking trail. This website provides a virtual tour of these sites and other resources devoted to visiting and teaching about the Freedom Trail.

Users may want to begin by downloading the detailed map of the Freedom Trail, and then, with that in hand, visiting the website's "Visit the Freedom Trail" section, which provides images and descriptions of the Trail's 16 sites, including the Boston Common, King's Chapel, Old South Meeting House, and the Old North Church, the oldest standing church building in Boston, and where church sexton Robert Newman hung two lanterns on April 18, 1775, to signal the advance of the British up the Charles River. Additional biographical information is provided for 30 18th-century citizens from all walks of life affected by the events of the Revolutionary War in Boston.

Educators may be interested in the website's teaching materials, including articles on teaching aspects of the Revolutionary era, as well as information on visiting the Trail with students and booking in-school history education programs geared towards students in the upper elementary grades.