New England Vacation - The Freedom Trail, part 1

The Freedom Trail, part 1

Tuesday, October 14

I've broken this day into three pages since there are so many photos and I don't want to make you have to wait much longer than you already have for each page to load. I've also spaced apart the descriptions on these pages to better describe each photo here.

We hopped on a subway not far from where we camped and rode to the Boston Commons--smack dab in the middle of downtown Boston. This monument is located there.

As we began walking the Freedom Trail, our next stop was an historical graveyard. It was fascinating to learn that after the invention of lawnmowers, many tombstones had been arranged in rows so the mowers could move easily between the graves. Though they are somewhat in the general vicinity, today the tombstones bear little resemblance to the actual arrangement of the graves. This tomb marks the grave of Benjamin Franklin's parents.

The highlight of this graveyard tour--Paul Revere's grave. On the right is the original tombstone. On the left is a monument erected later.

John Hancock, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, is also buried in this graveyard.

The tombstone on the left marks the grave of the five victims of the Boston Massacre, Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, James Caldwell, Crispus Attucks, and Patrick Carr. On the right is Samuel Adams' grave, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Governor of the Boston Commonwealth.

As we left the graveyard, one of the next things we saw was the old city hall on School Street. I thought the architecture was neat.

As we walked into the foyer of the old city hall, this image was on the wall. It reads:

Boston Public Latin School. At the corner of this site stood the first public school in America. Built in 1635, the school gave the street it's name. In 1636, a subscription was raised for a free schoolmaster. In 1645, the town also stipulated that "Indians are to be taught gratis."
Welcome to Boston's Old City Hall. The Boston Public Latin School stood on the north side of School Street from 1635 to 1749, at which point it was relocated to the opposite side, where it remained until 1844. The Boston Public Latin School is now located in Roxbury and is the oldest educational institution in the country. The Public Latin School provided free education to such notable figures in American history as John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Charles Bulfinch, and Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) who was born in Boston and attended school on this site before pursuing a distinguished career as an author, inventor, polititian, and statesman.

The Freedom Trail, part 2

[Where It All Began]
[On the Road] [East Coast Ahead] [Philly]
[Color At Last] [The Kancamagus Highway]
[The Wild Moose Chase] [Oh Canada]
[Go East Young Man]
[...and a Cruise Ship in a Foggy Sea]
[Whale Woes] [L.L. Bean At Last]
[The Lights to Boston] [The Freedom Trail, part 1]
[The Freedom Trail, part 2] [The Freedom Trail, part 3]
[Rock Around Plymouth Rock / Caught by Cape Cod]
[The Last Stop] [Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow]

	We hopped on a subway not far from where we camped and rode to the Boston Commons--smack dab in the middle of downtown Boston. This monument is located there.
	As we began walking the Freedom Trail, our next stop was an historical graveyard. It was fascinating to learn that after the invention of lawnmowers, many tombstones had been arranged in rows so the mowers could move easily between the graves. Though they are somewhat in the general vicinity, today the tombstones bear little resemblance to the actual arrangement of the graves. This tomb marks the grave of Benjamin Franklin's parents.
	The highlight of this graveyard tour--Paul Revere's grave. On the right is the original tombstone. On the left is a monument erected later.
	John Hancock, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, is also buried in this graveyard.
	The tombstone on the left marks the grave of the five victims of the Boston Massacre, Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, James Caldwell, Crispus Attucks, and Patrick Carr. On the right is Samuel Adams' grave, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Governor of the Boston Commonwealth.
	As we left the graveyard, one of the next things we saw was the old city hall on School Street. I thought the architecture was neat.
	As we walked into the foyer of the old city hall, this image was on the wall. It reads: Boston Public Latin School. At the corner of this site stood the first public school in America. Built in 1635, the school gave the street it's name. In 1636, a subscription was raised for a free schoolmaster. In 1645, the town also stipulated that "Indians are to be taught gratis." Welcome to Boston's Old City Hall. The Boston Public Latin School stood on the north side of School Street from 1635 to 1749, at which point it was relocated to the opposite side, where it remained until 1844. The Boston Public Latin School is now located in Roxbury and is the oldest educational institution in the country. The Public Latin School provided free education to such notable figures in American history as John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Charles Bulfinch, and Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) who was born in Boston and attended school on this site before pursuing a distinguished career as an author, inventor, polititian, and statesman. The Freedom Trail, part 2