Boston History Resource Guide: National Parks

"Located in the heart of Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood, the site includes 15 pre-Civil War structures relating to the history of Boston's 19th century African-American community, including: the African Meeting House, the oldest standing African-American church in the United States. The sites are linked by the 1.6 mile (2.5 km) Black Heritage Trail®. Augustus Saint-Gaudens', memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the African-American Massachusetts 54th Regiment, stands on the trail."

The first schoolhouse in America built to educate Black school children.

The oldest standing Black church.

Home of a abolitionist, and state legislator who lived at 86 Pinckney Street in the 1860s and 1870s.

"Boston Harbor Islands national park area includes 34 islands situated within the Greater Boston shoreline." For in-depth information, see the official Harbor website which provides activities, maps, and ferry schedules.

"Boston National Historical Park is an association of sites that together give the visitor a coherent view of the city's role in the nation's history." It includes Old South Meeting House, Old State House, Faneuil Hall, the Paul Revere House and Old North Church, and more. "Seven of the eight privately, municipally and federally owned and managed historic sites that comprise Boston National Historical Park are connected by the Freedom Trail," a 2.5-mile walking tour of 16 sites.

The Bunker Hill Monument is made of granite and stands 221 feet tall. It is located on the summit of Breed's Hill, where the first major battle of the American Revolution was fought on June 17, 1775.

Part of Boston National Historic Park, this market building was first built in 1742 and resides at the site of the old town dock. Town meetings were held here between 1764 and 1774 and included speeches by Samuel Adams and others protesting against the British taxes on the colonies. The building was enlarged in 1806. Further history of the building can be found at Celebrate Boston website.

"Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) is recognized as the founder of American landscape architecture and the nation’s foremost parkmaker." Park resources include the “Fairsted” historic landscape and a century-old design office, providing nearly 1,000,000 design records, such as the U. S. Capitol and White House Grounds; Great Smoky Mountains and Acadia National Parks; Yosemite Valley; New York's Central Parks; New York's Central Park; and park systems in cities such as Seattle and Boston.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site is the birthplace in 1917 and boyhood home of the 35th President of the United States. The modest house at 83 Beals Street in Brookline was the first home shared by the president's father and mother, Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. It is open to visitors Wednesday through Sunday.

Lewis Hayden (1815-1859), an escaped Kentucky slave, settled in Boston with his wife Harriet in 1849, and their home is the most well-known of Boston's Underground Railroad stations. The Hayden House is located in the Boston African American National Historic Site which includes 15 pre-Civil War buildings relating to the history of Boston's 19th century African American community.

The Longfellow House is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and for almost half a century (1837-1882) this was the home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow House is also significant in America's colonial history. General George Washington planned the Siege of Boston here between July, 1775 and April, 1776. Choose "In-Depth" in the right-hand column to access a virtual tour of various rooms and explore the museum collections, including photos and manuscripts.