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A
sprinkling of places to explore various facets of Massachusetts
history
Boston
Boston African American National Historic Site
http://www.afroammuseum.org/;
Telephone: 617-725 0022; Transport: Park Street subway station
on the Red Line.
The Museum of Afro-American History is dedicated
to preserving, conserving and accurately interpreting the contributions
of African Americans in New England from the colonial period through
the 19th century.
The
Commonwealth Museum and State Archives
220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125
(617) 727-9268
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mus/museum/index.htm
Collection related to Massachusetts history,
George Washington, the Civil War, and the archaeology of the Big
Dig in Boston. The museum offers field trips for school groups
and workshops for teachers.
Faneuil
Hall & Quincy Market
http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/
National Park Service Rangers offer historical
talks every half hour in Fanueil Hall (except when the hall is
closed for city sponsored events). For more information call (617)
242-5675.
Freedom
Trail
Free. http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/;
Transport: Park Street subway station on the Red Line. Printable
map: http://www.iboston.org/pap/freedom.htm.
Free tours of the Freedom Trail from the Boston
National Historic Park Visitor Center, 15 State Street, 617-242-5642.
You can take a ferry from Long Wharf to the Charlestown Navy Yard
instead of walking. See http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/boats/lines/?route=F4.
The
Old North Church
http://www.oldnorth.com/
It was from the steeple of the Old North Church that the two lanterns
closely associated with Paul Revere were hung by Robert Newman,
Church sexton, on April 18, 1775, igniting the War for Independence
and leading to the birth of our Nation.
Paul
Revere House
http://www.paulreverehouse.org/;
Telephone: 617-523-2338; Transport: Green Line to Haymarket station;
on the Freedom Trail in Boston's North End, follow the signs and
the red line on the sidewalks. Ten minutes from Faneuil Hall /
Quincy Market.
On the night of April 18, 1775, silversmith Paul
Revere left his small wooden home in Boston's North End and set
out on a journey that would make him into a legend. Today that
home is still standing at 19 North Square and has become a national
historic landmark. It is downtown Boston's oldest building and
one of the few remaining from an early era in the history of colonial
America.
Public
Garden
Free; http://www.friendsofthepublicgarden.org/;
Transport: Green Line to Arlington station.
The beauty of the Boston Public Garden lies in the Lagoon, Swan
Boats, sculpture, fountains, flower beds, and its notable trees.
Swan
Boats
http://www.swanboats.com/;
Telephone: 617-522-1966; Transport: Arlington Street subway station
on the Green Line. Open April - September. The
Swan Boats driver paddles passengers around the Public Garden
Lagoon for a 15 minute peaceful cruise.
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Museum
of Fine Arts
http://www.mfa.org/;
Telephone: 617-267-9300; Transport: Museum of Fine Arts stop on
the Green Line "E" train.
The new Art of the Americas wing showcases art of the ancient
Americas and Native American art from the prehistoric era to the
present, as well as early American art produced primarily in New
England and the Northeast. Visitors can also see five period rooms
from Oak Hill, a circa 1800-01 mansion featuring the work of the
Salem architect and carver Samuel McIntire.
Cambridge
Longfellow National Historic Site
http://www.nps.gov/long/;
Telephone: 617-876-4491. Transport: Harvard stop on the Red Line
or #77 bus from Arlington.
Longfellow National Historic Site preserves the
home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of the world’s foremost
19th century poets. The house also served as headquarters for
General George Washington during the Siege of Boston, July 1775
- April 1776. In addition to its rich history, the site offers
unique opportunities to explore the themes of 19th century literature
and the arts.
Mount
Auburn Cemetery
http://www.mountauburn.org/;
Telephone: 617-547-7105 Transport: Watertown Square or Waverley
Square bus (#71 or #73). Get off on Mount Auburn Street at Aberdeen
Avenue. Cross Mount Auburn Street to the Entrance Gate.
Mount Auburn Cemetery has been designated a National
Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior, recognizing
it as one of the country's most significant cultural landscapes.
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Concord
The Concord Museum
http://www.concordmuseum.org/;
Telephone: 978-369-9763
Concord,
Massachusetts is a community rich in historical association, renowned
as the site of the battle that began the American Revolution and
as the home of the most original thinkers and writers of the American
literary renaissance. The Concord Museum is the one place where
all of Concord's remarkable past is brought to life - Algonkians,
Puritans, Revolutionaries, Loyalists, Farmers, Silversmiths, Transcendentalists,
Cabinetmakers, Anti-Slavery Activists, Mill-Workers. Free parking.
200 Lexington Road, Concord, MA.
The
Old Manse
http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/346_old_manse.cfm;
Telephone: 978-369-3909.
"Between two tall gateposts of roughhewn stone
. . . we behold the gray front of the old parsonage, terminating
the vista of an avenue of black ash trees." So begins Mosses
from an Old Manse, the set of short stories Nathaniel Hawthorne
wrote while living at The Old Manse. The
landscape Hawthorne describes is still recognizable to a present-day
visitor more than 160 years later.
Old
North Bridge
http://www.nps.gov/mima/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm
Site of “the shot heard ‘round the world.”
Orchard
House
http://www.louisamayalcott.org/;
Telephone: 978-369-4118.
The historic home of the extraordinary Alcott family,
where Louisa May Alcott
wrote and set Little Women!
Sleepy
Hollow Cemetery
Free. http://www.concordnet.org/Pages/ConcordMA_Cemetery/sleepy;
Telephone: 978- 318-3233.
Perched on the top-most glacial hill in the cemetery,
Authors Ridge gathers together, among others, the graves of Henry
Thoreau (1862), Nathaniel Hawthorne (1864), Ralph Waldo Emerson
(1882), Louisa May Alcott (1888) and her father, Bronson Alcott
(1888). Each is buried in a family plot and marked with modest
stones.
Walden
Pond State Reservation
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/wldn.htm;
Telephone: 978 369-3254.
Henry David Thoreau lived at Walden Pond from July 1845 to September
1847. His experience at Walden provided the material for the book
Walden, which is credited with helping to inspire awareness and
respect for the natural environment.
The Wayside
http://www.nps.gov/archive/mima/wayside/index1.htm
The Wayside is the only National Historic Landmark
lived in by three literary families. Their home and works span
more than three centuries.
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Deerfield
Historic Deerfield http://www.historic-deerfield.org/
Situated on a 330-year-old, mile long street, Historic
Deerfield preserves and interprets the architecture, artifacts
and lifestyle of a prosperous early New England town.
Harvard
Fruitlands Museum
http://www.fruitlands.org/
One of the first outdoor museums in America, at
Fruitlands visitors discover the stories, experiments and ideals
of the Alcotts, Shakers, utopians, artists and Native peoples.
Fruitlands four galleries, singular collections, over 200 pastoral
acres, trails and vistas stir the imagination.
Lexington
Battle Green
Free.http://www.battleroad.org/sites.html
The first skirmish of the American Revolution took
place here at dawn on April 19, 1775.
Minute
Man National Historic Park Visitor Center
Free. http://www.nps.gov/mima/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm;
Telephone: 978-369-6993.
Watch
the acclaimed program, "The Road to Revolution," a 26-minute
multi-media presentation detailing the events of April 18-19,
1775, shown daily every half hour, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Obtain
park newspaper and brochure and continue your explorations.
National
Heritage Museum
Free. http://www.nationalheritagemuseum.org/;
Telephone: 781-861-6559.
A visit to the National Heritage Museum is truly
an experience in the American spirit. Our exhibitions tell thrilling
stories of patriotism, adventure, invention, community and dissent—all
aspects of how we as a people have worked, and played, struggled
and achieved. And because our exhibitions change regularly, you
always experience something new.
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Lowell
American Textile History Museum http://www.athm.org/
The American Textile History Museum tells America's
story through the art, history, and science of our textiles.
Lowell
National Historic Park http://www.nps.gov/lowe/planyourvisit/things2do.htm
With Lowell National Historical Park situated in
the midst of downtown Lowell, the offerings available through
the park blend with the many cultural sites and historic scenes
throughout the city.
New
Bedford
New Bedford Whaling Museum
http://www.whalingmuseum.org/
The New Bedford Whaling Museum is the largest museum
in America devoted to the history of the American whaling industry
and its greatest port. Through exhibits, publications, and programs,
the Museum brings to life the whaling era and the history of the
local area. It houses the most extensive collection of art, artifacts,
and manuscripts pertaining to American whaling in the age of sail
- late eighteenth century to the early twentieth, when sailing
ships dominated merchant trade and whaling.
Pittsfield
Hancock Shaker Village
http://www.hancockshakervillage.org/
The Shakers called this community "The City
of Peace." Although you will find Hancock Shaker Village
a welcome retreat from today's hectic pace, this name belies the
level of activity at this living museum. Set
your watch back a century or two and see the Village come to life
through vibrant programs, tours, exhibitions and hands-on activities.
Talk with artisans on a tour focused on Shaker daily life. Learn
about the heritage breeds of animals that roam the pastures and
the heirloom crops in the gardens. Learn to sing "Simple
Gifts." Your children can even take a lesson with a Shaker
schoolteacher (costumed staff). Or just soak up the beauty of
Shaker architecture.
Plymouth
Plimoth Plantation & the Mayflower II
http://www.plimoth.org/
Plimoth Plantation is Plymouth as
it was in the 17th century: it is a centuries-old Wampanoag homesite,
a welcoming bench covered in furs, bluefish roasting slowly over
an bed of hot coals, and a man dressed in traditional deerskin
clothing. It is townspeople speaking the poetic language of Shakespeare's
England, the sharp smell of gunpowder during a military drill,
the sound of laughter around a glowing hearth and the salty breeze
blowing across a wooden ship's deck. These and many other unique
living history experiences can be yours when you visit Plimoth
Plantation.
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Salem
Salem
Heritage Trail
Phone: 508-744-0004
This self-guided 1.7 mile walking tour, replete
with red sidewalk guide lines, highlights Salem's important and
historic contribution to American history. Sites include: House
of the Seven Gables, the Peabody
Essex Museum, the Salem
Maritime National Historic Site, the Salem
Witch Museum, Stephen
Phillips Memorial Trust House, Witch
Dungeon Museum, the Witch
House. Begin at the National Park Visitors Center at 2 Liberty
Street across from the Museum Place garage.
Sturbridge
Old Sturbridge Village
http://www.osv.org/
In the years 1790 to 1840 a new nation took
shape. In rural towns across New England, ordinary people worked
to better their lives, build strong communities, apply new technologies,
and define the meaning of democracy. Learn their story at Old
Sturbridge Village as you journey into the past.
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Explore
local history
For instance, Arlington, MA is the birthplace of
Uncle Sam, the location of the first public children's library,
and the site of most of the fighting when the British marched
through it returning from the Old North Bridge at the start of
the Revolutionary War. Arlington has preserved many of its historical
buildings and even recreated its town common. Sites of interest
include:
• Cyrus Dallin Museum in the
Jefferson Cutter House http://www.dallin.org/
• Uncle Sam monument (corner Mass. Ave and Mystic
St.)
• Jason Russell House, http://www.arlingtonhistorical.org/house/index.php;
The Jason Russell House was the site of the bloodiest
fighting during the first day of the Revolutionary War, April
19, 1775. Today it and the adjoining Smith Museum hold collections
of the Arlington Historical Society. Open 1 PM to 5 PM Saturday
and Sunday.
• Old Schwamb Mill, 17 Mill Lane at
29 Lowell St., http://www.oldschwambmill.org/main.html.
Open Saturdays from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. 781-643-0554. Visitors
can tour the mill buildings and see the manufacture of high-quality
oval and circular picture frames using original tools and processes.
What
can you find out about the history of your town or city? Where
is the oldest house? What does the town or city flag look like?
When was your town or city founded? How did your town or city
get its name?
The
Massachusetts
Study Project has useful teaching tools for local history:
http://www.msp.umb.edu/LocHistoryTemplates/
http://www.msp.umb.edu/texts/lc0.html
Search
for local history sites here: http://www.msp.umb.edu/texts/lc31.html
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The
information on this website does not constitute legal advice;
it is provided for informational purposes only.
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