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The Freedom Trail



The Freedom Trail, a pedestrian trail that links important local landmarks covering approximately three miles, was conceived in 1950 by journalist William G. Schofield. In his book Freedom by the Bay: The Boston Freedom Trail, Schofield explains that it was best "to link the sites in numbered sequence along a clearly marked and charted trail, so that a visitor might follow the route from end to end."[1]

Our first goal in Boston: Sites & History, is to follow the Freedom Trail and learn about these different landmarks. The Freedom Trail is marked in red, mostly brick, and begins in the Boston Common at the Visitor Information Center in Tremont St. close to the Park Street MBTA subway station.


The Boston Common is the first public park in the United States and the oldest public park in the world.[2] New York's Central Park, for example, was not envisioned until 1853.[3]

In 1630, a group of Puritans decided to migrate from England to the New World and chose Mr. John Winthrop, a wealthy lawyer, as their leader. Running into some problems at their first settlement, Winthrop quickly set out on a quest for drinkable water and suitable land to settle.

When Winthrop saw the three hills, Mt. Vernon, Beacon hill, and Pemberton hill, from the river, he probably thought that he had found the promised land and could move the failed colony from Weymouth to the small peninsula named Shawmut by the Algonquin Native Americans who lived there originally.[4] However, the promised land was already in use by an Anglican minister, the Reverend William Blaxton. The Reverend had been living in the area for a few years. Eventually, in 1634, Winthrop acquired from Blaxton fifty acres for the price of thirty pounds sterling, to set aside as a park and for feeding cattle, and the small peninsula named Shawmut would become Boston.

Today, the Boston Common is no longer used for feeding cattle, but it is still a park where Bostonians enjoy diverse activities such as reading, flying kites, walking, playing tennis, softball, or spending the day with family and friends. The Boston Common also functions as an outdoor theater for the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company which organizes “Shakespeare on the Common.”

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[1] William G. Schofield, Freedom by the Bay: The Boston Freedom Trail (Boston: Branden Publishing Company, 1988), back cover text.
[2] Walter H. Kelley, What They Never Told You About Boston (Or What They Did That Were Lies) (Montpelier: Capital City Press, 1993), 21.
[3] Commissioners' Plan of 1811, 8 April 2013 at 23:09 U.T.C. In Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. Encyclopedia on-line. Available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commissioners%27_Plan_of_1811 -->
[4]  There were two other hills which the settlers later called Copp’s Hill and Fort Hill. How Boston Lost its Hills, Posted on by
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