| |
Boston National Historical Park (NHP), established in 1974, is an association
of sites that together provide a coherent view of the City’s role
in U.S. history, with emphasis on the period leading up to and including
the Revolutionary War. As stated in the Park’s brochure, "each
site brings to life the American ideals of freedom of speech, religion,
government and self-determination." The major elements of the Boston
NHP are the Freedom Trail, the Charlestown Navy Yard and the Bunker Hill
Monument. The latter two sites, and the Dorchester Heights Monument in South
Boston, are the only three Park sites actually owned by the federal government.
Either the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the City of Boston or private
entities own the other sites. The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile walking tour
that connects 16 historic sites in downtown Boston and neighboring Charlestown.
These sites include some of the most significant in early American history
such as the Paul Revere House, the Old North Church, the Old State House,
Copp’s Hill Burial Ground, the Old South Meeting House, Faneuil Hall,
the Massachusetts State House and the Boston Common.
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.
|
|