Considered the birthplace of the American Revolution, the city of Boston played a major role in the way America was shaped. Boston is the birthplace of one of our famous founding fathers, Samuel Adams and the site of not only the Boston Tea Party but also Paul Revere’s famous ride. Book a stay at our nearby Cape Cod resorts (Thousand Trails Gateway to Cape Cod or Old Chatham Road Campground); Thousand Trails Sturbridge or Tuxbury Pond Campground in New Hampshire and be ready for a lesson in American History!
The best way to learn about the importance of Boston in our history is to walk the Freedom Trail, the 2.5-mile path through the city that highlights significant sites including the Old North Church and the site of the Boston Massacre. Visit thefreedomtrail.org to learn more about the trial itself and locations along the way.
Head over to Boston Harbor to see the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum as well as the USS Constitution, made famous in the War of 1812, and the oldest commissioned warship still afloat.
Don’t miss a visit to Cambridge, home of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher learning in the US, established in 1636. Speaking of education, Boston is also home to the oldest public school in the US, the Boston Latin School, which is one the Freedom Trail. This school was established by Puritan settlers in 1635.
The oldest restaurant in Boston, and possibly in the US, is the Union Oyster House. Also on the Freedom Trail, visitors are encouraged to stop in and enjoy some Boston favorites like baked scrod, chowder and fresh oysters. Also, make sure to stop in the Green Dragon Tavern, billed as the “Headquarters of the Revolution” where Sam Adams, Paul Revere and others met over a pint and planned the revolution that changed the course of our country.
Just about 40 minutes out of Boston proper you will find the Plimoth Patuxet Museums where you can experience the living history of the original Plymouth Colony, where the Mayflower Pilgrims settled in 1620. For details, visit plimoth.com.
Another piece of history just outside the city in Brookline is the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site, which is the birthplace of our 35th president.
There is also the City of Salem, site of the 1692 Witch Trials. Salem is also home to the famous House of Seven Gables, the oldest surviving timber-framed mansion in New England and also the setting that inspired the book of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Movie buffs will be happy to know that the movies “Hocus Pocus” and “Hocus Pocus 2” were filmed here.
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