🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Boston National Historical Park

(Explore the history and landscape of the United States as we approach the 250th anniversary of American Independence. Get out your atlas and almanac and follow along!)

Massachusetts is our homeschool state-of-the-week, so why not spend a few minutes today with your students learning about one of Massachusetts’ most important historic places: Boston National Historical Park, which preserves and commemorates many of the sites in the Boston area that were focal points of the American Revolution.

“Boston was the birthplace of the American Revolution and a driver of social and environmental revolutions of the 1800s and 1900s. The National Parks of Boston, including Boston African American National Historic Site, Boston National Historical Park, and Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park, invite you to explore the seeds of revolution, and the on-going and many-sided struggle for civil rights and liberties.”

Boston National Historical Park is an association of sites that showcase Boston’s role in the American Revolution and other parts of history. It was designated a national park on October 1, 1974. Seven of the eight sites are connected by the Freedom Trail, a walking tour of downtown Boston. All eight properties are National Historic Landmarks. [The best-known sites include…]

The Bunker Hill Monument, located at the top of Breed’s Hill in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, is a granite obelisk that was constructed in the mid-19th century to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill, fought June 17, 1775.

The Charlestown Navy Yard is located on the southern edge of Charlestown on the banks of the Charles River. Used during the American Revolutionary War as a shipyard, it continued to serve as a base of the United States Navy until 1975, when the Navy turned the property over to the National Park Service. The Yard is home to USS Constitution (the oldest floating commissioned naval vessel in the world).

Dorchester Heights was fortified by General George Washington in March 1776, compelling the British to withdraw from Boston and ending the Siege of Boston. A monument was erected on the site in 1902. Located in South Boston, Dorchester Heights is the only site in the park that is not on the Freedom Trail.

Faneuil Hall was first constructed in the 1740s, and was the site of important pro-independence speeches. The hall is owned and operated by the city of Boston, with the park service offering talks in the Great Hall.

The Old North Church, built in 1723, was the location where Paul Revere had signal lanterns lit on the night of April 18, 1775, prior to his “midnight ride” that led to the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the start of the revolutionary war. The church, the oldest operating in Boston, has an Episcopalian congregation, which owns and operates the building. (wikipedia.org)

You can find a wealth of additional information about the Park’s history, landscape, location(s), and visitor facilities on the webpage for Boston National Historical Park from the National Park Service, and also on the Park’s page on Wikipedia.

Explore America’s National Parks, National Historical Parks, National Historic Sites, National Monuments, and more via Wikipedia and via the U.S. National Park Service’s website today.

What American treasures will you and your students be exploring in your homeschool this Cygnus Term? 🇺🇸

❡ The great globe itself: This is one of our regular Homeschool Geography posts featuring important natural and historical sites in the United States. Print your own copy of our River Houses American Heritage Calendar and follow along with us, and add your name to our weekly mailing list to get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year. 🌎

❡ We set to-day a votive stone: If you want a great long-term history and geography project for your homeschool, explore the Historical Marker Database online (hmdb.org) and make a plan to find all the markers that are listed in your local area. Add any new ones you know of that are missing, and add new photos or descriptions for the ones already included. Your students will gain a better appreciation for your local community and will learn a wealth of new information about history and geography. 🏛

❡ Print this little lesson: Down at the bottom of this post you’ll find a special “Print” button that will let you create a neat and easy-to-read copy of this little lesson, and it will even let you edit and delete sections you don’t want or need (such as individual images or footnotes). Give it a try today! 🖨

❡ Books in the running brooks: You can always turn to your River Houses atlas and almanac for more information about any of our homeschool states-of-the-week. The almanac has detailed profiles of all the U.S. states and territories, and the endpapers of the atlas are indexes that will show you where all of the individual national and regional maps may be found. 📚

❡ Homeschool calendars: We have a whole collection of free, printable, educational homeschool calendars and planners available on our main River Houses calendar page. They will help you create a light and easy structure for your homeschool year. Give them a try today! 🗓

❡ Support our work: If you enjoy our educational materials, please support us by starting your regular Amazon shopping from our very own homeschool teaching supplies page. When you click through from our page, any purchase you make earns us a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for helping us to keep going and growing! 🛒