This post will conclude my walking tour of Boston’s Freedom Trail. To finish I would like to return to the Boston Common and point out a couple of sites that I missed in my first post.

The Massachusetts State House

On the north side of the common, on Beacon Street, stands the Massachusetts State House. Known as the New State House by the people of Boston, to distinguish it from the Old State House, this impressive building is the oldest on that street. The State House was built on six acres that had formerly been a cow pasture belonging to John Hancock.  Both he and Paul Revere helped lay the cornerstone of the State House, with construction being completed on January 11, 1798. What makes the State House stand out is its bright gold dome. The dome was initially made of wood and then later covered in copper by Paul Revere. In 1874, the dome was gilded with 24-karat gold.

Monument to the Massachusetts 54th Regiment

Directly across the street from the new State House, on the Common side, is the monument to the Civil War 54th Regiment of Massachusetts. This was the first all-black regiment. This monument, as well as the 54th Regiment, gained fame in the movie “Glory.” The monument is also the starting point for the Black Heritage Trail. The first African Slaves were brought to Boston in 1638. By 1705, the city had around 400 slaves, but it also had a developing community of free blacks in its North End. The status of blacks in the colony began to change with the beginnings of the Revolutionary War. Many blacks fought at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. In 1780, the State’s first Constitution was adopted, which stipulated that all men have certain inalienable rights and abolished slavery. In the 1790 federal census, Massachusetts was recorded as the only state in the Union without slaves.