Teen curators selected, researched, and wrote about key Revolutionary sites in Boston. Their findings appear below, overlaid on a contemporary map that also includes views of William Price’s 1769 A New Plan of Ye Great Town of Boston. This project connects past and present, revealing the city’s layered history.
About the Teen Curators
Our 2025 teen curators, Matthew and Vicky, are both entering their final year at Boston Latin School.
Matthew is interesting in pursuing a career in architecture and engineering.
Vicky is vice president of the Recycling Club, an editor for the school newspaper, and a dedicated advocate for social justice in her community. After college, Vicky wants to pursue a career in the field of government or history.
A. Beacon Hill
Originally rising to 138 feet, Beacon Hill was named by Europeans for the signal set up on its top in 1635 to warn the surrounding areas of danger. British soldiers took down the beacon during their siege of Boston from April 1775 to March 1776, but Bostonians replaced it soon after their departure. The replacement beacon was finally struck down by a storm in 1789 and a memorial rests where it stood.
B. The Common
The 18th-century Common was an open field for grazing animals rather than the formal park we know today. The Common was turned into a British military camp in 1768. The sight of thousands of soldiers stationed in a very public and communal space, added to the growing anti-British sentiment. British soldiers used it as a basecamp in the opening battles of Lexington and Concord and the soldiers would remain there until the end of the March 1776.
C. Liberty Tree
The Liberty Tree was a rallying point of resistance against British rule in the years before the Revolution. When the British Parliament introduced the Stamp Act in 1765, the Loyal Nine, a secret organization of patriots, staged their first act of rebellion at this famous elm tree. They hung an effigy labeled “A.O.” for Andrew Oliver, the designated tax collector for the Stamp Act. A second effigy featured a boot, a reference to former British prime minister Lord Bute. Inside the boot, a figure of the devil held a copy of the Stamp Act and a sign that read, “What Greater Joy did ever New England see / Than a Stampman hanging on a Tree!”
D. King St. (Site of the Massacre)
Tensions between the soldiers and colonists erupted outside the Customs House on King Street in 1770. On March 5, Private Hugh White entered an altercation with wigmaker’s apprentice Edward Garrick. A growing crowd started to harass Private White, prompting him to call for reinforcements. The soldiers fired into the mob, killing Crispus Attucks, a sailor of mixed African and Native American descent. By the time the shooting was over, five lay dead, and six sustained injuries. Conflicting eyewitness accounts attribute blame to either side. In the end, six British soldiers were acquitted, and two were given reduced sentences thanks to the adept defense of young lawyer John Adams. The heavily-propagandized Boston Massacre later helped mobilize colonial sentiment against British authorities, becoming a significant turning point leading up to the Revolution.
E. Old North Church
Completed in 1723, the Old North Church is Boston’s oldest surviving church. It became an iconic symbol of American independence after Paul Revere’s famous Midnight Ride. On April 18, sexton Robert Newman and vestryman Captain John Pulling, Jr. hung two lanterns on the church’s steeple. Revere instructed the men to signal him about the impending British attack by hanging lanterns — “one if by land, two if by sea.” Due to their efforts, Revere was able to alert local militiamen that the British were coming by way of the Charles River. The succeeding Battle of Lexington and Concord marked the start of the American Revolutionary War.
F. Town Dock
The Town Dock, later known as Dock Square, was a key site for trade in early Boston. Constructed in the 1630s to serve the town, the surrounding land was gradually filled in to create more usable space. Eventually, the need for a centralized marketplace led to the completion of Faneuil Hall in 1742. Both locations played significant roles throughout the Revolution, serving as places of gathering and mass political mobilization.
G. Long Wharf
Extending a half mile into Boston Harbor, Long Wharf was the center of trade in the eighteenth century. The wharf itself, located at the end of King Street (now State Street), could dock around 50 ships at once. British troops marched up the wharf when they arrived in 1768. It was closed as part of the Intolerable Act in 1774, but reopened afterward and remained commercially important for decades. The wharf gradually decreased in size to its current 0.1-mile length as the surrounding land was filled in over time.
H. Oliver’s Dock
Events at Oliver’s Dock helped fuel the growing resentment between Britain and the colonists that ultimately led to the Revolution. In 1765, Andrew Oliver, the tax collector for the unpopular Stamp Act, became the target of violent protests against the British. After the patriots cautioned Oliver with a grisly depiction of his deceased figure, an angry mob looted his office. They beheaded and burnt the effigy at his house, just minutes after his family made a narrow escape. Fearing the threat to his life, Oliver resigned from his position the following day. These aggressive demonstrations of discontent showed Britain that patriots were not afraid to use violence to preserve their ideals of freedom.
Education at the Leventhal Center
The Leventhal Center’s Education team offers engaging programs for teachers and students across a wide range of disciplines and historical topics, with a focus on fostering critical thinking skills. Learn more at leventhalmap.org/education.