Experience the Black Heritage Trail and get to know more about Civil War-era Boston on this small-group walking tour. In the company of a guide, head out into Beacon Hill and hear stories about the Underground Railroad, Boston Brahmins, and other historical facts. Enjoy a focus particularly on the Civil War years.

Explore Boston on foot
Learn about the Civil War in Boston from your guide
Enjoy focused attention on a small-group tour
Visit landmarks on the Black Heritage Trail

What To Expect

Charles Street

The tour gathers on Boston Common at the intersection of Beacon and Charles Streets. Please meet your guide at 1 Charles Street (02108), inside Boston Common and across the street from Starbucks Coffee.
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Boston Common

Oldest public land in the Americas and Boston’s communal grazing pasture (1634)
• Admission Ticket Free

Acorn Street

Narrow cobblestone alleyways wind throughout historic Beacon Hill
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Louisburg Square

Elegant neighborhood square from elite world of 19th-century “Boston Brahmins”
• Admission Ticket Free

Phillips School

Built as a whites-only school in 1824, but among the first schools to integrate in Boston by 1855
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

John J Smith House

Home of leading abolitionist, state legislator, and former barber
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Charles Street

Primary thoroughfare of Beacon Hill, lined with local shops and restaurants
• Admission Ticket Free

Charles Street Meeting House

Historic meeting house (1807) and site of contentious debate over racial integration
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

John Coburn House

Home of African-American community activist and abolitionist
• Admission Ticket Free

Lewis and Harriet Hayden House

Underground Railroad safe house owned by the Haydens, staunch abolitionists who were formerly enslaved
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Otis House

1796 residence of Harrison Gray Otis, Boston mayor and nephew of revolutionary James Otis, Jr.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Old West Church

Historic 1806 church designed by noted architect Asher Benjamin
• Admission Ticket Free

Charles Sumner House

Home of outspoken abolitionist and U.S. Senator beaten unconscious in the Capitol over the issue of slavery in 1856.
• Admission Ticket Free

Smith Court Residences

Homes of several African-American abolitionists, including historian William Cooper Nell
• Admission Ticket Free

Abiel Smith School

Founded in 1835 as segregated school for Boston’s African-American children
• Admission Ticket Free

African Meeting House

Cultural center of Boston’s African-American community and oldest extant black church building in the U.S. (1806)
25 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

George Middleton House

Oldest extant house in Beacon Hill (1787) was home to African-American Revolutionary War veteran
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Massachusetts State House

Massachusetts state capitol and “Hub of the Solar System” (1798)
• Admission Ticket Free

Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment Memorial

Our tour concludes beside the Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment Memorial opposite 24 Beacon Street.
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Highlight

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Not recommended for travelers who have difficulty standing for extended periods
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers

Include

Black Heritage Trail (All 10 landmarks)
Small Groups (16 guests max)
Beacon Hill Neighborhood

Exclude

Guides in Period Costume
Admission inside Museums
Gratuities