Black Heritage Trail in Boston: Self-Guided Walking Tour

While walking the Freedom Trail in Boston, I noticed a few signs for the Black Heritage Trail. Time didn’t allow me to walk the trail during that initial trip. But several months later, I was able to explore the Black Heritage Trail.

I had a hard time knowing which houses or buildings were part of the trail. The historical homes are now private residences, so they aren’t open for tours. After some Google searches, I found a map to guide me on my way.

Here’s your own guide to help you navigate the Black Heritage Trail – a 1.5-mile trail just north of Boston Common at Beacon Hill.

Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment

In 1863, roughly two years into America’s Civil War, Governor John Andrews formed the first documented African American regiment formed in the north. It was the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry, under the command of Robert Gould Shaw.

The monument that marks the start of the Black Heritage Trail is located in the northeast corned of the Boston Common. It’s just across the street from the Massachusetts State House. The monument depicts the volunteer infantry leaving Boston Commons to march south in May 1863.

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The troops returned to Boston in 1865 after fighting in numerous battles, including:

• The attack on Fort Wagner, South Carolina on July 18, 1863
• The Battle of Olustee in Florida on February 20, 1864
• Battle of Honey Hill in South Carolina on November 30, 1864
• The Battle of James Island in South Carolina, February 10, 1865

George Middleton House

George Middleton was a leader in the black communities of Boston in the early 1800s. He had commanded an all-black militia company during the Revolutionary War. It’s said they guarded the property of Boston merchants during the war.

The Middleton’s home still stands on Pinckney Street. It currently stands as the oldest extant home on Beacon Hill in Boston. The house is an example of the style of homes from the late 18th Century (meaning late 1700s).

The house is a private residence, so don’t be expecting a tour of the inside of the house. The current owners wouldn’t like that. 😉

The Phillips School on the Black Heritage Trail

The Phillips School was initially built around 1825. Although it started as a high school, it was later converted to a grammar school and educated some of Boston’s wealthiest white males.

In 1855, when schools in Massachusetts became integrated, the Phillips School was among the first to admit black children.

The Phillips School received it’s name, honoring the first mayor of Boston, John Phillips.

The school moved to a new building in 1863, but this stop along the Black Heritage Trail is indicative of schools building during the 1800s.

John J. Smith House

The John J. Smith House is currently a privately owned residence – but it’s still a stop along the Black Heritage Trail.

John J. Smith was an abolitionist and state legislator. He fought for school integration, which occurred in 1855. In the early 1870s, John’s daughter Elizabeth became the first person of African descent to teach in Boston’s public schools.

There’s a lot of other activities John J. Smith was involved in on the abolitionist front. It’s worth looking up and studying his life.

The Charles Street Meeting House

The Charles Street Meeting House was built in 1807 as a church building. While both whites and blacks were allowed to attend, blacks were required to sit in designated areas and excluded from privileges of membership.

One story I read about is that a white member of the church invited some African Americans to sit in his pew with him. He was subsequently kicked out of the church.

In 1876, the building was sold to the First African Methodist Episcopal Church. After the Civil War, it became one of the five largest African American churches in Boston.

Lewis and Harriet Hayden House

The home of Lewis and Harriet Hayden was a boarding house for self-emancipated African Americans. Lewis was originally a slave in Kentucky and lost his first wife when she was sold and transported to the Deep South.

Lewis worked as a recruited during the Civil War. He played a role in helping several well known slaves find refuge and support, protecting them from slave catchers sent to reclaim their “property”.

It was rumored that Lewis had two kegs of gun powder hidden in his doorway, and should any slave catchers try to get in, they would be blown up. The current owners probably don’t have kegs of gun powder, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to enter the house uninvited.

John Coburn House

John Coburn was one of Boston’s wealthiest African Americans in the 1800s. He owned a clothes shop, but it’s rumored that part of his income also came from a gaming business he operated out of his home.

John was arrested at one point for alleged involvement with helping Shadrach Minkins escape from federal custody. I’m not sure about the story behind Minkins’ escape, but many of the high-profile African Americans along the trail may have been involved as well.

Again, the John Coburn house is a private residence, so don’t try to walk in for a tour.

Smith Court Residences

Located along the north side of Beacon Hill, the Smith Court residences are several homes that housed African American families. The area, along with the Abiel Smith School (the next stop on the trail) was a small community of African Americans.

The homes were initially built in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Learn about the various homes on the trail and the people who lived there. It included others allegedly involved in the Shadrach Minkins escape previously mentioned.

Abiel Smith School

In the late 1700s, many African Americans in Boston were petitioning the legislature to allow their kids to attend public schools. There were numerous schools for white children, but African American children weren’t permitted.

The Abiel Smith School opened in 1835. It was made possible, in part, by $4,000 given by Abiel Smith, a white businessman, to fund African American education that be bequeathed to them when he died in 1815.

In 1849, as African American parents were working to integrate their children into the school closest to their homes – regardless of skin color – they withdrew their children from the Abiel Smith School.

In 1855, when the Massachusetts legislature passed the law that integrated schools, the Abiel Smith School closed as children attended other schools like the John Phillips School.

African Meeting House

The African Meeting House was built in the early 1800s as a church primarily for African Americans in Boston. This church became the first African American Baptist Church north of the Mason Dixon Line. It also served as a school prior to the Abiel Smith School opening.

Near the end of the 19th Century, the building was sold and the congregation moved to another spot in Boston. I didn’t know that it was then used by the Jewish Congregation Anshi Libavitz starting in 1904.

In the 1970s, the Museum of African American History bought the building and it later became a national historical landmark.  

Some Extra (and Fun) Stops Around Boston

While you’re in Boston, enjoy some of the other amazing sites in the Cradle of Liberty, including:

• Boston Common Gardens and Swan Boats (Seasonal)
• The Museum of Science in Boston
• Cheers (the bar facade for the 1980s sitcom, Cheers)
• The Boston Fire Museum
• Enjoy a Boston Kreme donut in Boston
• John F. Kennedy’s Presidential Library
• Freedom Trail

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