Boston Black Heritage Trail Walking Tour

Boston's role in the fight to end legalized slavery is linked by the Black Heritage Trail in historic Beacon Hill. This pedestrian path is best experienced on foot, in a small group, with a knowledgeable local guide! Your 2.5-hour loop tour travels from Boston Common to visit Underground Railroad sites, elite homes of "Boston Brahmins," and abolitionist landmarks such as the African Meeting House.
Our small-group walking tour delves deeply into the years 1833 to 1863, the tumultuous years leading toward Civil War. We walk in the footsteps of 19th-century Bostonians, all of whom grappled with the "peculiar institution" of racial enslavement in the U.S.

With a captivating storytelling approach, Hub Town Tours provides the perfect introduction to Boston's role in America's "Second Revolution." As we travel past landmarks from Civil War Boston, your guide shares the gripping story of local Bostonians finding their voices and demanding an end to injustice across their young nation.

Meeting Point

1 P Charles St

1 P Charles St, Boston, MA 02108, USA

The tour gathers on Boston Common at the intersection of Beacon and Charles Streets. Please meet your guide at 1 Charles Street (02108), on the east side of the road, which is inside Boston Common and opposite Starbucks Coffee.

What's included:

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

Not included:

• Guides in Period Costume
• Admission inside Museums

What to expect:

Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Charles Street

Boston, Massachusetts

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

Boston Common

139 Tremont St, , Boston, 02111-1318, Massachusetts

Oldest public land in the Americas and Boston's communal grazing pasture (1634)

Pass by without stopping

Acorn Street

Boston, 02108, Massachusetts

Narrow cobblestone alleyways wind throughout historic Beacon Hill

10 minutes

Louisburg Square

Louisburg Square, , Boston, 02108, Massachusetts

Elegant neighborhood square from elite world of 19th-century "Boston Brahmins"

Pass by without stopping

Phillips School

Phillips School, 65 Anderson St, Boston, MA 02114, USA

Built as a whites-only school in 1824, but among the first schools to integrate in Boston by 1855

10 minutes

John J Smith House

86 Pinckney St, Boston, MA 02108, USA

Home of leading abolitionist, state legislator, and former barber

10 minutes

Charles Street

Boston, Massachusetts

Primary thoroughfare of Beacon Hill, lined with local shops and restaurants

Pass by without stopping

Charles Street Meeting House

Charles Street Meeting House, 70 Charles St, Boston, MA 02114, USA

Historic meeting house (1807) and site of contentious debate over racial integration

15 minutes

John Coburn House

2 Phillips St, Boston, MA 02114, USA

Home of African-American community activist and abolitionist

Pass by without stopping

Lewis and Harriet Hayden House

Lewis and Harriet Hayden House, 66 Phillips St, Boston, MA 02114, USA

Underground Railroad safe house owned by the Haydens, staunch abolitionists who were formerly enslaved

15 minutes

Otis House

141 Cambridge St, , Boston, 02114-2702, Massachusetts

1796 residence of Harrison Gray Otis, Boston mayor and nephew of revolutionary James Otis, Jr.

10 minutes

Old West Church

131 Cambridge St, Boston, 02114-2702, Massachusetts

Historic 1806 church designed by noted architect Asher Benjamin

Pass by without stopping

20 Hancock St

20 Hancock St, Boston, MA 02122, USA

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

Pass by without stopping

Smith Court Residences

56 Joy St, Boston, MA 02114, USA

Homes of several African-American abolitionists, including historian William Cooper Nell

Pass by without stopping

Abiel Smith School

46 Joy St, Boston, MA 02114, USA

Founded in 1835 as segregated school for Boston's African-American children

Pass by without stopping

African Meeting House

8 Smith Ct, Boston, MA 02114, USA

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

5 Pinckney St, Boston, MA 02114, USA

Oldest extant house in Beacon Hill (1787) was home to African-American Revolutionary War veteran

10 minutes

Massachusetts State House

24 Beacon St, Boston, 02133-1099, Massachusetts

Massachusetts state capitol and "Hub of the Solar System" (1798)

Pass by without stopping

Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment Memorial

Corner of Beacon Street & Park Street, Boston, 02108, Massachusetts

Our tour concludes beside the Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment Memorial opposite 24 Beacon Street.

15 minutes