by While in Boston, we took in some of the more “touristy” sites downtown, including the Old State House & Old South Meeting House.
The Old South Meeting House
The Old South Meeting House was built in 1729, and is known today for being the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party in 1773.
It was the largest building in Boston at the time, and around 5,000 colonists gathered at the Meeting House to debate British taxation. After the meeting, a group of 150 men proceeded to raid three nearby tea ships, destroying 342 chests of tea. The British Crown considered this to be an act of treason.
During the American Revolution, “the British occupied the Meeting House due to its association with the Revolutionary cause. They gutted the building, filled it with dirt, and then used the interior to practice horse riding. They destroyed much of the interior and stole various items.”
It took several years for the congregation to restore the church as a place of worship.
The neighborhood around the church was destroyed in the Great Boston Fire of 1872, though the church itself was saved due to heroic efforts. However, after the fire, the congregation moved elsewhere, and the structure stopped operating as a church. In 1877, philanthropists raised the money to save the building, and since that time it has severed as a museum and historic site.
It’s not especially exciting, to be honest. There are a few displays around the edge of the church, but it doesn’t take much to make your way through it.
Old State House
The 1713 Old State House is the oldest surviving public building in Boston.
The first floor housed a merchant’s exchange, while the second floor served as the seat of the Massachusetts colony government from 1713 until 1776.
On July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read from the east side balcony to jubilant crowds. After this point, the building served as the seat of the state government until 1798.
After that the building saw a number of uses, including Boston’s City Hall, the Boston Post Office, and home to many commercial businesses. In 1881, the Bostonian Society was formed to preserve the building. Today it serves as a small museum on the local history, but to be honest, there wasn’t much of the content that was very gripping.
The cover photo is an 1899 commemorative plate that celebrates the 1773 Tea party meetings, featuring the Old South Meeting House. The plate was on display in the Old State House museum.
