Historic Sites In Massachusetts. More Than Just Parks has 10 incredible must-see sites for you.
I’ve been to so many of these amazing places since retiring from teaching in 2018. Did I mention that I taught history? I spent a lifetime teaching about the history behind these momentous sites. Then I got to see them firsthand. And now I’m sharing the stories of these incredible places with you. It doesn’t get any better than that!
I’m going to give you my list of the Top 10 Historic Sites in Massachusetts that you’ll want to see. These are our top 10 sites which we will provide in reverse order. We’ve got amazing monuments, fascinating exhibits, historic museums, legendary figures and so much more.
Why Trust Us About Historic Sites In Massachusetts?
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Historic Sites In Massachusetts
10. Lowell National Historical Park
We begin our top 10 countdown of the best historic sites in Massachusetts with the Lowell National Historical Park.
The Industrial Revolution transformed economies that had been based on agriculture and handicrafts into economies based on large-scale industry, mechanized manufacturing, and the factory system. New machines, new power sources, and new ways of organizing work made existing industries more productive and efficient.
Ground Zero for this revolution in America were the water-powered textile mills at Lowell, Massachusetts. The Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center is a great place to learn about all of this while visiting some fascinating historical sites.
At the Visitor Center you can explore the history of the Spindle City through various exhibits. From the early industrial city to the modern local community, the Visitor Center highlights the stories of the people who lived and worked in Lowell.
Author and writer Jack Kerouac was a citizen of Lowell and his story is featured there as well.
RELATED: 10 WONDERFUL National Parks Near Boston
9. Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site
At #9 on our list of Best Historic Sites In Massachusetts is Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site.
Longfellow National Historic Site preserves the home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of the world’s foremost 19th century poets. His works included: Paul Revere’s Ride and The Song of Hiawatha.
During the Revolutionary War, the house also served as headquarters for General George Washington. It served as Washington’s Headquarters during the Siege of Boston, July 1775 – April 1776.
The site offers its visitors unique opportunities to explore the themes of 19th century literature and the arts.
RELATED: 10 BEST Revolutionary War Sites In America
8. Salem Maritime National Historic Site
Coming in at #8 on our list of best historic sites in Massachusetts is the Salem Maritime National Historic Site.
Salem was once one of the most important ports in the nation. The historic buildings, wharves, and reconstructed tall ship at Salem Maritime National Historic Site tell the stories of the sailors, Revolutionary War privateers, and merchants who brought the riches of the Far East to America.
Established on March 17, 1938 as the first National Historic Site in the United States, this historic site consists of nine acres of land and twelve historic structures along the Salem waterfront, as well as a downtown visitor center.
The park preserves and interprets over 600 years of New England’s maritime history and global connections. (Source: NPS)
While you’re there, I recommend visiting the Salem Visitor Center, located on New Liberty Street in downtown Salem, which was originally the Salem Armory. It was the headquarters and training facility for the Second Corps of Cadets which traces its history back to the late eighteenth century.
And, if you’re on the hunt for souvenirs of your visit then you may want to check out the Waite & Peirce Park Store which offers a selection of products that are related to Salem’s place in the history of global trade.
RELATED: 18 BEAUTIFUL Massachusetts National Parks
Historic Sites In Massachusetts
7. Frederick Law Olmstead National Historic Site
At lucky #7, the Frederick Law Olmstead National Historic Site celebrates America’s most gifted landscape architect.
As Justin Martin notes in his masterful biography titled, Genius Of Place, “Olmstead is best remembered as the pioneer of landscape architecture in the United States. He created New York City’s Central Park and a number of green spaces, often in collaboration with his sometime partner Calvert Vaux.”
Frederick Law Olmstead designed the grounds of scores of private estates, Stanford and assorted college campuses, several mental institutions, and a pair of cemeteries.
For these achievements alone, he would have achieved a measure of lasting fame.
Olmstead, however, accomplished much more than this. He was a dedicated environmentalist who played an important role in the efforts to preserve Yosemite and Niagara Falls.
He also designed Boston’s Back Bay Fens as both a park and as America’s first wetlands restoration.
RELATED: 10 MUST-SEE Historic Sites In New York
6. Boston African-American National Historic Site
Boston African American National Historic Site: Men dressed as Union soldiers pose by the Shaw Memorial in Boston. (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
We conclude the bottom 5 of our top 10 historic sites in Massachusetts with the Boston African-American National Historical Site.
The struggle against racial injustice has been a long one. The African American community of 19th century Boston led both the city and the nation in this fight against slavery and racial injustice.
These remarkable men and women, together with their allies, were leaders in the Abolitionist Movement, the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, and the early struggle for equal rights and education.
The Boston African-American National Historic Site celebrates their bravery and heroism.
This story features the Black Freedom Trail which is an approximately 1.5 mile long trail linking sites that explore the trials of the free black community which inhabited the North Slope of Beacon Hill from the late 18th century through the 19th century.
I recommend visiting the Museum of African American History. It’s located in the former Abiel Smith School. Visitors come away with a better understanding of and appreciation for the struggles and sacrifices made by African Americans to bring about a more perfect union.
RELATED: 20 BEST Black History Sites In America For You To Visit
The Top 5 Historic Sites In Massachusetts
5. Minute Man National Historical Park
Kicking off our list of the top 5 historic sites in Massachusetts is the Minute Man National Historical Park.
As a lifelong history buff and former history teacher, I can’t resist a good lesson. I promise you that I’ll keep it short, however, and there’s no homework.
Militia were men in arms formed to protect their towns from foreign invasion and the ravages of war. Minutemen were a small hand-picked elite force which were required to be highly mobile and to able to assemble quickly in the event of a crisis.
These Minutemen were selected from militia muster rolls by their commanding officers. Typically 25 years of age or younger, they were chosen for their enthusiasm, reliability, and physical strength.
By the time of the American Revolution, Minutemen had been a well-trained force for six generations in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. As author and historian Hackett Fisher notes,
“The muster of the Minutemen in 1775 was the product of many years of institutional development…it was also the result of careful planning and collective effort.”
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Things To Do At Minute Man National Historical Park
As the National Park Service notes, “Minute Man National Historical Park in Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord, Massachusetts, preserves and interpretes the sites, structures, and landscapes that became the field of battle during the first armed conflict of the American Revolution on April 19, 1775.”
The Minute Man Visitor Center includes a forty-foot mural that portrays the fighting between Colonists and British Regulars and artifacts from the Parker’s Revenge Archaeological investigation. Park Rangers are on duty to answer questions.
While at the visitor center, you can get a map, schedule of programs and events and, for the children, a junior ranger booklet.
You can also explore exhibits about the beginning of the American Revolution, watch a multimedia theater presentation, and browse the museum store run by Eastern National.
4. Boston National Historical Park
We’re on to the final four best historic sites in Massachusetts. At #4 is the Boston National Historical Park.
Boston was considered the Cradle of Liberty and the heartbeat of the American Revolution. It’s one city that’s chock full of fascinating places to go and exciting things to see beginning with the Freedom Trail.
The Freedom Trail is an iconic symbol of Boston. Its red brick line snakes through some of the oldest parts of the City, navigating visitors to some of the most significant historic sites in the Downtown, North End, and Charlestown neighborhoods of Boston.
Points of interest along the freedom trail include:
Old Corner Bookstore, USS Constitution, USS Constitution Museum, Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial, Bunker Hill Monument, Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Boston Common, Boston Massacre Site, USS Cassin Young, Old State House, Park Street Church, King’s Chapel Burying Ground, Faneuil Hall, Old North Church, Paul Revere House, Granary Burying Ground, Massachusetts State House and much much more.
Historic Sites In Massachusetts
3. John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site
At #3 on our top ten list of historic sites in Massachusetts is the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.
America’s 35th President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was responsible for some extraordinary accomplishments. His birth place has been preserved as one of the many Massachusetts national parks.
The most important, and most famous, was his adept management of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, widely considered the most perilous moment since World War II.
Kennedy’s skillful handling of this crisis averted a nuclear conflict between the superpowers. In the end, a peaceful agreement was reached.
He also proposed a voting-rights bill and federal programs to provide health care to the elderly and the poor.
Kennedy was the youngest man ever elected to the presidency and arguably the most charismatic.
Through his stirring inaugural message to “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” he challenged young Americans to embrace public service and leave the world a better place than they found it.
Kennedy Began The Bipartisan Era Of Environmental Activism
As a consequence of Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking work titled, Silent Spring, people began to understand the risks associated with chemical pesticides.
Given these risks, public demanded accountability and action. And, as a consequence, our leaders began to act in a bipartisan way to provide long-term solutions.
We live in a scientific age, yet we assume that knowledge of science is the prerogative of only a small number of human beings, isolated and priest-like in their laboratories.
This is not true. The materials of science are the materials of life itself.
Science is part of the reality of living; it is the what, the how, and the why of everything in our experience.
It is impossible to understand man without understanding his environment and the forces that have molded him physically and mentally.
-Rachel Carson
President Kennedy was asked whether the government needed to take a closer look at this issue. “Yes, of course, and since Miss Carson’s book, they are examining the issue.”
An Important First Step
President Kennedy appointed a committee to look into the problem. This led to the development of regulations on DDT and other dangerous chemicals.
Ultimately, DDT was banned in the United States.
Kennedy’s decision to put DDT under investigation was an important first step.
Government began considering the consequences of human actions on our environment. It was time to start taking meaningful actions to protect the public.
RELATED: Is It Time For Another Bipartisan Era Of Environmental Activism In America?
Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer.
Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.
-President John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Youth Conservation Corps
To respond to the growing environmental threat, President Kennedy proposed creation of the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC).
Kennedy saw public service as a way to make the world a better place.
According to the National Park Service who now oversees the program, “The YCC engages young people in meaningful work experiences on national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and fish hatcheries while developing an ethic of environmental stewardship and civic responsibility.”
Things To Do At The John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site
The John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site can be explored in person or online. Visitors to the site can explore the birthplace of America’s 35th president.
In 1967, the president’s mother returned here, where Kennedy spent his boyhood, and restored the house to her recollection of its 1917 appearance.
2. Adams National Historical Park
Coming in at #2 on our lit of the best historic sites in Massachusetts is the Adams National Historical Park.
As a retired history teacher I like nothing better than to pack up my car and head off in search of America’s past which is why this is one of my favorite historical sites.
And nowhere does history play a more prominent role than in the state which became the center of activity leading up to the American Revolution.
When it comes to American history, no family has played a more prominent role over four generations than the Adams Family. Adams National Historical Park tells the story of these four generations of Adams (from 1720 to 1927).
The park has two main sites: the Birthplaces of the 2nd U.S. President John Adams and the 6th U.S. President John Quincy Adams, and Peacefield including the “Old House,” home to four generations of the Adams family, and the Stone Library which contains more than 14,000 historic volumes.
Things To Do & See At The Adams National Historical Park
If you haven’t visited before then I recommend beginning your adventure at the Visitor Center. There’s a wonderful bookstore at the center. You can also see the 26-minute park orientation film, “Enduring Legacy: Four Generations of the Adams Family.”
The Birthplaces of John Adams and John Quincy Adams are located at 133 Franklin St. The homes are currently closed, but visitors can walk these historic grounds.
You can also explore the United First Parish Church, 1306 Hancock St. across the street from the Visitor Center. Tours include the history and architecture of the building and the Adams Family crypt; the final resting place of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, and First Ladies Abigail and Louisa Catherine Adams.
The #1 Historic Site In Massachusetts
1. Bunker Hill Monument
At #1 on our list of the top ten historic sites in Massachusetts is the Bunker Hill Monument.
On June 17, 1775, New England soldiers faced the British army for the first time in a pitched battle. Popularly known as “The Battle of Bunker Hill,” bloody fighting took place throughout a hilly landscape of fenced pastures that were situated across the Charles River from Boston.
Though the British forces claimed the field, the casualties inflicted by the Provincial solders from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire were staggering. Of the some 2,400 British Soldiers and Marines engaged, some 1,000 were wounded or killed.
Fifty years after the battle, the Marquis De Lafayette set the cornerstone of what would become a lasting monument and tribute to the memory of the Battle of Bunker Hill. The project was ambitious: construct a 221-foot tall obelisk built entirely from quarried granite.
It took over seventeen years to complete, but it still stands to this day atop a prominence of the battlefield now known as Breed’s Hill. Marking the site where Provincial forces constructed an earthen fort, or “Redoubt,” prior to the battle, this site remains the focal point of the battle’s memory. (Source: NPS)
Things To Do
Visitors can learn about the history of the site at the Bunker Hill Museum. The museum houses exhibits which tell the story of the battle and its commemoration, the story of the Bunker Hill Monument, and the history of the Charlestown community.
The museum includes a 360-degree cyclorama mural of the battle, refurbished dioramas and artifacts, and a bookstore.
The Bunker Hill Monument Association (BHMA) purchased 15 acres of the battlefield in 1825. The Bunker Hill Monument became a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. Visitors can see the Bunker Hill Monument which preserves the memory of the Battle of Bunker Hill for Americans.
Map Of Historic Sites In Massachusetts
List Of Historic Sites In Massachusetts
- Bunker Hill Monument
- Adams National Historical Park
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site
- Boston National Historical Park
- Minute Man National Historical Park
- Boston African-American National Historic Site
- Frederick Law Olmstead National Historic Site
- Salem Maritime National Historic Site
- Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site
- Lowell National Historical Park
Related Links
To learn more about the difference between the various National Park Service designations check out our article that explains everything!
National Parks In Massachusetts: 18 SURPRISING Massachusetts National Parks
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