Although each site on the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail allows walkers to experience
history in three dimensions, the walker who lingers at a specific place can experience the fourth dimension of Time. Indeed, persons limited to lunch hour or
after school hikes can visit a single site and, with a little imagination, achieve an out-of-body experience in Time Travel. Because the sites connected with the Boston Women’s Memorial are more well known, here are some of my other favorites.
Find a place to sit on the wall that supports Rachel Revere Park opposite the Paul Revere House in the North End. Try to imagine the life of the woman whose name graces the park. Rachel Walker married the recently widowed Paul Revere in 1773. She took on the care of the six surviving children born to his first wife Sarah Orne Revere, who died four months after her eighth child was born. Nor were the times ordinary. Within two years of their marriage, Rachel found herself to be in charge of the family and the business because the British detained Revere after his famous ride. After the British left Boston in 1776, the family was reunited, but not to a peaceful life. The war was not yet over, the government was not stable, and Rachel herself had eight children with only five reaching maturity.
Or – from the Boston Common walk down West Street to Nos. 13-15 and contemplate the lives of three remarkable mid-19th century sisters and
Find a place to sit on the wall that supports Rachel Revere Park opposite the Paul Revere House in the North End. Try to imagine the life of the woman whose name graces the park. Rachel Walker married the recently widowed Paul Revere in 1773. She took on the care of the six surviving children born to his first wife Sarah Orne Revere, who died four months after her eighth child was born. Nor were the times ordinary. Within two years of their marriage, Rachel found herself to be in charge of the family and the business because the British detained Revere after his famous ride. After the British left Boston in 1776, the family was reunited, but not to a peaceful life. The war was not yet over, the government was not stable, and Rachel herself had eight children with only five reaching maturity.
Or – from the Boston Common walk down West Street to Nos. 13-15 and contemplate the lives of three remarkable mid-19th century sisters and
their associates centered around the book shop of the eldest, Elizabeth Peabody. It was here that Margaret Fuller led her famous Conversations that helped define New England Transcendentalism, a movement encouraging the perfection of each individual. Think of the explosion of ideas that led to action, including demands for women’s rights. Influenced by the ideas of Friedrich Froebel, Elizabeth Peabody became one of the nation’s first advocates for kindergartens. Both her sisters were married in the parlor behind the shop. Mary, an educator and writer, married educator Horace Mann, and Sophia, an artist, married author Nathaniel Hawthorne.
For your third time-travel, climb Beacon Hill from the Boston Common. Descend down the steep North side where a thriving community of free African-Americans lived before the Civil War, including Harriet and Lewis Hayden. They offered their home at 66 Phillips Street as a safe haven for such fugitive slaves as Ellen and William Craft. Disguised as master and slave, the Crafts escaped from Georgia by taking the train and steamer. Think of how the excitement of their story galvanized the Boston antislavery community during their two-year stay. Think of the heightened danger with the passage of the new Fugitive Slave Law in 1850 that forced the Crafts to sail to England.
These are some of my favorite sites for time-traveling. What are some of yours?
For your third time-travel, climb Beacon Hill from the Boston Common. Descend down the steep North side where a thriving community of free African-Americans lived before the Civil War, including Harriet and Lewis Hayden. They offered their home at 66 Phillips Street as a safe haven for such fugitive slaves as Ellen and William Craft. Disguised as master and slave, the Crafts escaped from Georgia by taking the train and steamer. Think of how the excitement of their story galvanized the Boston antislavery community during their two-year stay. Think of the heightened danger with the passage of the new Fugitive Slave Law in 1850 that forced the Crafts to sail to England.
These are some of my favorite sites for time-traveling. What are some of yours?
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