The visitor information center on the Tremont Street (east) side of the Common is where the famous "Freedom Trail" begins. Visitors can pick up printed guides here and follow the red line through the historic downtown Boston area to see some of the oldest and most important historic sites that tell the story of America's struggle for independence and freedom.
BLACKSTONE MEMORIAL TABLET
1917
Boston Common
In or about
the year of our Lord
One thousand six hundred
thirty and four
the then present inhabitants
of s d Town of Boston of whom
the Hon rble John Winthrop Esq r
Gove nr of the Colony was cheife
did treate and agree With
Mr William Blackstone
for the purchase of his
Estate and rights in any
Lands lying within said
neck of Land called
Boston
after which purchase the
Town laid out a plan for
a traying field which ever
since and now is used for
that purpose and for
the feeding of cattell
The deposition of John Odlin and others Concerning
the sale of Blackstone's land known as Boston Common
BOSTON COMMON
FOUNDED
1634
The Common
an historic overview
In 1634, only four years after John Winthrop and the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony settled the Shawmut Peninsula and created the town of Boston, these colonists bought a 48-acre tract of land on the lower slopes of Beacon Hill. Purchased from Reverend William Blackstone, and Anglican hermit who had been the area's sole inhabitant for nearly a decade, the land was immediately set aside as an English-style "commanage," or common area for the use of all Boston's townfolk.
Although today we think of Boston Common as a tree-lined public park, its uses were far different during its first two centuries of existence. During the early era, the Common was a scene of public rallies and celebrations, a favorite place for recreations such as promenading, ball playing and sledding, but it also served as a military training field, cow and sheep pasture, public punishment site, and burial ground. For eight years, the British redcoats camped and drilled on the Common, and many were buried here in the years of occupation leading into the American Revolution.
Though the first tree-lined pedestrian mall appeared in 1728, the Common's most conspicuous foliage was the ancient Great Elm. Ironically it doubles as a protective shelter and meeting place, and in the 17th century as the colony's dreaded hanging tree.
By the mid-19th century, the American parks movement had taken root in Boston and the face of the Common began to look substantially more modern. New tree-lined walks, commemorative statues and plaques, fountains, and iron fences and gates were gradually added, while activities continued to include public rallies and demonstrations, ball games, festive celebrations, musical concerts, in addition to sylvan strolls. The ancient Frog Pond, now paved, became a site for wading and skating.
Throughout its history, the Common has served the dual role of meeting ground and public park, a legacy of which will continue into the 21st century. In sum, the Common is a microcosm and a mirror of all of Boston's past -- an that of America as well.
From the
National Registry of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form:
Boston Common comprises 50 acres of open space in the heart of the city. When the Common was established in 1634, it stood at the west edge of town. Beyond present Charles Street were tidal marshlands. Over three and a half centuries, the principal changes to the topography of the Common have been in the levelling of some of its hills and the filling of some of its natural ponds. Original features that still survive include the central Flagstaff Hill (surmounted since 1877 by Soldiers and Sailors Monument) and nearby Frog Pond.
The principal features of the Common, besides its topography, are the paths that traverse it, in much the same pattern as historically, and the monuments that embellish it. A number of the walkways on the Common take the form of wide, tree-lined malls, the first of which was established along Tremont Street in 1722 and replanted in 1784.2 Its present-day successor, lined with brick planters, is known as Lafayette Mall. The monuments on the Common range from commemorative tablets to fountains (notably the Victorian-era Brewer Fountain) to large-scale works such as the Soldiers and Sailors Monument and the Parkman Bandstand. The most important work of art is probably St. Gaudens' Shaw Memorial, which faces the Massachusetts State House near the northeast corner of the Common.
Also included within the bounds of the Common is the Central Burying Ground on Boylston Street between Tremont and Charles. The gravestones and vaults of this cemetery, established in 1756, provide an important element in the historic appearance of the Common. A newer feature, recognized as a National Historic Landmark in its own right, is the Tremont Street Subway (1895-98),the first such facility in the country. Although the subway itself is underground, its stone entrance and exit structures are prominent at the Park and Boylston Street corners of the Common.
Boston Common, generally considered the oldest public park in the United States, merits examination for its significance in the history of conservation, landscape architecture, military and political history, and sculpture, as well as recreation.
From the Boston Department of Parks and Recreation:
Hear the echoes of 350 years of the most extraordinary history of America's oldest park. Here the Colonial militia mustered for the Revolution. In 1768, the hated British Redcoats began an eight-year encampment. George Washington, John Adams and General Lafayette came here to celebrate our nation's independence. The 1860s saw Civil War recruitment and anti-slavery meetings. During World War I, victory gardens sprouted. For World War II, the Common gave most of its iron fencing away for scrape metal.
Boston Common continues to be a stage for free speech and public assembly. Here, during the 20th century, Charles Lindbergh promoted commercial aviation. Anti-Vietnam War and civil right rallies were held, including one led by Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1979, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass.
Frederick Law Olmsted never touched Boston Common, but his sons did. About 1913, their firm supervised the paving of walkways, the replenishment of the soil, and the moving of 15-ton trees.
From a utilitarian common ground for activities like grazing, militia formations and public hangings, the Common evolved. Its peaks were leveled cows were banned and 19th Century Bostonians added trees, fountains and statuary. The Common became the park-like greenspace we know today. The park includes ballfields, a tot lot and the Frog Pond, which provides skating in winter and a spray pool for children in the summer.
The Friends of the Public Garden is a non-profit citizen's advocacy group formed in 1970 to preserve and enhance the Boston Public Garden, Common, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall in collaboration with the Mayor and the Parks & Recreation Department.