Boston African American National Historic Site

The Boston African American National Historic Site is made up of the largest area of pre-Civil War Black-owned structures in the United States, with roughly two dozen sites on the north face of Beacon Hill. These buildings were the homes, businesses, schools and churches of a thriving Black community that, in the face of great opposition, fought the forces of slavery and inequality. Walking tours through the neighborhood are a central way to experience the site.

The site is part of the National Park Service, and its digital project Boston: An Underground Railroad Hub explores the city’s long history as a center of Underground Railroad activity. Through interactive maps, videos and articles, it tells of freedom seekers who escaped to Boston and of the Bostonians who sheltered them, protested the nation’s fugitive slave laws and militantly responded to fugitive slave arrests in the city.

What to Know

• A self-guided audio tour covers Boston’s role in the Underground Railroad.
• A seventeen-minute film explores the 1854 rendition of Anthony Burns through those who witnessed it.
• An ongoing online exhibition looks at the more than 200 members of the final Vigilance Committee.
• Story maps trace the escapes of William and Ellen Craft from Macon, Georgia, and of Elizabeth Blakeley from North Carolina.
• Another feature highlights the women at the heart of the free Black community on Beacon Hill’s north slope.