The Boston African American National Historic Site is located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston with your car rental in Boston. This is a site with 15 pre-Civil War structures that relate to the history of African Americans in the area.

What you will find here

When you visit with your rental car in Boston, you will find a number of sites here that you can explore. The site includes things like the African Meeting House, the oldest standing African American church in the United States. As you walk along the Black Heritage Trail, you will also be able to visit the 54th Regiment Memorial, the Abiel Smith School, Charles Street Meeting House, John Coburn House, Lewis and Harriet Hayden House, George Middleton House, Phillips School, Smith Court Residence, and the John J. Smith House. Many of the sites along the trail are not open to the general public when you visit with your Boston car rental, so you will have to enjoy from the outside. The African Meeting House, Abiel Smith School, and 54th Regiment Memorial are open to the public.

The African Meeting House

The African Meeting House was built in 1806 and is the oldest black church that s still standing in the United States. When you visit with your Boston rental car, you will be able to visit this site in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of the city. At the time the church was built in 1805, black Bostonians could attend white churches, but were generally discriminated against. So Thomas Paul, an African American preacher from New Hampshire led worship meetings for blacks at Faneuil Hall. The First African Baptist Church was formed at this time. This was an important part of the community thereafter. In 1832, William Lloyd Garrison founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society here. During the Civil War, Frederick Douglas and others recruited soldiers for the 54th and 55th Massachusetts regiments.

Fight on

When you visit with your car rental in Boston, you can also visit the 54th Regiment Memorial as part of the Boston African American National Historic Site. The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment saw service during the Civil War as part of the Union Army. They were one of the first official black regiments in the countrys armed forces. The regiment was disbanded after the civil war, but kept its legacy. The monument now makes up part of the Black Heritage Trail in the city.

Learn more

The Abiel Smith School was founded in 1835 is located next to the African Meeting House in Boston with your rental car in Boston. It was named for Abiel Smith, a white philanthropist who left money in his will for the education of black children in the city. The city constructed a school with the money and all of the black children in the city were assigned to this school. It replaced the basement schoolhouse that was located in the church. Today it is the administrative offices for the Museum of African American History. You can also pick up the trail maps of the Black Heritage Trail at this site if you would like to learn more about this part of the citys history.

When you visit with your car rental in Boston, you can see a number of sites that are significant to the history of African Americans in the city. There are fifteen pre-Civil War structures that you can see. There are guided and unguided tours available along the Black Heritage Trail. You can find the park rangers who will provide the tours, or pick up the self-guided trail maps available at the Abiel Smith School.