Paul Revere House - Home of a Busy Silversmith

Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Boston Freedom Trail, a free self-guided tour.

Built around 1680, this dark wooden house is the oldest building still standing in downtown Boston. Paul Revere bought it in 1770 and lived here for about thirty years.

Revere was a silversmith, engraver, bell caster and, later, a copper manufacturer. He had sixteen children with his two wives, though not all of them lived to adulthood, so the house was rarely quiet.

On the night of April 18, 1775, Revere left from here to warn that British troops were on the move toward Lexington and Concord. He was not alone: William Dawes rode by another route, and other riders joined along the way. Revere was actually caught by a British patrol before reaching Concord.

A famous poem written decades later turned the ride into a solo legend. The real story, with many riders and a whole network of messengers, is even better. Note the overhanging second floor, a style typical of the 1600s.

Getting here: Follow the red line past Haymarket, through the underpass beneath the Greenway, and into the North End along Hanover and Richmond Streets to North Square.

Did you know?: Revere never shouted that the British were coming: most colonists still considered themselves British, and the raid depended on secrecy.

Photo op: Stand across North Square for a full view of the house's wooden front and overhanging upper floor.

More on Wikipedia: Paul Revere House · Paul Revere · William Dawes · Battles of Lexington and Concord

Stops on this tour

1. Boston Common - Where Cows Grazed and Redcoats Camped
2. Massachusetts State House - The Golden Dome
3. Park Street Church - Brimstone Corner
4. Granary Burying Ground - Patriots at Rest
5. King's Chapel - The Church That Ran Out of Money
6. Boston Latin School Site - America's First Public School
7. Old Corner Bookstore - Where Books Changed America
8. Old South Meeting House - The Tea Party Starts Here
9. Old State House and Massacre Site - Shots on State Street
10. Faneuil Hall - The Cradle of Liberty
11. Paul Revere House - Home of a Busy Silversmith
12. Old North Church - Two Lanterns in the Steeple
13. Copp's Hill Burying Ground - A View Across the River
14. USS Constitution - Old Ironsides Still Afloat
15. Bunker Hill Monument - The Battle on Breed's Hill