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Boston, Massachusetts, is also known as Beantown. In colonial
days, beans baked slowly in molasses was a favorite dish there.
Boston is one of the oldest cities in the
United States. English colonists founded it in 1625. Because of its excellent
harbor, the city soon became the busiest port in America. It was the largest
city in the colonies for over 100 years. When the United States became a
nation, Massachusetts became a state with Boston as its capital.
CRADLE OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
Boston is sometimes called the cradle of American
independence. Many of the events that led to the American Revolution happened
in Boston. These events included the Boston Massacre in 1770 and the Boston Tea
Party in 1773. The massacre occurred when several citizens who were protesting
the presence of British troops in the city were shot and killed by the troops.
The Tea Party happened when colonists dumped a shipment of tea into Boston
Harbor to protest a British tea tax.
In 1775, Paul Revere began his midnight ride
in Boston to warn the colonists that the British were coming. The following
day, colonists fired on British soldiers marching to the nearby villages of
Lexington and Concord. That skirmish was the beginning of the American
Revolution.
You can learn about Boston’s role in the
revolution by following the Freedom Trail. This red path along the streets and
sidewalks of Boston connects the sites of 16 important events of the
Revolution.
A CITY OF FIRSTS
Many important American institutions and events began in
Boston. Boston Commons, in the center of the city, is the nation’s oldest
public park. In colonial times it was a public pasture. People could allow
their cows to graze there.
Boston has always been a leading American city in
education. Colonists opened the first free public school, Boston Latin, in
1635. The following year, they established America’s first university, Harvard,
across the Charles River in Cambridge. Bostonians created the first public
library in 1653. Nearly 200 years later, in 1825, the city opened the nation’s
first high school for girls. The nation’s first kindergarten was also started
in Boston in 1860.
In 1897, the city opened the first subway in
the country. That same year, the first annual Boston Marathon was held. The marathon
is a 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) race that has become a major annual event.
Boston hosted the very first game of baseball’s
World Series. The Boston Pilgrims (later, the Boston Red Sox) and the
Pittsburgh Pirates played that game in Boston in 1903. Boston won the series
five games to three.
BOSTON TODAY
Today, the population of Boston and the surrounding
suburbs is about 5.8 million people. Boston is the largest city in the
six-state New England region.
Education is still important in Boston. There are
more than 65 colleges and universities in or near the city. Some of them, such
as Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), are world
famous.
The Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park, the
oldest ballpark in major league baseball. Fenway’s high, green, left-field wall
is known throughout baseball as the Green Monster.
Boston has many fine museums, including the
Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Science. The city is also home to two of
the world’s great symphonies: the Boston Pops and the Boston Symphony
Orchestra. The Boston Pops plays at a spectacular fireworks display each year
on Independence Day.
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