Located at Joy and
Smith Court, Beacon Hill
Phone: 617) 929-4523
Web site: www.afroammuseum.org
Africans are among America’s oldest ancestors. The first
ones arrived as slaves in Boston in February 1638, only eight
years after the city was founded. By 1705, there were 400 slaves
in Boston and the nucleus of a free black community formed in
the North End. By 1790, after the American Revolution,
Massachusetts became the only state in the Union to record no
slaves.
The life and struggles of
these free blacks centered around The African Meeting House on
Beacon Hill. A National Historic Landmark, The Meeting House is
the oldest extant black church building in the United States
built by free African American artisans.
The Museum of African
American History (MAAH) oversees the Meeting House and the Abiel
Smith School in Boston, as well as The African Meeting House on
Nantucket. Through its exhibits and the Black Heritage Trail,
the Museum places pre- and post-colonial African American
experience in an accurate social, cultural, and historical
context. MAAH’s resouces bring to life the remarkable stories
of the free blacks and white abolitionists who endured great
risks that remade the nation.
The Black Heritage Trail
explores the history of Boston’s 19th century
African American community. The 1.6 mile (2.5 km) walking tour
wends its way through the largest collection of historic sites
in the country evoking the life of a free pre-Civil War African
American community.
A self-guided walking tour
map and guide are available at the Museum. Guided walking tours
are offered daily from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day
weekend or, at other times, by special request.
Hours:
From Labor Day to Memorial
Day
Monday-Friday 10 am-4 pm
Summer Months
Daily 10 am-4 pm
Closed: Thanksgiving,
December 25, and January 1
Admission/fees:
No admission charge;
donations welcome
MUSEUM
OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY
ATTRACTIONS
