Downtown in Boston in Suffolk County, Massachusetts — The American Northeast (New England)
Old South Meeting House
Museum and Historic Site
Photographed by J. Makali Bruton, June 13, 2021
1. Old South Meeting House Marker
This building was built in 1729 as a Puritan meeting house. Benjamin Franklin was baptized here. Phillis Wheatley, the first African American author, worshipped here.
In the years leading up to the American Revolution, colonists gathered here to challenge British rule. On December 16, 1773 more than 5,000 people met here to protest the tax on tea, and heard Samuel Adams give the signal that started the Boston Tea Party.
In 1876, Bostonians fought to save this building from the wrecking ball in the first successful historic preservation effort in New England.
In the early twentieth century, this building provided a forum for public speakers who were denied a platform elsewhere.
Today, the Old South Meeting House lives on as an active meeting place and museum, providing a unique historic place where people encounter ideas.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Religion & Religious Structures • War, US Revolutionary. A significant historical date for this entry is December 16, 1773.
Location. 42° 21.412′ N, 71° 3.501′ W. Marker is in Boston, Massachusetts, in Suffolk County. It is in
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Massachusetts’ Historic Boston. It is also in the American Northeast, in New England, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Boston Transcript Building (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named Old South Meeting House (within shouting distance of this marker); Here Stood The Province House (within shouting distance of this marker); The Province House (within shouting distance of this marker); 45 Milk Street (within shouting distance of this marker); Spring Lane (within shouting distance of this marker); Boston Irish Famine Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); The Old Corner Bookstore
Photographed by J. Makali Bruton, June 13, 2021
2. Old South Meeting House and Marker
The marker is to the right of the Old South Meeting House Museum Shop entrance on Milk Street.
Also see . . . Old South Meeting House. (Submitted on June 28, 2021, by J. Makali Bruton of Washington, District of Columbia.)
Photographed by J. Makali Bruton, June 13, 2021
3. Old South Meeting House and Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 28, 2021, by J. Makali Bruton of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 578 times since then and 38 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 28, 2021, by J. Makali Bruton of Washington, District of Columbia.
