The Edwards: Finally Found the Founding Fathers

I was lucky enough to join Jason on a business trip to Boston early in the summer. Other than touring a few historical sites, I wasn't quite sure what there was to do. My kindle was loaded up just in case! To both of our surprise, we loved it. I will admit we both love to travel and are easily entertained when we do. Just give us a seedy bar with decent music and we're set. We did indeed find the seedy bars with LIVE music (big bonus), but we were taken by surprise at the amount of history you can still see and touch there. The locations were all so easily accessed to the public and some of them were 200 years old. With both of us being (mostly) native Texans, we're not used to seeing churches from the 1700's or getting to walk the same streets our founding fathers once did.

We stayed at the Parker House which happens to be located right across the street from a few of my favorite spots, one being King's Chapel. The church's bell was cast by Paul Revere and still summons parishioners to service every Sunday. The exterior of the church is nice enough but nothing like the inside. One of the neatest parts was the design of the box pews.

From a website: "The box pews of King's Chapel are the original pews. Each pew was owned by a family who paid fifty-four shillings a year (about $150 in today's money) for the space. They were designed with high sides to protect worshippers from winter drafts in the days before central heating. Parishioners would sit close together with a foot warmer on the floor providing heat. Each pew reflected the size and make-up of the family, who would bring in their own pillows, fabrics, and furniture for their pew. Children often faced their parents, rather than the chancel, so that parents could watch both the service and their children. The pews in the galleries were were available for those who could not afford the rent on the box pews downstairs. In 1906, the Church bought back the pews, which are now open to all. While the pews have required re-upholestering, the padding beneath is still made of horse hair."

The names of the families that originally owned the pew boxes are still there, including a nameplate for Paul Revere's family. So cool! Below are some pictures of the exterior of the church.

Paul Revere's home, we were able to tour the inside

I know it's odd to call a cemetery beautiful, but Granary Burying Ground is just that. Many of the gravestones are so old, any inscriptions have been long weathered away. Among others, it's the resting place to Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Ben Franklin's parents.

Samuel Adams gravestone

The cemetery was surrounded by beautiful buildings and trees

Statue of Paul Revere, you can see the steeple and bell tower of the Christ Church
where he hung the lanterns, we were able to tour that church as well!