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African Meeting House, Boston, MA

Photo: ajay_suresh, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sightseeing

African Meeting House

Built in 1806, this Beacon Hill meeting house is considered the oldest surviving Black church building in the United States.

Boston, MA

About African Meeting House

The African Meeting House was completed in 1806 for a Baptist congregation led by Reverend Thomas Paul. Beyond worship, it hosted a school, public lectures, adult classes, and community celebrations, and it served as a gathering place for abolitionists and anti-slavery organizations. Men from the building were recruited here for the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Regiment during the Civil War. The building later served as a synagogue before the Museum of African American History acquired it in 1972. It is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the Network to Freedom. The museum runs tours of the building, and the nearby Black Heritage Trail links related sites.

  • #African American history
  • #Underground Railroad
  • #abolition
  • #Beacon Hill
  • #National Historic Landmark

What's around here?

The closest stops to African Meeting House, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing

    Boston African American National Historic Site

    No admission fee

    A cluster of historic buildings on Beacon Hill that document Boston's 1800s Black community and its fight against slavery.

    Right next doorMore like this

  • Sightseeing

    Massachusetts Fallen Firefighters Memorial

    No admission fee

    A statewide monument in Beacon Hill honoring Massachusetts firefighters who have died in the line of duty.

    Steps awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Massachusetts State House

    No admission fee

    Tour the gold-domed 1798 capitol on Beacon Hill, with marble halls, murals and the Sacred Cod in the House chamber.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    Steps awayMore like this

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Boston Athenæum

    Under $25

    Buy a ticket to tour the galleries and reading rooms of a Beacon Hill library founded in 1807.

    0.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Tours
    History Buff

    Tour of the Freedom Trail

    $25–$50

    Costumed guides lead a walking tour of Boston's Freedom Trail from Boston Common past the State House, Old South and Faneuil Hall.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    0.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Eat & Drink
    Iconic

    Cheers Beacon Hill

    $25–$50

    The real Beacon Hill bar whose exterior inspired the TV sitcom Cheers, tucked beneath the historic Hampshire House.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    0.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Eat & Drink

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