Revolutionary War history and Boston go together like lobster and butter—it just makes sense. The Freedom Trail is the classic, easily self-guided walking tour that connects major Revolutionary War-era sites in the city, but with all that happened in the city during colonial times, there are so many more under-the-radar sites that are equally interesting to pay a visit.

The benefit of visiting one of these other sites is that it’s definitely off the beaten, brick, Freedom Trail. It may take a bit more effort and coordination to visit these sites rather than just following a line, but we can assure you that the adventure will be well worth it to see some of these historical treasures.

Loyalist Sites

The Shirley Eustis House

Built in 1747 by then-Royal Governor William Shirley, it served as a seasonal country house. While now the neighborhood of Roxbury is a part of Boston and reachable by public transit, then it was a removed country getaway. Governor Shirley lived a very public, pro-Crown life filled with noble grandeur and fortune. This mansion clearly shows that, housing artifacts that relay the social ambition and fame of the Shirleys. “Shirley Place” received famous colonial visits, including from Benjamin Franklin.

After the Shirleys fled, the house was used as barracks and then a hospital during the Revolutionary War, something that happened to many Loyalists' homes seized by colonial patriots. Not too long after the war, William and Caroline Eustis moved in, using the mansion as a center of entertainment and routinely hosting guests like the Marquis de Lafayette, John Quincy Adams, and Aaron Burr, sir (sorry we had to).

Now the Shirley Eustis House exhibits the Georgian way of life in the Revolutionary War era.

  • Open: By Appointment, contact the Director by phone or email
  • Cost: Varies, inquire with staff

The Loring Greenough House

A country estate in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, the Loring Greenough House was the home of Loyalist Commodore Joshua Loring. It once stood on almost 60 acres of farmland, but now sits on a lush 2 acres of English gardens and green lawn which now regularly hosts movie nights, yoga classes, and gardening activities.

In 1760, when it was first built, the house was a grand display of Georgian finery. Upon the Lorings fleeing in 1774, the house was used as a hospital much like the Shirley Eustis House. The Lorings were infamous during their time—this branch of the family were the only ones who were Loyalists while all of their extended family were patriots. Also, Commodore Loring’s daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Lloyd Loring, was salaciously believed to be the mistress of General William Howe, the commander of all the British forces in Boston at the time. Elizabeth was blamed by British troops for being a distracting Femme Fatale, and therefore she was the reason for losing Boston to the colonists, not the lack of organization, supplies, or leadership.

  • Open: Sundays from April-December from 1-4 pm; also open by appointment
  • Cost: $5 donation per person for tours

Related: 'Athens of America': How Boston Earned Its Historic Nickname

Patriots Off the Freedom Trail

The Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site

During the 1775 siege of Boston, George Washington used this house as his military headquarters where his wife, Martha Washington would later join him. While this now-National Parks site recounts the time of war and uncertainty the Washingtons faced there, the museum also grapples with Washington’s legacy as a slaveholder who was also “the asserter of liberty” in a revolution.

In addition to the Washingtonian legacy, the National Parks has preserved this house as the home of the famed 19th-century poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Though not alive during the Revolutionary War, Longfellow evoked many Revolutionary War images and figures in his poetry that pre-shadowed the Civil War. The most of which was his poem “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” which shaped how Paul Revere was remembered in American history thereafter.

  • Open: Friday-Monday from 9:30am-5:00pm
  • Cost: Free but must make a reservation in advance for tours inside the house

Related: Boston-Bound- A Guide to its Best Neighborhoods

Central Burying Ground

Tucked away on the Boston Common (yes you read that right, on the Boston Common) the Central Burying Ground is often missed from the Freedom Trail crowd, though its historically related graveyards like Granary Burying Ground and Copps Hill, are connected by the trail. Created in 1756, the Central Burying Ground was the solution to overcrowding in the other graveyards but today is a small, anachronistic stretch of the Common.

If you’re an art enthusiast and/or you are familiar with the most famous portraits of American history icons like George and Martha Washington and Paul Revere, then this graveyard will be of particular interest to you. It is the final resting place of famed portraitist, Gilbert Stuart. Other notable interments include poet Charles Sprague and composer William Billings. If you're up for the more macabre too, don't forget to travel north to Salem for all of your graveyard, witchy needs.

  • Open: Sunrise to Sunset
  • Cost: Free