Trail Sites

Liberty Trail Historic Sites

Discover the myriad of sites across The Liberty Trail where significant cultural and Revolutionary history unfolded. From military ruins to meticulously restored mansions, immerse yourself in the footsteps of our nation’s history-makers.

States of Interest:
Virginia
Historic Site
Suffolk, VA

Located just south of the Chesapeake Bay, this "uninhabitable" Great Dismal Swamp was home to thousands of Native Americans and Maroons--self...

Virginia
Historic Site | Historic House
Lorton, VA

The home to Founding Father George Mason, this mansion is slightly atypical of Georgian architecture due to its unique interior design that blends...

South Carolina
State/County Park | Historic House
McClellanville, SC

This 18th-century plantation home, on the grounds of the Hampton Plantation State Historic Site, served as a place of refuge for Francis Marion who...

Virginia
Historic Site
Norfolk, VA

The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is one of ten U.S. Navy-run museums in the country. It highlights Virginia's naval history from the American Revolution...

Massachusetts
Historic Site | Historic House
Lexington, MA

In the early twilight hours of April 19, 1775, Paul Revere rode by this house to warn its occupants, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, of the impending...

South Carolina
Historic Site | Historic House
Clemson, SC

Built in 1716 for Paul de St. Julien in Berkeley County. The house was later dismantled and moved to Clemson University and functions as a house...

Massachusetts
Historic Site | Historic House
Lexington, MA

The Harrington House belonged to that of Jonathan Harrington whom, according to local history, crawled back to his house to pass in his wife's arms...

Massachusetts
National Park | Historic House
Lincoln, MA

Located near where Paul Revere was captured during his famous ride, one of Revere's compatriots was able to escape and alert Hartwell family, who...

South Carolina
Historic Site | Historic House
Charleston, SC

This historic house museum was the home of Thomas Heyward, Jr., one of four South Carolina signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Liberty Trail History Makers

The Revolutionary War was a war unlike any other — one of ideas and ideals, that shaped “the course of human events. Explore the history and personalities from this pivotal time in American history.
Biography

Colonel Tye, an escaped slave from New Jersey, became a feared Black Loyalist leader during the Revolutionary War. Leading the Black Brigade, he raided Patriot forces until a fatal wound in 1780. His legacy reflects the fight for freedom beyond American independence.

Biography

During the Battle of Camden, when the American line collapsed, de Kalb and his infantry remained on the field. De Kalb led a counterattack in an attempt to stem the tide but the British swarmed around the American. As Gates’s army retreated, de Kalb fell and was taken to Camden where he died in 3 days.

Biography

Ferguson, inventor of the Ferguson rifle, commanded a group of Cornwallis' Loyalists he had recruited. Ferguson threatened to invade the mountains beyond the legal limit of settlement westward. The locals organized a militia and fought against the loyalist forces on October 7, 1780 in the Battle of King’s Mountain.

Biography

Colonel Samuel Griffin, a Virginia lawyer and officer in the Continental Army, played a key role in the 1776 campaign, leading militia units in New Jersey and engaging the Hessians near Mount Holly. Stricken by illness during critical battles, he later served as mayor of Williamsburg and a U.S. congressman after the war.

Exploring History
We invite you to visit the preserved locations along the Liberty Trail and to immerse yourself in the extraordinary events that determined the fate of a nation.
Historic Site | Historic House
Clemson, SC

Built in 1716 for Paul de St. Julien in Berkeley County. The house was later dismantled and moved to Clemson University and functions as a house museum.

Battlefield |
Williamsburg, VA

One of the last Virginia land battles of the Revolution prior to Yorktown, Green Spring saw Anthony Wayne and the Marquis de Lafayette successfully lead their troops to victory against an ambush laid by Charles Cornwallis.

Historic Site | Battlefield
Princeton, NJ

Nassau Hall, once the largest stone building in the colonies, housed the College of New Jersey, now known as Princeton. During the Battle of Princeton in 1777, British troops fortified the building as a last stand defense.

Battlefield
Pinewood, SC

McLeroth and his 64th Regiment were escorting 200 recruits from Charleston to Camden when Marion, with about 700 men, surprised them at Halfway Swamp.

Historic Site | Historic House
Charleston, SC

Visit Historic Drayton Hall — Tour the nation’s oldest preserved plantation house in America still open to the public. Explore Drayton Hall's 18th-century architecture, landscapes & the people who lived here.

National Park | Historic Site
Gaffney, SC
Stretching 330-miles through four states (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina) the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail traces the route used by Patriot militia during the pivotal...
Historic Site |
Williamsburg, VA

Known worldwide as the nation's largest living history museum, Colonial Williamsburg operates the restored eighteenth-century capital of colonial Virginia.

Historic Site | Historic House
Plainfield, NJ

Located in northern New Jersey, the Nathaniel Drake house offers a unique glimpse into life during the American Revolution. Once housing George Washington and his officers in 1777, it proves itself a vital landmark in the state.

Battlefield
Hollywood, SC

The Patriots launch a misguided attack on British troops retreating from an aborted raid on Charleston

Battlefield
Boston, MA

Ensuing the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Patriot forces advanced on Boston, determined to overthrow the British occupation. Fortifying Dorchester Heights, George Washington positioned artillery to force the evacuation of British forces in the city.

Battlefield
Charlestown, MA

A proving ground for the Patriot cause, the infamous Battle of Bunker Hill was the first pitched battle between New England soldiers and the British. Although the British claimed the field, some 1,000 British soldiers and Marines were wounded or killed in action.

Historic Site | Historic House
Boston, MA

One of the oldest residential buildings in Boston, this structure was once the home of one-and-only Paul Revere, an avid member of the Sons of Liberty.