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:
South Carolina
Historic Site
Gaffney, SC
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...

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

Rebekah Howe Fiske Merriam, a witness to the fighting during the Battles of Lexington and Concord, lived through significant personal and historical events, later remarrying and passing away in 1845.

Biography

The commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, Howe is now known for his failure to quell the revolution in the colonies during its early years and return loyalty to the British crown.

Biography

Tony Small, a formerly enslaved man, saved British soldier Lord Edward FitzGerald after the Battle of Eutaw Springs in 1781. Grateful, FitzGerald freed Small, who became his assistant and followed him to Ireland. They remained close until FitzGerald's death in 1798, after which Small settled near London.

Biography

William Franklin, the loyalist governor of New Jersey and son of Benjamin Franklin, remained devoted to Britain throughout the American Revolution, even as his father supported the revolutionary cause.

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.
Battlefield
Clarendon County, SC

Patriot Francis Marion earns his famous nickname — "The Swamp Fox”— after a futile chase by British Commander Banastre Tarleton

Historic Site | Gardens & Grounds
Morristown, NJ

Now a quiet park in the center of urban Morristown, this green once served as the training and parade grounds of the Continental Army during its 1777 winter encampment.

Historic Site | Historic House
McConnells, SC

Discover the history of the Scots-Irish and African-Americans through preserved buildings and living history experiences of the Brattonsville community.

Battlefield
Sullivan's Island, SC

Treacherous waters and Patriot fire foil a British attack on Charleston Harbor

Battlefield |
Port Republic, NJ

Colt's Neck, occupied by Patriots until October of 1778, was a privateer outpost utilized as a staging point for planning and executing the capture of several British naval vessels.

Battlefield | Historic Site
Summerton, SC

After an eight-day siege, this strategic outpost fell to the Americans, who used an ingenious structure called Maham’s Tower to fire down into the fort and trap the enemy.

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 |
Boston, MA

One of the oldest public buildings in the United States, the Old State House was the seat of government in Massachusetts leading up to the Revolution and after the consolidation of the States. Infamously, the Boston Massacre happened just beyond its steps.

Historic Site | Gardens & Grounds
Mt Pleasant, SC

Boone Hall was influential in the history of South Carolina. Explore the house and grounds of this Colonial Plantation, as well as a live presentation of the Gullah Culture adapted by African slaves.

State/County Park
Santee, SC

Santee State Park offers biking and hiking trails and pontoon boat tours of the flooded cypress forest on Lake Marion, named after Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox”.

Battlefield | State/County Park
Trenton, NJ

Also known as the Battle of Assunpink Creek, Washington thwarted Cornwallis yet again, just south of the town of Trenton where they had fought only days prior.

Battlefield
Johnsonville, SC

Known as an extremely important ferry crossing in the Colonial Period, Marion fortified this ferry and frequently utilized it to quickly move his troops to lay ambushes