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:
Massachusetts
National Park | Historic House
Concord, MA

Major John Buttrick, whose name is now the sake of this homestead, was a fourth generation American whose great-grandfather, William Buttrick, helped...

State/County Park | Historic Site

Marion Square, named in honor of Francis Marion, is greenspace in downtown Charleston, South Carolina and features remnants of The Hornwork, a large...

South Carolina
Historic Site
Charleston, SC

Francis Salvador, the first Jewish person to die in the Revolutionary War, was a London-born pioneer who moved to South Carolina in 1773. A vocal...

South Carolina
Battlefield | Historic Site
Moncks Corner, SC

Former Plantation of Henry Laurens: Merchant, Slave Trader, South Carolina Statesman, and Father of Revolutionary War Soldier John Laurens.

South Carolina
Historic Site | Gardens & Grounds
Charlestown, SC

Middleton Place is America’s Oldest Landscaped Gardens and home to a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

South Carolina
Historic Site | Historic House
Charleston, SC

In 1780, after the British occupied Charleston during the American Revolutionary War, the Brewton house was used as the British headquarters for Henry...

South Carolina
Battlefield | Historic Site
Moncks Corner, SC

Eighteenth-century Moncks Corner was a crossroads settlement of stores and taverns at the intersection of the Cherokee Path (the Indian traders’ path)...

Virginia
Historic Site | Historic House
Charlottesville, VA

Monticello, “Little Mountain,” was the home from 1770 until his death in 1826, of Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and...

New Jersey
National Park | Historic Site
Morristown, NJ

Morristown National Historical Park marks the site of the Continental Army’s 1779-80 encampment under George Washington. It symbolizes America’s fight...

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

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.

Biography

After the British victory at the Battle of Camden in August 1780, Major Patrick Ferguson was dispatched to the Southern Colonies. His task was to recruit members to fight for the Loyalist militia and protect Cornwallis’s left flank as he attempted to move through the Carolinas.

Biography

A Scottish exile turned American Patriot, Hugh Mercer rose from a fugitive of the Battle of Culloden to a trusted officer under George Washington. Mortally wounded while rallying his men at Princeton, his sacrifice became a symbol of American perseverance in the Revolution.

Biography

Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman from Massachusetts, became a celebrated poet, publishing a book in 1773, corresponding with prominent figures like George Washington, and demonstrating the literary talent of African Americans before dying in poverty at 31.

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
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.

Battlefield
Turbeville, SC

A surprise Patriot attack on Loyalist recruits is a blow to the British

State/County Park | Historic House
Wayne, NJ

The Dey Mansion, built around 1770, served as General George Washington’s headquarters in 1780 during a pivotal time in the American Revolution. As one of his surviving field headquarters, it offers a lasting connection to the strategic decisions, military challenges, and historic events that shaped the fight for independence.

Battlefield
Concord, MA

At dawn on April 19, 1775, an unknown shot shattered the silence in Lexington. British Redcoats and colonial militia clashed, leaving blood on the field. In Concord, the patriots struck back, and as the British retreated, gunfire hounded them to Boston, thus sparking the American Revolution

Battlefield | Historic Site
Camden, SC

A former British headquarters, explore the reconstructed Kershaw/Cornwallis House, British redoubts, and programs about colonial life.

State/County Park
Catawba, SC

This park features the Lands Ford crossing, used during the Revolutionary War by both British and American troops under Cornwallis and Sumter before and after pivotal battles.

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.

Historic Site | Historic House
Bedminister, NJ

The only surviving building associated with the Pluckemin Artillery Cantonment, America's first military academy, it served as the headquarters of Henry Knox during the Middlebrook encampment of 1778-1779.

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.

Historic Site |
Haddonfield, NJ

Step into the Indian King Tavern, where revolutionaries once gathered, laws were forged, and history was made. This legendary Haddonfield landmark saw New Jersey declare its independence, adopt its Great Seal, and host both Patriots and British forces in a high stakes struggle for America’s future.

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.

Historic Site | Historic House
Clemson, SC

Located near the famous Treaty of Hopewell site, the Hopewell Plantation house was the Pickens' family home and later served as the South Carolina Governor's Mansion.