Boston Women's Heritage Trail

LOCATION: COMMONWEALTH AVENUE AT FAIRFIELD STREET, BOSTON

The Boston Women’s Memorial, created in 2003 by artist Meredith Bergmann, honors three prominent women's rights advocates: Abigail Adams, Lucy Stone, and Phillis Wheatley. The bronze sculptures portray the women standing beside their pedestals, using them as writing desks to symbolize their lasting impact through words and ideas. Scan the QR code on Lucy Stone's statue and hear voices that bring the stories of these three women to life.

LOCATION: 700 BOYLSTON STREET, BOSTON

The Boston Public Library has long served as a center of learning, culture, and reform for Boston women. Since its founding in 1854, the institution has welcomed generations of readers, from activists to immigrants, who found opportunity and inspiration among its collections. Women also helped shape the library’s history as staff, writers, and artists. Inside the historic McKim Building, visitors can see a sculpted portrait of suffragist Lucy Stone created by Anne Whitney in Bates Hall, along with artwork and exhibits that reflect women’s contributions to literature, education, and the arts.

LOCATION: 24 BEACON ST., BOSTON

Installed just outside Doric Hall, this Massachusetts State House artwork celebrates the achievements of women who dedicated their lives to improve the Commonwealth. The two-toned marble bas-relief combines etched words, bronze busts, and artistic design to honor a diverse group of women activists, reformers, and leaders.

LOCATION: 24 BEACON ST., BOSTON

This site marks where John Hancock’s home once stood and where Abigail and John Adams were warmly welcomed back to Boston in 1788 after years abroad. Their return from Europe was met with cheering crowds, ringing church bells, and celebrations along the route to Beacon Hill.

LOCATION: 5 PARK ST., BOSTON

This location was once home to the offices of The Woman’s Journal, edited by Lucy Stone, and the New England Women’s Club, both central to Boston’s early women’s rights movement. Located near the State House, these spaces allowed activists to advocate directly for woman suffrage and other social reforms. The building later hosted the first meetings of the 9 to 5 women’s office workers’ union, continuing its legacy as a hub for organizing and advancing women’s rights.

LOCATION: 310 WASHINGTON ST., BOSTON

The Old South Meeting House, a key site for Revolutionary-era meetings, was preserved thanks to the efforts of women philanthropists, including Mary Tileston Hemenway. Among its historic members was Phillis Wheatley. She was the first African American woman to have her poetry published, with her work often celebrating freedom and justice. Today, visitors can explore exhibits highlighting Wheatley’s life and the pivotal role women played in protecting this landmark.

LOCATION: BEACH AND TYLER STREETS, BOSTON

Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753–1784), the first African American woman to be published as a poet in America, arrived in Boston as a young child aboard the slave ship Phillis, landing at Avery’s Wharf near today’s Tyler Street. She was purchased by the Wheatley family, who taught her to read and write and nurtured her talent for poetry.

LOCATION: 200 WASHINGTON ST., BOSTON

The Old State House has long been a hub of government, commerce, and public life, and the surrounding area has served as a focal point where many influential Boston women lived, worked, and made their mark. Nearby, Elizabeth Murray ran a successful dry goods and cloth shop, achieving a rare financial independence for a woman in colonial Boston. In 1776, Abigail Adams resided close to the Old State House while her family underwent smallpox inoculations and witnessed the first Massachusetts reading of the Declaration of Independence. A few years later, Phillis Wheatley, the first African American woman published poet, moved nearby on Court Street.

LOCATION: CITY HALL PLAZA, CAMBRIDGE STREET, BOSTON

Formerly known in the eighteenth century as Brattle Square, Boston City Hall Plaza was home to Abigail Adams and her family from 1768 to 1774. During their time here, she managed family life while witnessing major events in Boston’s revolutionary history, including the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. Living in this central area placed the Adamses at the heart of the city’s political and social activity during a formative period for the new nation.

LOCATION: COURT AND STATE STREETS, BOSTON

In 1776, Abigail Adams temporarily moved her family to King Street (now State Street) in Boston so they could undergo smallpox inoculation, a practice introduced to the city decades earlier with guidance from an enslaved man named Onesimus. The family’s successful recovery reflected both the risks and advances of early medical practices. A few years later, Phillis Wheatley, now a free woman, lived nearby on Court Street, adding to the area’s history as a place where influential Boston women lived and left their mark.

LOCATION: STATE ST.& KILBY ST., BOSTON

At the corner of King Street and Mackerel Lane, Phillis Wheatley lived in the Wheatley family mansion from 1761 to 1774, observing the busy streets and revolutionary events that would inspire much of her poetry. During her time here, she learned English in just over a year, mastered Greek and Latin, and began writing the poems that would later be published in England. From this central Boston location, Wheatley could have witnessed the city’s unrest firsthand, including patriots protesting the Stamp Act, or the Redcoats marching up from the harbor.  

LOCATION: QUINCY MARKET, BOSTON

Faneuil Hall has long served as a gathering place for women advocating social change, from early anti-slavery bazaars to labor strikes and suffrage rallies. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, it hosted events that raised funds for causes like the Bunker Hill Monument, promoted Native American rights, and advanced women’s professional and labor movements. Visitors can see tributes to key figures, including Lucy Stone, and reflect on how Faneuil Hall became a central forum for women pushing for equality and justice in Boston.