Happening in Boston
PAUL REVERE: THE MESSENGER AND THE MAKER
Date: April 18, 2025
Time: 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: USS Constitution Museum, Charlestown, MA
This April, the USS Constitution Museum honors Paul Revere—the midnight rider and master craftsman—250 years after his legendary ride. From sounding the alarm for revolution to forging copper for USS Constitution, Revere’s impact on America endures.
Join us on Friday April 18th for an open house, a lantern-making event, and an expert talk that brings his story to life. Whether you’re welcoming Revere’s arrival by lamplight, or diving into the history of his midnight ride, there’s something for everyone.
Lantern Workshops (5:00-9:00 PM): Create your own wooden lantern at the Museum and help welcome Paul Revere at Pier 1 of Charlestown Navy Yard and join the procession to City Square in Charlestown!
The Reasons for Revere’s Ride at USS Constitution Museum (8:00–8:30 PM): Broaden your understanding of the famous ride with J.L. Bell, a respected author and historian specializing in the American Revolution. Bell will speak to the context of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride, helping us to understand why it happened and its importance.
PAUL REVERE BIDS FAREWELL
Date: April 18, 2025
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 Open House, 8:00 PM Departure for Waterfront
Location: The Paul Revere House @ 19 North Square, Boston, MA 02113
Free and open to the public, as site capacity allows
More Information: https://www.paulreverehouse.org/rev250-events/
Encounter Paul and Rachel Revere in their home as he prepares to depart on his Midnight Ride. Tour the museum’s Visitor Center, where museum staff will share the full story of Revere’s adventures on April 18, 1775.
As the evening progresses, gather in North Square to witness Revere’s departure from his home, and follow in his footsteps as he makes his way stealthily to the waterfront.
REVOLUTION’S EDGE: COSTUMED READING OF THE HIT PLAY
Date: April 18, 2025
Time: 6:30pm
Place: Paul Revere Mall, Boston’s North End
Free and Open to the Public
More Information: www.oldnorth.com/250th/
ASL Interpretation will be offered.
To kick off Boston’s Patriots’ Day weekend celebrations in partnership with the City of Boston, Old North Illuminated will stage a free reading of the hit play Revolution’s Edge behind Old North Church on Paul Revere Mall. Mayor Michelle Wu and other local officials will attend the play and give remarks to commemorate this historic anniversary. Written by Patrick Gabridge and produced by Plays in Place, Revolution’s Edge is a gripping 45-minute historical drama that ran at Old North Church in the summers of 2023 and 2024. Guests will be greeted with live music before brief speaking remarks welcome the crowd and introduce the 45-minute costumed read of the play. Old North’s lanterns will light up soon after the play’s conclusion, at the beginning of the reenactment of Revere’s row across the Charles River.
250TH ANNIVERSARY LANTERN SERVICE FEATURING HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
Date: April 18, 2025
Time: 7:00pm
Place: Old North Church @ 193 Salem St, Boston, MA
Tickets Required
More Information: www.oldnorth.com/lanternservice/
The Old North Church is offering a traditional Lantern Service on Friday, April 18, 2025 at 7:00pm in honor of the 250th anniversary of the “two if by sea” signal from the church’s steeple on the eve of the American Revolution. Dr. Heather Cox Richardson, acclaimed author and professor of history at Boston College, will deliver the keynote address. Organized by Old North’s clergy and congregation and modeled on the service offered for the 200th anniversary in 1975 with Pres. Gerald Ford, this 250th Anniversary Lantern Service recalls the lights of freedom and encourages reflection on the meaning of faith, freedom, and American democracy today. It will include inspirational music; Paul Revere’s own recollection of his historic ride and Old North’s signal lights; Heather Cox Richardson’s address; and prayers for our nation as we begin our Semiquincentennial. The service will culminate with the lighting of the church’s historic lanterns.
TWO IF BY SEA, EVENING HARBOR CRUISE
Date: April 18, 2025
Time: 8:00 – 9:00 pm
Location: Long Wharf
Cost: $25
Embark on a captivating one-hour cruise through Boston Harbor and witness Paul Revere’s legendary midnight crossing to Charlestown. Experience history come to life as costumed reenactors recreate Revere’s daring journey, signaling the start of the American Revolution. Enjoy stunning waterfront views, live narration, and an immersive glimpse into this pivotal moment in history.
The trip will begin at Long Wharf and end at Long Wharf after cruising to the site where Paul Revere crossed Boston Harbor.
Organized by the Boston National Parks and Boston Harbor Now
DON’T LIKE BOATS? CAN’T MAKE THE CRUISE?
Public View of the Crossing of Paul Revere
Date: Friday, Apr 18, 2025
Time: 8:15 – 9:00 pm
Location: Langone Park
Free and open to the public.
Step back in time and witness history come to life on Boston Harbor! Join us for a public viewing of the dramatic reenactment of Paul Revere’s legendary crossing of Boston Harbor. Experience the sights and sounds of colonial America with fife and drum music, family-friendly activities, and a dazzling display of lanterns lighting up the night. This unforgettable event celebrates the spirit of the Revolution!
UNEARTHING THE UNTOLD STORIES OF CHARLESTOWN’S SACRIFICE
Date: Friday, April 18, 2025
Time: 8:45 – 9:10 PM
Location: City Square, Charlestown, MA
Join us for an exclusive speaking program featuring Joe Bagley, City of Boston’s Chief Archaeologist, who will unveil groundbreaking, never-before-heard stories of Charlestown’s earliest residents. Drawn from recent archaeological discoveries, these narratives illuminate the sacrifices made by ordinary families whose homes were sacrificed for the cause of liberty during the American Revolution’s Battle of Bunker Hill. For the first time, the everyday heroes of Charlestown will be identified and commemorated.
The evening builds to a dramatic crescendo with a live historical reenactment: Paul Revere’s arrival at City Square. Rowing across the Charles River under the shadow of night, Revere will step ashore to confirm that two lanterns glowed in the Old North Church—a signal that sparked a revolution. Watch as he mounts his horse and races off on his legendary “Midnight Ride” to Lexington, a moment that echoes through history.
Happening in Lynnfield
shadows of 1775
Date: April 18, 2025
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Place: Centre Congregational Church
5 Summer St, Lynnfield, MA 01940
An original play featuring several of 1775 Lynn End (Lynnfield) telling their stories of the 19th of April.
Free and open to the public
Happening in Lexington
REENACTMENT OF PAUL REVERE’S MIDNIGHT RIDE
Date: April 18, 2025
Time: 10:00pm
Place: Hancock-Clarke House
36 Hancock St, Lexington, MA 02420
Lexington was preparing for battle long before British soldiers arrived on April 19th, 1775. The day before, Paul Revere and William Dawes, fellow Sons of Liberty, rode hard from Boston, arriving in town just before midnight. Their destination: the home of Reverend Jonas Clarke, cousin to patriot leader John Hancock. Their mission: To warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the impending British raid. Their arrival would start the chain of events leading to armed rebellion on Lexington Green at dawn the next day.
Start your Patriots’ Day early to see the alarm raised in Lexington! Join Lexington Historical Society in partnership with the Lexington Minute Men for a live reenactment of the night’s events at the Hancock-Clarke House, complete with real horses!
FREE and open to the public!
Happening in Acton
ROBBINS RIDE – ACTON MINUTEMEN
Date: April 18, 2025
Time: 5:00 pm
Place: Beeson Field, 105 Concord Road, Acton, MA 01720
On the evening of April 18th, 1775 the British sent a party of hundreds of soldiers, called Regulars, out from Boston toward Concord in an attempt to capture stores of ammunition that they had heard were stored there. Ahead of them rode Paul Revere on Brown Beauty, a horse supplied to him by a friend. Revere’s task was to set into motion a system of riders whose sole purpose it was to alarm all the towns of the countryside, and get them ready for the advance of the British Regulars.
Revere arrived in Lexington about midnight and alarmed the militia leaders there, as well as John Hancock and Samuel Adams. While Revere was still in Lexington, William Dawes rode in, also arriving from Boston, and also an alarm rider who took the longer overland route out of Boston. His ride was equally impressive, but he never got the fame that Revere did. Together, the two riders rode out of Lexington, toward Concord, where they needed to get the alarm spread so that Concord could hide all the weapons and stores from the advancing Brits.
In Lincoln, Revere and Dawes came upon Dr. Samuel Prescott of Concord, who was on his way home from courting a young lady in Lexington. He agreed to ride with Revere and Dawes to help spread the alarm, and together the three of them galloped on into Lincoln. There in Lincoln, they rode straight into a British patrol. Revere was captured, Dawes turned and rode back toward Lexington, but it was Prescott who managed to head into the marshes and escape, continuing the alarm ride to Concord, where he woke up all the town’s officials and militia leaders, thus enabling Concord to prepare for the ensuing arrival of the British.
Now at this point, the historical documentation gets a little cloudy, and it is not known with certainty where Prescott headed after this, but circumstantial evidence seems to point to him riding on into Acton and beyond.
Prescott, it is thought, arrived in Acton, where he alarmed Captain Joseph Robbins, one of Acton’s militia leaders, at about 3 in the morning of the 19th. Upon hearing the news, Captain Robbins had his 13 year old son saddle up their horse, whereupon the young boy took off with (or probably without) Prescott across town to alarm Captain Isaac Davis of the Acton Minutemen, and Francis Faulkner and Deacon Hunt, of Acton’s other militia unit.
We commemorate this heroic deed today as Robbins’ Ride, and for the purposes of safety and practicality, we combine the riders into one or two adult rider(s), but the rider still makes the rounds to all 4 stops that were alarmed on that fateful early morning in April of 1775, calling out “The Regulars are out of Boston – gather your units and head to Concord!”
We hold ceremonies and fire musket vollies at each of the four stops, and at the Faulkner Homestead in South Acton, Faulkner himself stumbles out in his nightclothes and manages (hopefully) to fire his musket 3 times to spread the alarm to his troops, whereupon the volley is echoed by another musket some distance away, followed by yet another even further off, demonstrating how the alarm was spread across town.
Please come join us for this annual event that is always held on the Sunday of Patriot’s Day weekend: Sunday April 16, 5pm at Robbins homestead on Concord Rd in Acton
Here is the schedule of the stops the rider makes:
- 5pm at the Robbins’ Homesite – soccer fields at bottom of Concord Rd.
- 5:20 at the Isaac Davis Homestead – 39 Hayward Road
- 5:40 at the Faulkner Homestead – 5 High St. in So. Acton (corner of Rte. 27)
- 5:55 at the Liberty Tree Farm – 24 Liberty St., also in So. Acton
- Map of the Robbins Route: HERE
View article: https://mailchi.mp/revolution250/uck1ov2477?e=dabc541107
