Boston · Massachusetts Bay

Lanterns,
letters & liberty.

Trace Puritan migration, read a governor’s portrait, and discover how a city’s words and signals could change history.

Red brick Faneuil Hall and its public plaza in Boston — Faneuil Hall today · This building dates from the 1700s, after Winthrop’s lifetime.

Historical portrait of John Winthrop in black clothing and a white ruff collar — John Winthrop · unknown artist, 17th century
American Antiquarian Society · public domain

Massachusetts Bay · 1630

Meet Governor John Winthrop.

Winthrop led a group of Puritan colonists to Massachusetts Bay in 1630. He arrived at Salem, moved to Charlestown, and then to Boston. The Puritans hoped to build a community shaped by their religious beliefs.

Boston already belonged to a much older Indigenous landscape. Massachusett people had their own communities and government. Freedom for English religious settlers did not mean equal freedom for everyone, including religious dissenters, Native peoples, and enslaved Africans.

Read the portrait: What do the clothing, pose, and expression suggest about how a governor wanted to be remembered? A portrait cannot tell the whole story of his leadership.

Portrait record ↗ · Massachusetts historical account ↗ · Massachusett tribal history ↗

Historic iron and glass lantern in the Concord Museum

A signal · 1775

A light with a message.

The Concord Museum identifies this lantern as one of the lights used for the Old North Church signal on April 18, 1775. It was a signal from the church, not a lantern Revere carried on horseback.

Concord Museum object record ↗

A written record

Whose words survive?

Letters, journals, laws, and printed notices preserve people’s ideas. Ask who could write, who was heard, and whose words were left out. A governor’s account is one perspective.

Compare accounts of the Boston Massacre →

Follow the places, then ask about the people.

Choose “Landings · 1620 & 1630” for the coastal locations, or “Mayflower · Atlantic” for the ocean crossing. Dashed connectors join documented places; they do not claim an exact sailing track.

Landings & settlement: 1620 and 1630

Long dashes: Mayflower locations, 1620Short dashes: Winthrop’s movement, 1630

Legend: blue = water; light land = geographic context; gold = Massachusetts; numbered circles = places described below. North is up. *Scale is approximate at the map’s middle latitude. Distances are straight-line distances, not road or ferry routes.
Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 cartographic data. Modern boundaries are not Native homeland borders. Numbered points mark approximate harbor or town areas. Boston and Charlestown pins are offset with leader lines for legibility. Dashed connectors indicate sequence, not exact travel routes. Coastline and borders are modern. Sources: Plimoth Patuxet Museums; Secretary of the Commonwealth, Historical Sketch of Massachusetts.

Mayflower source ↗ · Winthrop and Massachusetts Bay source ↗

Cape Cod / Provincetown Harbor · 1620

The Mayflower reached Cape Cod in November 1620. Passengers remained aboard while parties explored possible settlement places. This point identifies the harbor area, not an exact anchorage.

Investigate this story →

Who held the lanterns?

A familiar signal still gives historians questions to investigate. Watch this official Old North film with your teacher, then connect the story with the museum lantern above.

Old North Church & Historic Site · 6:49

Who held the lanterns at Old North?

In Episode 1 of “99% Sure,” Old North researcher T.J. Todd investigates who held the lanterns on April 18, 1775. Preview the film, then pause to discuss how historians investigate a familiar story.

Open video with its publisher ↗ · Source & teaching context ↗

Watch, pause, and discuss

What question is the researcher trying to answer?
What evidence would help us learn who held the lanterns?
Why might a historian be careful about saying they are completely sure?

Look · listen · investigate

One signal. Many people.

Look closely at the lantern photograph. What material is it made from? What would you need to make it visible at night?

After watching, name one question the historian asks. Separate what a source tells us from what we still need to learn.

Open the Revolution evidence lab →

Hear the poem, then check the history

Literacy In Focus · Full poem read aloud with text

Listen: Paul Revere’s Ride

Hear Longfellow’s poem and follow its words. Notice the rhythm and sound effects. Then compare the poem with a historical account: Revere did not ride alone, and he was stopped before Concord. A dramatic retelling can help us remember an event while changing its details.