"Listen, my children and you shall hear..."

That's the part of the opening line of a poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow entitled "Paul Revere's Ride". Some call it the Mid-night Ride of Paul Revere. For years it was used as a learning tool for students when they were studying the Revolutionary War. I don't know if it is still used today or not. Longfellow wrote that around 100 years after that event.

The poem is an account of the mid-night ride Paul Revere made from Boston to Lexington to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming in force to arrest them on April 18,1775. The Brits wanted to arrest both Adams & Hancock for sedition for their activities leading up to the war. Revere was a member of the Sons of Liberty. He was sort of a secret agent back in colonial times.

While in Boston last week we visited Paul Revere's house and grave site. The house pictured above sits at 19 North Square in the North End of Boston. It was built c.1680 and Revere lived there with his family from 1770 to 1800. For a token fee you can tour the whole house and see furniture and other items on display from that era. You're not allowed to take pictures inside the house but if interested you can go to http://www.paulreverehouse.org/ to see what it looked like.

After the Revere family moved out it was a rental unit for immigrant families and sometimes used as a shop. In the early 1900s they were making plans to tear it down but Revere's great-grandson bought it in 1902. It was restored to the original specifications and in 1908 was opened to the public. Back in the days it was built and when the Revers lived there it was considered quite a grand house. By today's standards it looks a bit small and cramped for a family with kids.

Revere was a silversmith by trade and was noted for his quality work in that line. He employed many laborers and other tradesmen in his shop. Having folks to look after things allowed him time to be a messenger to carry the news to outlying areas and was sometimes sent to New York City and Philadelphia. That is how he got the task of his famous mid-night ride. Back in those days newspapers were scant and it was before the time for any form of telecommunications. So Revere got the job as an "express rider" while he was secretly a member of the Sons of Liberty. That job served his covert activities quite well. In addition to silversmith Revere also ran a hardware store, had a foundry and after the Revolution built the first copper rolling mill in the United States. He did a little politicing also. He must of been a busy man.

Revere died in 1818 at the age of 84. His final resting place is in the Granary Burying Ground next to the Park St. Church on Tremont St. in Boston. I was curious why they would name a grave yard after a place to store grain but could not find any history to shed any light on that aspect of it. The Granary is the third oldest cemetery in Boston with graves dating back to the early 1600s. Revere's original tomb stone and a small monument is also pictured above. We'll probably have more on the Granary later on. Along with the house it was a unique place to see.

That ends today's history lesson. Wonder where Revere lived between 1800 until the time of his death?

Oh, that first stanza of the poem goes:

Listen my children and you shall hear

of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

On the eighteen of April in Seventy-five,

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year.

ole nib