In preparation for an exhibit here in the Old State House, we are partnering with the Preservation Carpentry Program at the North Bennet Street School to recreate the front entrance to John Hancock's long-demolished mansion. The students of the Preservation Carpentry program are truly artists as well as craftspeople, and the range of techniques they are employing throughout this project is amazing. From timber framing to detailed carving, we never cease to be amazed at their skill, every time our staff visits their workshop.

In preparation for an exhibit here in the Old State House, we are partnering with the Preservation Carpentry Program at the North Bennet Street School to recreate the front entrance to John Hancock's long-demolished mansion. This post marks the beginning of a new blog series detailing that process.

This post is the final  part of a series exploring the legacy of Crispus Attucks, the first victim of the Boston Massacre. These posts were written by students in the Master of Public History program at Northeastern University. Crispus Attucks was an enslaved man of African and Native American heritage about whom little is known, but his legacy has been important to successive generations of Americans. For more information about the life and legacy of Crispus Attucks, see First Martyr of Liberty: Crispus Attucks in American Memory by Mitch Kachun (Oxford University Press, 2017).

This post is part of a series exploring the legacy of Crispus Attucks, the first victim of the Boston Massacre. These posts were written by students in the Master of Public History program at Northeastern University. Crispus Attucks was an enslaved man of African and Native American heritage about whom little is known, but his legacy has been important to successive generations of Americans. For more information about the life and legacy of Crispus Attucks, see First Martyr of Liberty: Crispus Attucks in American Memory by Mitch Kachun (Oxford University Press, 2017).

This post is part of a series exploring the legacy of Crispus Attucks, the first victim of the Boston Massacre. These posts were written by students in the Master of Public History program at Northeastern University. Crispus Attucks was an enslaved man of African and Native American heritage about whom little is known, but his legacy has been important to successive generations of Americans. For more information about the life and legacy of Crispus Attucks, see First Martyr of Liberty: Crispus Attucks in American Memory by Mitch Kachun (Oxford University Press, 2017).

This post is part of a series exploring the legacy of Crispus Attucks, the first victim of the Boston Massacre. These posts were written by students in the Master of Public History program at Northeastern University. Crispus Attucks was an enslaved man of African and Native American heritage about whom little is known, but his legacy has been important to successive generations of Americans

This post is part of a series exploring the legacy of Crispus Attucks, the first victim of the Boston Massacre. These posts were written by students in the Master of Public History program at Northeastern University. Crispus Attucks was an enslaved man of African and Native American heritage about whom little is known, but his legacy has been important to successive generations of Americans

The Bostonian Society recently received the generous donation of two etchings which present fictitious or imagined views of 1770's Boston. These etchings were done in 1778 in Augsburg by Franz Xaver Habermann, also known as Francois Xavier Habermann, an artist who never visited Boston or in fact got any closer to it than Italy. His images are obviously heavily influenced by the street scenes he saw around him and don't resemble the buildings that actually stood in Boston at the time.

Last week, Master Tailor and Costume Historian Henry Cooke returned to the Old State House to take a pattern from a pair of buff-colored silk breeches which once belonged to John Hancock. This is part of an on-going project by the museum to preserve these important garments for future generations.