Built by Puritans in 1729, the Old South Meeting House has had a number of brushes with history. Benjamin Franklin was baptized here. Phillis Wheatley, the first published black poet in the United States, was a member, as were patriots James Otis, Thomas Cushing, and William Dawes.
On December 16, 1773, five thousand colonists piled into the Old South Meeting House to voice their frustration over British taxation. After the gathering, the Boston Tea Party occurred at nearby Griffin's Wharf.
In the 19th century, the Old South was one of the first buildings in the United States to be preserved as a historic site; leading proponents of its protection included the philanthropist Mary Hemenway, abolitionist Wendell Phillips, and the writers Julia Ward Howe and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Today, the Old South is a museum open to the public and part of the Boston Freedom Trail.
