The Revere Express

Our blog content is provided by past and present staff, outside researchers, and interns. We try to provide a wide variety of content and add new articles often! Browse below to find areas that interest you. 

“The Cabbage Vendor” – an Unexpected Surprise

By: Edith Steblecki It’s not every day that someone contacts the Paul Revere Memorial Association and offers to donate a framed painting showing two of our historic homes- the Revere and Pierce/Hichborn Houses. Needless to say, we were surprised and delighted when...

Traditions of the Season: Rachel Revere’s Kitchen

By: Emily Holmes Welcome to Rachel Revere’s “modern” kitchen! The kitchen space in this 1680 home was originally down in the basement level. When Paul Revere bought this property in 1770 his wife Sarah and their daughters likely cooked down there in the basement...

Virtual Traditions of the Season at the Paul Revere House Recipes

Virtual Traditions of the Season at the Paul Revere House Recipes By: Nina Zannieri These recipes come by popular request out of our recent virtual holiday program, made possible by the generous support from and sponsorship by the Paul Revere Chapter, NSDAR. These...

Wait, Did You Say 16 Kids?

By: Rachel MeadVisitors to the Paul Revere House are often amazed to learn that Paul Revere had 16 children. No, that is not a typo. He married his first wife, Sarah Orne, on August 17, 1757 when he was 22 and she was 21. They started having children within a year....

Onesimus Mather and the Origins of Inoculation in Boston

By: Rowan WheelerIn 1721, Boston was in the middle of a mass exodus. That summer, hundreds of Bostonians fled to smaller villages and towns to escape the threat of smallpox. That year’s pandemic would wipe out 14% of Boston’s population. Meanwhile, minister Cotton...

Sinking Your Teeth into History: Sugar, Dentistry, and Paul Revere

By: Ruaidhri CroftonAmong the items in the Paul Revere Memorial Association’s collection is a small and somewhat morbid-looking partial denture carved from ivory. This early dental prosthetic device was not something that any Revere family member wore. Rather, the man...

Redeveloping Place and Narrative at the Site of the Liberty Tree

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest scholar post comes to us from Maddie Webster, and is a timely reflection on the origins of commemoration for the Liberty Tree in Boston, a historic site of great significance for varied stakeholders. Maddie is a Ph.D. student in the...

A Model Society: Victorian Boston in the British Women’s Movement

Editor’s Note: As we approach the centennial anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s passage, we are excited to present today’s guest scholar posting from Agnes Burt. Agnes’ work explores one of the lesser-known transatlantic struggles for women’s equality on the way to...

A Street View of the Paul Revere House

By Patrick M LeeheyEditor’s Note: This article is written from the point of view of a visitor standing in the street looking at the Paul Revere House and its neighboring structures. It is meant to serve as a primer for exterior tours of North Square and as extra...