Tour the Underground Crypt at Boston’s Old North Church

As interested as I am in American history, I never knew you could tour the underground crypt beneath Boston's Old North Church.

As a matter of fact, I was unaware there was an underground crypt beneath Boston's Old North Church.

The Old North Church, more formally known as Christ Church in the City of Boston, is an Episcopal mission church located at 193 Salem Street in the North End of Boston. The church, built in 1723, is the oldest standing church in Boston and is a National Historic Landmark.

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Even the most casual history buff knows that in April 1775, Paul Revere was among a handful of patriots who rode out into the countryside to alert Charlestown patriots that the British army was on its way.

Revere arranged for lanterns to be briefly lit in the steeple of the Old North Church as a signal that the British were crossing the Charles River by boat.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1860 poem "Paul Revere's Ride" romanticized the event and gave birth to the claim that Revere's men would hang "one (lantern) if by land, and two if by sea."

In 2009, an archeologist began examining the many bodies buried in the tombs in the church's crypt. The crypt was in use between 1732 and 1860.

Heather Morrison of MassLive.com reported, "After a nine-month restoration project, which helped with the structural integrity of the tombs and the historic church, tours of the crypts have reopened at the Old North Church in Boston."

The Old North Church website has the tour information.

Thanks to Morrison's piece, I now have a new item on my bucket list to pursue.