Boston Public Latin School

Boston Public Latin School, built in 1635 at the corner of this site, was the first public school in America and gave School Street its name. In 1636, a subscription service was raised for a free schoolmaster, and in 1645 the town stipulated that Indians were to be taught gratis. The school stood on the north side of School Street from 1635 to 1749, then was relocated to the opposite side, where it remained until 1844. Now located in Roxbury, it is the oldest educational institution in the country. The Public Latin School provided free education to notable figures in American history including John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Charles Bulfinch, and Benjamin Franklin, who was born in Boston in 1706, attended school on this site, and later pursued a distinguished career as an author, inventor, politician, and statesman.

Cambridge, Massachusetts · United States