BACK TO SCHOOL: AMERICA 250
History isn't just something we learn. Sometimes, we can walk where it happened.
Join me as we explore historical places across the United States through field-trip-style travel guides designed to make America's story easier to see, understand, and experience.
YOUR HISTORY CLASSROOM JUST GOT A LOT BIGGER.
What if your next family trip could double as a history lesson?
Back To School: America 250 is a journey through the people, places, events, and stories that helped shape the United States.
From Revolutionary America to the places where history unfolded, each field trip combines the story behind a destination with ideas for actually experiencing it today.
FIELD TRIPS ACROSS AMERICA
Each stop takes us somewhere history happened - with the story, the places to see, and ideas for turning the lesson into a real-world adventure.
FIELD TRIP #1
REVOLUTIONARY NEW YORK
New York City wasn't just a backdrop to the American Revolution. It was one of the most important - and complicated - places in the fight for independence.
📚 THE STORY
When we think about the American Revolution, it's easy to picture Philadelphia, Boston, or the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
But New York was at the center of the conflict.
British troops captured New York City in 1776, and the city remained under British control for much of the Revolutionary War. Washington and the Continental Army fought major battles throughout the region, while New Yorkers experienced the war from very different perspectives.
Today, pieces of that history are still woven into the city — sometimes hiding in plain sight.
WHAT YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T KNOW
NEW YORK WAS OCCUPIED.
The British captured New York City after the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776 and held the city for years.
THE WAR WASN'T JUST HAPPENING FAR AWAY.
Battles, military movements, espionage, fires, and political conflict happened throughout the New York region.
WASHINGTON HAD A CLOSE CALL.
George Washington narrowly escaped capture during the British campaign in New York.
HISTORY IS STILL UNDER YOUR FEET.
Modern New York has been built over and around many places connected to the Revolutionary era.
📍 WHERE TO FIND THE HISTORY
Fraunces Tavern
Step inside the Long Room, where George Washington famously said farewell to his officers at the end of the Revolutionary War.
ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL
When the Great Fire of 1776 destroyed much of Lower Manhattan - including Trinity Church - St. Paul’s Chapel survived because people formed a bucket brigade from the Hudson River to protect the building.
BOWLING GREEN
On July 9, 1776, a crowd celebrating the Declaration of Independence marched from City Hall Park to Bowling Green and toppled the statue of King George III. The statue had stood there as a symbol of British authority. Its destruction became one of the city's most dramatic early revolutionary moments.
FEDERAL HALL
Stand where George Washington took the oath of office as the nation's first president.
👣 FOLLOW THE FOOTSTEPS
Want to experience Revolutionary New York for yourself?
Turn these historic sites into a walk through Lower Manhattan and see how much of America's early story is still hiding in modern New York City.
Start at Bowling Green, continue to Federal Hall and St. Paul's Chapel, and finish at Fraunces Tavern - following a path through some of the places where the story of American independence unfolded.
🏛️ BOWLING GREEN
Where a crowd toppled the statue of King George III.
🇺🇸 FEDERAL HALL
Where George Washington took the oath as the nation's first president.
⛪ ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL
A Revolutionary-era survivor of the Great Fire of 1776.
🍽️ FRAUNCES TAVERN
Where Washington famously said farewell to his officers.
🗺️ MAKE IT A FIELD TRIP
Visiting one historic site is interesting. Building a day around the story is an experience.
Bring the kids. Bring a notebook. Ask questions. Walk the streets. Stop for lunch. Look at the city around you and imagine what it looked like nearly 250 years ago.
That's the idea behind Back To School: America 250 - turning history into something you can actually experience.
FIELD TRIP SNAPSHOT
📍 Location: Lower Manhattan
⏰ Time: Half day to full day
👨👩👦 Great for: Families, homeschoolers, history lovers & curious travelers
✈️ MAKE IT A TRIP
Want to turn this field trip into a New York getaway?
I can help you build the travel side of the experience — from accommodations and transportation to activities and the details that make the trip work for your family.
Because sometimes the best way to learn history is to walk through it.
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES...
Revolutionary New York is just the beginning.
More historical field trips across America are coming as we follow the footsteps of the people, places, and stories that shaped our nation.
Back To School: America 250 🇺🇸
More field trips coming soon.