Historical Boston Dig Seeks Site Of Nation's Oldest Public School

BOSTON (AP) — Archaeologists are digging in front of Boston's Old City Hall to find the original location of America's oldest public school.

Joseph Bagley, the city's archaeologist, is leading a volunteer team on an excavation starting Tuesday.

He hopes to locate building foundations and other structures for the Boston Latin School, which was originally called the Boston Free School when built in 1645. The school is now located elsewhere in the city.

The Old City Hall courtyard and businesses will remain open through the monthlong dig.

Mayor Marty Walsh says the excavation could reveal an important part of Boston's history and its famed Freedom Trail historic tour.

Among Boston Latin's notable early graduates were the Puritan minister Cotton Mather and American Revolution figures Samuel Adams and John Hancock.

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