Interested persons and nine historic houses in eastern Massachusetts joined together to form the Colonial Loyalist Alliance of Massachusetts with the objective of creating a Tory Trail for educational purposes and to attract visitors. Each of the landmark sites on the Trail was owned by a loyalist family during the period leading up to the American Revolution. All of the sites are designated historic landmarks, owned by non-profit organizations, and open to the public.

There is very little information available to the general public on the loyalists, and their plight during the Siege of Boston. These forgotten people suffered greatly because they disagreed with the patriot sentiments and wanted a peaceful solution to the conflict with King George, rather than a civil war. They were driven from homes and livelihoods, many never returning to property that had sometimes been in families for generations.

The Tory Trail will promote the "losing" side's remaining historic sites to balance the overwhelming emphasis on the Freedom Trail in Boston. Visitors from outside the immediate region, from Canada and Great Britain, for example, will be interested in Massachusetts' willingness to acknowledge another point of view. As visitors follow the Trail, they will be drawn off the standard tourist path into communities not usually visited by organized tours.

The Tory Trail brochure and map is educational as well as directive. Visitors or students will be able to go from site to site while learning something about the loyalists - black and white. This brochure will be available to visitors at major information centers around Boston, via the Internet, and by mail.