Abby Epplett, Historian

On the same day I visited Peak House Heritage Center , I went down the road to Medfield State Hospital National Historic Site . Established in 1892 as Medfield Insane Asylum, the Queen Anne-style red brick buildings stand at the top of hill near a large field. A family event was going on during my visit, but few people were walking among the shuttered buildings. The grounds have been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994 .

In October 2025, I went to a special event at Peak House Heritage Center in Medfield, MA. Striking for its early colonial architecture and location on Main Street, Peak House has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975 . Despite being a small property (the parking lot only fits five cars), the combination of a well-trained volunteer group, updated signage, and an easy to navigate website make this destination well worth the trip. This is an ideal house for families on their first historic house tour.

This nine-minute instrumental uses musical themes found throughout the work, some of which have already appeared in previous pieces. I will review past themes, explain the history and inspiration behind new or updated themes, connect the technique appearing in the composition to the emotions I intended to convey, and provide careful analysis to the structure of the piece. If you find this essay too technical and would rather simply listen to the music, feel free to jump to the bottom of the page where I have embedded the sheet music video.

Thursday, April 9, was the fourth installment of the 2026 season of Parked at Home hosted by Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park (BRVNHP) . Park Ranger Allison Horrocks presented from Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI, and was joined by Amanda Hatch of the Frances Perkins Center , the official philanthropic partner of the brand new Frances Perkins National Monument in Newcastle, Maine.

My last stop was Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens owned by the Trustees of Reservations , which I had last visited for Winterlights in 2024 . I have already shared details about the property and the family who lived there, but I was able to take a more extensive tour of the house and see the gardens during this second visit.

On the same day I visited Addison Gallery of American Art and Stevens Estate at Osgood Hill , I took a walk at Weir Hill run by the Trustees of Reservations in North Andover, MA. The 194-acre park is connected to Osgood Hill and part of the former Stevens family estate, along with an Essex National Heritage Site. With free parking an admission, plus clear signage on the four miles of trail, this is a great walk for those in the area, along with a place to learn about often overlooked local history.

I recently finished reading Inventing the Renaissance: The Myth of a Golden Age by Ada Palmer published by University of Chicago Press in 2025 and rightful given a spot on the Best Books of 2025 list compiled by The New Yorker . At 768 pages, this dense yet entertaining book required nearly 20 hours of reading time and gave me a better understanding of the Renaissance, European history, ethics, and modern historical research. While not for the faint of heart and occasionally repetitive, this book is a one-stop-shop as an introduction to the time period and would be an excellent textbook for honors college undergraduates. The follow review gives only a taste of the full book.

On Thursday, April 2 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., I watched the Parked at Home webinar hosted by Ranger Mark Mello of Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park and featuring Ranger Justin Holzer of Cowpens National Battlefield . This installment marked the very exciting first time the series explored a National Battlefield, as previous episodes featuring battles, like Saratoga in 2025, were classified as National Historical Parks. Ranger Mark jokingly referred to the most excited audience members as “park nerds” who follow the series religiously.

In late September, I took a daytrip to Andover, MA. After a relaxing morning at Addison Gallery of American Art , I took a walk at Osgood Hill, a North Andover trail and a partner of Mass Audubon . While there, I saw Stevens Estate , a 1886 building on 143 acres listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999 .

In late September 2025, I visited Addison Gallery of American Art on the campus of Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. Part of a prestigious private school, this small art museum is open to the public. Currently, the museum has more than 29,000 items in its collection and focuses on American art from the 18 th through 21 st centuries. I was impressed by the variety found on display, and the regularly of new exhibits, as those I saw were on the display from the beginning of September to December or January.