Abby Epplett, Historian

For the 250 th anniversary of the United States, I took a three-day patriotic trip to the Thames River National Heritage Park in Groton and New London, CT. On Day 1, I spent the morning touring Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, which included its monument, museum , and the interior of the fort , followed by an early afternoon boat tour , and a visit to Avery-Copp House ( first part , second part ). After making several quick history stops around Groton , I finished the day at UCONN Avery Point . The second day began at Fort Trumbull in New London. In the first part of this four-part mini series, I learned the architectural history of the fort and explore its interior, including rooms decorated in specific historical periods and statues preparing to shoot a cannon. Fort Trumbull is now a state park, but it began in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War as a stone fort meant to shield the nearby harbor from enemy forces, especially the British Navy. Unfort...

I have completed the second animatic in just under a year, significantly faster than Chapter 1 and yet still at a fairly slow pace. I hope to increase efficiency for the next installment. Highlights from the past year included extensive wardrobe design , rousing musical numbers , and folklore about dragons and volcanoes . My essays have become a more manageable length as I practice being concise, while my animation is more fluid. I hope you the latest installment. I will take next week off and be back with an overview of “Chapter 3: Three Is Company” on November 1.

Yesterday, I watched this year’s Robert C. Baron Lecture hosted by the American Antiquarian Society . The talk was given in memory of Robert “Bob” Charles Baron , a pioneer of computer science who passed away in April 2026 at age 92. These talks examine how a written work changed the field, how the field has further changed since the work was published. The speaker was Philip J. DeLoria , the first tenured professor in Native American history at Harvard University who has known Yankton Dakota ancestry. He originally published Playing Indian in 1998 as a reworking of his thesis from 1994. His numerous accolades include serving as a trustee at the National Museum of the American Indian and being a member of the American Philosophical Society, although he regards himself as “just a guy who kinda just does his best.” DeLoria was interested in Native American history from childhood, as he learned about Native American culture while in Boy Scouts, stopped near a lodge for “The Impro...

I recently watched the webinar Creating Winterthur: The Museum, Garden & Library featuring speaker Jeff Groff, the retired estate historian at Winterthur, and hosted by American Ancestors. The talk covered the history of the du Pont family, their properties, and the journey of Winterthur from a private home to a modern museum. The talk was fast-paced, highly detailed, and illustrated with beautiful photographs of the house and grounds, along with family pictures and images of other properties associated with the du Pont family. This is a summary of my favorite parts.

For the 250 th anniversary of the United States, I took a three-day patriotic trip to the Thames River National Heritage Park in Groton and New London, CT. I spent the morning touring Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, which included its monument, museum , and the interior of the fort , followed by an early afternoon boat tour , and a visit to Avery-Copp House ( first part , second part ). After making several quick history stops around Groton , I went to UCONN Avery Point , a campus of the University of Connecticut. The property contains two buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the colonial revival style Avery Point Lighthouse constructed in 1943 by the Coast Guard during World War II, and massive Bradford House .

For the 250 th anniversary of the United States, I took a three-day patriotic trip to the Thames River National Heritage Park in Groton and New London, CT. I spent the morning touring Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, which included its monument, museum , and the interior of the fort , followed by an early afternoon boat tour , and a visit to Avery-Copp House ( first part , second part ). Throughout the day, I had quick history stops around Groton, CT, including the Independence Day Parade and nearby artwork, monuments, buildings, and other infrastructure.

This is the final essay for “Chapter 2: The Shadow of the Past”. Next week, October 11, I will take the week off as I finish animating the chapter. The week after, October 18, I will release all videos for Chapter 2. Today’s instrumental covers the final moments from Chapter 2 as Frodo accept his destiny as the one to bear the Ring, taking from the Shire as part of a dangerous journal to have it destroyed. While originally saddened by the thought of leaving his home and traveling alone, his day is brightened when Sam is caught eavesdropping, and Gandalf orders the gardener to go on the journey as his “punishment”.

Yesterday, as part of research for a historical fiction novel, I attended an hour-long talk hosted by the American Antiquarian Society and presented by writer-historian Adam Jortner on his book A Promised Land: Jewish Patriots, the American Revolution, and the Birth of Religious Freedom published by Oxford University Press in 2024.

For the 250 th anniversary of the United States, I took a three-day patriotic trip to the Thames River National Heritage Park in Groton and New London, CT. After a morning touring Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, which included its monument, museum , and the interior of the fort , followed by an early afternoon boat tour , I was able to explore the beautiful yellow Victorian that I had spotted at several points during the trip so far. Avery-Copp House is an independently managed museum from a very different historical period than my other stops in Groton. In the first part , I described the history of the house. In this second part, I will describe the artifacts and technology found in the building, along with how to visit.

The release of “Chapter 2: The Shadow of the Past” is less than a month away! This is the penultimate essay I share the animations on October 18. This week, I will describe the music theory and motifs behind the instrumental of “Scene 16: To Destroy the Ring”. Next week, or October 4, I will produce a similar essay on “Scene 17: Frodo Decides; Sam Is Caught”. Then, I will take October 5 through 18 to complete the animation process for the chapter. This year of production has gone much more smoothly than the previous chapter, and I am hopeful that “Chapter 3: Three Is Company” will come out much more quickly than its predecessors. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated. On to the analysis.