Abby Epplett, Historian

As the final main stop on my three-day trip of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area, I visited Wentworth-Gardner House , a stunning yellow Georgian house listed on the National Register of Historic Places . This non-profit museum managed by the Wentworth-Gardner Historic House Association recently deaccessioned and renovated the nearby Tobias Lear House, also listed on the Register and now available to rent for $675 per night at time of publication . The remaining house is open for guided tours that leave on a first-come, first-served basis. The house was owned by several families, including the Wentworth and Gardner families, before being restored by historian Wallace Nutting and turned into a museum.

To generate new ideas for upcoming trips, I recently read the book 50 States 5000 Ideas written by Joe Yogerst , fact-checked Meg Weaver , and published by  National Geographic  in February 2017, and distributed by Simon & Schuster . The full-color paperback edition has 288 pages of facts and photographs and makes an excellent coffee table book for roadtrippers or a basic starting point for people who want to begin traveling but do not know where to begin. Since the book covers a lot of ground, and not always successfully, the author highlights major attractions and large cities, along with a few smaller towns, but does not give details on most location. I experienced several frustrations while reading the book. States and provinces appear in alphabetical order, rather than by region, meaning New Mexico is listed between New Jersey and New York, rather than with Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. The side bars and colored boxes with additional information interrupted ...

I recently finished listening to the audiobook A Fool’s Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush, Obama, and Trump by Lonnie G. Bunch III, museum director at NMAAHC . The book was read by Golden Voice Hall of Fame inductee JD Jackson , recorded by HighBridge Audio , published by Smithsonian Books , and distributed by Recorded Books, Inc . The recording won a 2019 Earphone Award, given by AudioFile Magazine for excellence in narration, along with recognition on the AudioFile Best of Nonfiction & Culture list.

For major stop four on the third day of my three-day trip of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area, I visited Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden , also known as the William Whipple House. Constructed between 1760 and 1763, this house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a stop on the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail .

For my third main stop on the third day of my three-day trip through the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area, I visited Rundlet-May House , a property of Historic New England (HNE) constructed in 1807. Like the Sayward-Wheeler House in nearby York, Maine, which I visited as stop two on the same day, a single family lived in the house throughout its time as a residence. The Rundlet-May House has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976 .

On the same day I visited Old York Historical Society and Sayward-Wheeler House , I stopped in a few other places throughout York, Maine, including a historical marker, a little bridge, a big bridge, and a nature preserve. All of these stops are free and open to the public.

During my three-day trip of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area, I visited Sayward-Wheeler House , a Historic New England (HNE) property in York, Maine. The house was owned by the Sayward-Wheeler family throughout its time as a private residence, from 1719 to 1977, and went through few updates.

I recently read The Great Book of Alaska: The Crazy History of Alaska with Amazing Random Facts & Trivia by Bill O’Neill, which contained random facts and trivia about the largest state in America. As a prolific self-published author, O’Neill has written about other popular states, including Texas, California, and New York, along with books of movie trivia and random facts. The book is divided into six section: Modern History Culture of Alaskan Natives Pop Culture and Sports Attractions Inventions Supernatural Each section is divided into quick bites of related facts, perfect for reading if you only have a few minutes. The simple writing style make it accessible to upper elementary school and older. The comprehensive table of contents at the front of the book make finding a favorite fact super easy. The short quizzes at the end of each chapter allowed readers to check memory and reading comprehension. This w...

On Friday, December 2, I went to an artists’ reception and video screening at Spaulding R. Aldrich Heritage Gallery and the G.B. & Lexi Sign Performance Center, which are located at the Alternatives’ Whitin Mill in Whitinsville, MA. The renovated structure is owned by Open Sky Community Services , with events planned by its arts and culture arm, ValleyCast . This venue also held “ World War II comes to the Valley ” back in August. The two featured artists at the event were photographer-documentarists David Lawlor and James Hunt . The film presented by Lawlor was The second installment of his series, Run of the Mill . Lawlor has a fun, youthful documentary style highlighting “his urban exploration of old mill buildings”, as described in a flyer given out a the event. He explores mills that continue to be manufacturing facilities, abandoned buildings, repurpose structures now serving as housing or with plans to create community-focused spaces. My favorite parts of the f...