Happy 1st Birthday!

By -
A black, white, and light blue striped header image reading 'Happy 1st Birthday!'

This blog celebrates its first birthday today. Abby Epplett, Historian began on May 31, 2022 with the publication of “How Do You See the World?” Experience & Mapparium about the Christian Science Plaza in Boston, MA. This is the 125th blog post. I have published about one article every three days over the course of a year. In addition to writing on Blogger, the platform hosting this blog, I have republished seven articles on the crowdsourced blog Mainly Museums, and another post is on the way. Other publications and activities related to this blog include Instagram posts and stories, tweets on Twitter, and reviews on Google Maps. My blogs are occasionally featured in online newsletters sent out by local organizations.

As of today, my posts have garnered 3,145 views, which is eight or nine views a day, or about 262 views in a month. Views per article have a mean (statistical average) of 25, with most blog posts receiving between 11 and 15 views. That is nowhere near the most popular blogs on the internet, and certainly not profitable, but this number is much larger than I had anticipated. Here is the countdown for the top ten blog posts, what history they contained, and why I think they were popular.

  1. “NEMA Conference 2022, Day 1” | 26 Views
    Receiving just one view over the mean, this post was a summary of my experience on the first day of the New England Museum Association (NEMA) conference that I attended back in October. This is the largest event for museum professionals in New England, so other attendees or those who could not attend might have been interested in the summary. “NEMA Conference 2022, Day 2” garnered 20 views, putting it in 15th place, while “NEMA Conference 2022, Day 3” amassed only 14 views.
  2. “Quick History Stops: Dorchester, MA” | 28 Views
    With three views over the mean and about double of most posts, the article on history in Dorchester was a surprising hit. This part of Boston has received negative press for many years, so my positive assessment may have prompted an elevated number of views.
  3. “Historic New England: Summit 2022, Day 1” | 31 Views
    This widely attended two-day conference was held at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA. While Historic New England (HNE) had never before hosted a summit, it was my favorite event of the season. Because HNE chose a single stage setup rather than multiple simultaneous talks, I could summarize the entire event. Like the NEMA conference, other attendees or those who could not attend were interested in the summary.
  4. “Travels with George, Talk by Nathaniel Philbrick” | 36 Views
    As a collaboration between Uxbridge Historical Society, Uxbridge Free Public Library, Uxbridge Historical Commission, and the Community House of the First Evangelical Congregational Church in Uxbridge, this widely advertised local event hosted an award-winning, nationally recognized author, garnering a broader audience than some other events.
  5. “Blackstone Valley Mill Explorations” | 47 Views
    Another highly collaborative local event, this art show and documentary screening was held at the Alternatives’ Whitin Mill in Whitinsville, MA. Featured artists included James Hunt and David Lawlor, whose web presence involving his Run of the Mill series may have boosted viewership for this post.
  6. “World War II Comes to the Valley” | 48 Views
    Held at the same venue as #6, this event was hosted by Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park (BRVNHP) and included a talk by a WWII Army Corps veteran. Attendance at the physical event was low, but WWII related articles are known to drive web traffic among history buffs and military enthusiasts.
  7. “Historic New England: Summit 2022, Day 2” | 49 Views
    My blog post focusing on the second day of the HNE Summit outperformed the first day by 18 views, which is a 58% increase. I imagine conference attendees were more likely to find this article posted at the end of the summit rather than than the Day 1 article, which was released halfway through the summit.
  8. “2023 MLK Day of Service: Asa Waters Mansion & Grass Hill School” | 50 Views
    I received a boost from the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor (BHC) monthly newsletter, which featured this post describing my work during the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, where I helped clean up two Millbury, MA historic buildings after the winter holiday season.
  9. “2023 Valley Talks #1: Worldly Rhode Island” | 52 Views
    Through SEO and the magic of the Google algorithm, this article appeared on the first page of search results throughout the duration of the popular annual Valley Talks series hosted by the Museum of Work & Culture, part of Rhode Island Historical Society (RIHS).
  10. “North Smithfield Heritage Association: Tour of Primrose, RI” | 69 Views
    Another testament to the power of local newsletters, my summary of the tour hosted by North Smithfield Heritage Association (NSHA) was a hit among the members of the historical society.
A screenshot of the top 10 most viewed posts on this blog with the blog titles in the center and views on the right.

I have enjoyed traveling around New England, taking pictures, reading books, listening to podcasts, watching webinars, and always writing about history. I am excited to see what the next year brings as I continue to learn more and experiment with different content.

Location: Uxbridge, MA, USA