Abby Epplett, Historian

I recently had an adventure in the Mystic / Lyme region of Connecticut and spent about a day and a half at Mystic Seaport Museum . This is the third post in a six-part miniseries about my visit. My last two posts covered Part 1 and Part 2 of “Seaport Village”. Today’s post focuses on the “Preservation Shipyard”, where I saw the ongoing restoration of several boats along with an exhibit on the materials used to build these boats. Upcoming posts include “Galleries”, “Boats, Signs, & Shows”, and “Bonus Houses”.

I recently had an adventure in the Mystic / Lyme region of Connecticut and spent about a day and a half at Mystic Seaport Museum . This is the second post in a six-post miniseries about my visit. Yesterday, I covered Part 1 of “Seaport Village” , and today will cover Part 2, where I visited the meeting house, two residential homes, a one-room schoolhouse, a pair of shops, and a reading room for sailors. Upcoming posts include “Preservation Shipyard”, “Galleries”, “Boats, Signs, & Shows”, and “Bonus Houses”.

I took a three day mini-vacation to the Mystic / Lyme area of Connecticut and visited many museums, houses, and other history stops. Nearly half my time was spent at Mystic Seaport Museum , a living history museum in Mystic, CT. The attraction was so expansive that I am creating a six-part miniseries about the fantastic experience. These posts will include two parts on “Seaport Village”, “Preservation Shipyard”, “Galleries”, “Boats, Signs, & Shows”, and “Bonus Houses”.

In my last post, I covered the first half of “Appendix A, II The House of Eorl”, so this post will cover the second half, which contained the line of succession for the Kings of Rohan. This list reminded me of the succession charts from “Appendix A, I The Númenórean Kings”, especially “(iii) Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur” and “(iv) Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion” . However, the timeline of Eorlingas rulers covered a shorter period, as their country began in T.A. 2510. Even the Hobbits had a longer recorded history, as the Shire was founded in T.A. 1600. Like in previous sections, this post has everything: explanations of names, motifs from folklore, Ancient European mythology, medieval repayment practices, and etymologies of unusual words appearing in the text. More Eorlingas Names! As in past sections of the Appendixes, this segment contained lists of names unfamiliar to modern readers. Many of the names were defined in the aptly named The Lord of the Ring...

For the final leg of my trip back on Sunday, July 14, 2024, I made several quick history stops around Berkley, MA, including the town’s Carnegie library, nearby church, historic homes, and Dighton Rock State Park. That final stop was also part of the Passport to History created by Old Colony Museum in Taunton, MA .

Back on Sunday, July 14, 2024, I visited the Berkley Historical Society , a stop in the Passport to History developed by Old Colony Museum . Located in the tiny town of Berkley with a population under 7,000, this museum told the history of the rural community with a focus on military uniforms and local businesses. The collection lives in the beautifully restored and updated Old Town Hall, which once housed the library. Because of this work, the building had the best lighting system I have seen in any museum.

While in Mansfield, MA last Sunday — July 14, 2024 — I made several quick history stops around the Town Common. Like many New England towns, stops included municipal buildings such as the Town Hall and former town library, a classic New England church, and memorials for soldiers and firefighters located around a central green, while the Old Town Cemetery was located across the street.

Last Sunday — July 14, 2024 — I visited three more stops in the Passport to History developed by Old Colony Museum , along with making several quick history stops. First on my adventure was Fisher-Richardson House of Mansfield Historical Society , a mid-18 th century building with an early 19 th century addition restored in 1930. Similar in appearance to the reproduction house Carpenter Museum of Rehoboth Antiquarian Society , the building contained a main room, kitchen, bedroom, and several miniature exhibits. As an added bonus, the house has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1998; its latest sign was installed in 2019 by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation , best known for hosting National Historic Marker Day . In fact, the house was originally offered to Historic New England , but the town ended up receiving it instead. What differentiates Fisher-Richardson House from the myriad of other small town historical society old houses...

For the third time, I went to Eustis Estate, a property owned by Historic New England. I had previously taken a self-guided tour during the holiday season in December 2022 and attended a quartet concert in 2023. This time, I took both the Design Tour and the Servants Tour, along with seeing the current exhibit The Importance of Being Furnished , which previously appeared on the blog during Day 1 of Historic New England Summit 2023 and a sneak preview webinar .

With “I The Númenórean Kings” completed, Appendix A shifted focus to a different group of Men. “II The House of Eorl” covered similar territory to “(iv) Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion” but with the stories told in the perspective of Eorlingas, the “translation” of the name that people from the House of Eorl called themselves. Men of Gondor called them Rohirrim, which meant “Horse-Lords” in their variant of Sindarin. In the real-world, the House of Rohan was a Breton family who lived in Brittany, France and claimed descent from the hero Conan Meriadoc. This legendary founder of Brittany will receive plenty of future commentary for his familiar-sounding name. Today, Musée du Château des Rohan de Saverne [Rohan Castle Museum in Saverne] allows visitors to learn about the family, along with viewing exhibits on nearby archaeological finds, art and history, and the life of a local female journalist. During The Two Towers, Aragorn noted that the Rohirrim were “wise but unlearne...

This past Saturday — July 6, 2024 — I visited three stops in the Passport to History developed by Old Colony History Museum , along with one bonus stop. The third stop for the passport book, along with the fourth and final stop for the day, was the Carpenter Museum at Rehoboth Antiquarian Society , which included a pair of quick history stops in the area. The museum received its name not from an occupation but a family, as the Carpenters donated towards the construction of the main museum building, which looks like an 18 th century farmhouse.

My bonus stop during my trip last Saturday — July 6, 2024 — was Attleboro Art Museum, a single gallery exhibition space down the street from the Attleboro Area Industrial Museum . Most pieces in the museum were for sale, so if you have the money, purchasing artwork is a great way to support emerging artists. The exhibit on display at the time of my visit was called Morning Noon Night . My favorite piece in the exhibit was a Juror’s Award Winner called “Orange Watercolor” by Natalie McGuire of Saint Paul, MN. I loved how her customized mosaic picture frame extended the landscape appearing in her colorful photograph of sunset by a lake. Another unique piece was “Wild Swans” by Hannah Cole Dahar of Manchester, NH, which showed phases of the moon on one side of the hanging circle and zodiac symbols surrounding a princess on the opposite side. Dahar claimed she was inspired by the Grimm’s Fairy tale The Wild Swans , but that version had six swan brothers. The twelve sw...

This past Saturday — July 6, 2024 — I visited three stops in the Passport to History developed by Old Colony History Museum , along with one bonus stop. Attleboro Area Industrial Museum was the second stop on my trip. I had been meaning to visit this museum since learning about it at the Industrial History New England Lunch on Day 1 of NEMA Conference 2022 , so this visit checks off another item from my very long museum bucket list.