Abby Epplett, Historian

Earlier this year, I visited many historic places along the North Shore in Essex County, Massachusetts. I found so many quick history stops in Ipswich, MA that I have turned this adventure into a four-part miniseries. Part 1 covered a pair of banks, a post office, murals on a factory building, and a story from the Industrial Revolution. Part 2 will focus on the Riverwalk, a war memorial, the town visitor center, a commercial block, and other historic buildings.

Hobbits loved straightforward rules as long as these supported their interests of food, music, walks, and other simple but fun activities. Their society appeared to be governed by three sets of regulations: written laws similar to those in a medieval feudalist government; unwritten social norms similar to those found in the European Middle Ages, Regency period, and Victorian period; and animal-like behaviors not exhibited by the other “races” in Tolkien’s legendarium. While the rules maintained social order and allowed the hobbits to enjoy their favorite things, including walks, conversation, and smoking, these also excluded some individuals from social participation and upward mobility, not unlike the exclusion of individuals in the Real World. This also created the opportunity for individuals with social power and understanding to subvert the rules to their own advantage, perhaps leading to positive changes.

During my trips to the North Shore earlier this year, I spent time walking around Ipswich, MA. I really outdid myself with picture-taking in this colonial-era town, and accordingly will present a four-part miniseries of quick history stops. Special thanks to my sister who lives locally and tolerated me finding local history in everything. For the first part, I will share a pair of banks, a post office, murals on a factory building, and a story from the Industrial Revolution.

During my trips to the North Shore earlier this year, I twice visited a group of cemeteries in Ipswich, MA . This cemetery opened in 1634, a year after the town was founded in 1633, and is operational to this day. The oldest parts of the cemetery, located near High Street where on-street parking is available, is called Old Burying Ground or Old North Cemetery, while other sections were Highland and New Highland Cemetery. This entire area is part of High Street Historic District, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Like the High Street of many post-medieval towns (as last described in my Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical essay “Places: Bywater” , which referenced the original Ipswich in England) this was the main road until Central Street was built in 1871, or 238 years after High Street.

During the early 19 th century, also known as the Regency era in Great Britain, clothing mimicked contemporary events in Europe, including revolutions and building empires. People were inspired by similar events in classical history such as Athenian democracy and the Roman Empire. Northwestern European scholars had long appropriated the history of the Mediterranean as their own past, but this was the first time the mythology had gone mainstream. The beginning of print culture , or the mass production of written documents including books, allowed the noble and merchant classes to own their own copies of The Odyssey and The Iliad , albeit with varying accuracy in translation, while the display of marble statues at public institutions like our old friend the British Museum allowed the general public to see how their favorite heroes may have looked. This interest in the ancient world continues today, as the so-called Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon have been on display in the m...

When I visited Topsfield Town Common District, part of the National Register of Historic Places , I found so many quick history stops that I divided them into three posts: the first on Monday , the second on Wednesday , and the third today. This final post describes the history of the former Methodist church and parsonage, the war memorials, the library, and public art. Once again, I found the book Houses and Buildings of Topsfield, Massachusetts to be helpful in my research.

During my visits to the North Shore several weeks ago, I found a multitude of quick history stops in the Topsfield Town Common District, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976 . My first post described several homes, the Catholic church, the former train station, and the post office. This post will focus on the school, town hall, and the Protestant churches. Just like in my last post, I found the book Houses and Buildings of Topsfield, Massachusetts to be helpful in my research.

After visiting the Trustee’s Appleton Farms , South Hamilton , and Wenham , I finished up my day with a walk around Topsfield. I visited Topsfield two more times within a six-week period, and I took so many pictures of the buildings and monuments that I am turning these quick history stops into a three-part miniseries. Many buildings along Main Street are part of the Topsfield Town Common District, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976 .

After hiking at The Trustee’s Appleton Farms in Hamilton and the historic district in South Hamilton , I stopped in neighboring Wenham to visit its own historic district, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973 . While the Wenham Museum was not open, I took plenty of beautiful pictures of the town common, the church, a pair of war memorials, and the town hall.

During two of my trips to the North Shore, I visited South Hamilton, MA. The town historic district is on Bay Road , originally known as Country Road when it was established in 1640 and now also called Route 1A as the first state highway established in Massachusetts. During these quick history stops, I saw a church, a cemetery, historic houses, a mysterious road, and a special sign. This quiet town was a great place to take a relaxing walk, along with many pictures.

I last compared Bilbo’s eleventy-first birthday to famous parties in the summary of Book I, Chapter 1 “A Long-Expected Party” , where I referenced biblical celebrations, parties gone wrong in France, PR stunts in Ancient China, and exclusive musical scores in Great Britain. This installment focuses on what the hobbits might have eaten at that party. While discussing “Prologue, 3 On the Ordering of the Shire” , I determined that hobbits appeared to live in two timelines with their political system and architecture reflecting the early 17 th century or post-medieval period while their technology, interior design, and fashion reflected the early 19 th century or Industrial Revolution. Their foods likewise are split into different time periods, with some staples being invented during ancient times in the Real World, others appearing in Europe due to the trade of the late medieval period, and still others dating from the Victorian era or mid- to late 19 th century. As the self-pr...

I had not attended a History Camp virtual event for a few years but am still subscribed to the weekly newsletter, so I was delighted to receive an email featuring this author talk . Graphic novelist John Hendrix recently published The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien with Abrams Books  and spoke on his research for the book. The talk was moderated by History Camp founder Lee Wright and major contributor Mary Adams.

This is the first post featuring visits from 2025. I went to Appleton Farms , a property managed by the Trustees of Reservations in South Hamilton and Ipswich, MA on two different weekends in May to explore different parts of the grounds. Once owned by the wealthy Appleton family, the 658-acre (2.66 sq km) working farm and trails are open year-round to the public. The paths are part of Bay Circuit Trail and Discover Hamilton Trail maintained by the Hamilton Conservation Commission .

May 31, 2025 was the third birthday of the blog. Since I have been on vacation learning more history, I delayed the birthday post until today, but I took notes on blog statistics during the actual day. I am happy to report that blog viewership is steady and many more posts are in the future. Just like the 1 st Birthday and 2 nd Birthday , I will do a top ten countdown of my most viewed posts in the past year.