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. For the next few weeks, I will cover the historical sites in that area, starting with two parts on Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park . In the first part, I will cover the Groton Monument, the Monument House Museum, and other historical sites around the park. In the second part, I will cover the inside of Fort Griswold and Ebenezer Avery House, along with a more detailed story about the battle for which it is known.

Before this essay, I did not know much about mountain men besides a handful of names: Aragorn, of course, local legend Grizzly Adams (whose grave I visited a few months ago) , Daniel Boone, and Davy Crockett. During my research, I learned the stories of these wanderers and considered how I might take inspiration from tales in the Real World combined with musical motifs to write the brief instrumental of this section.

On the same day I visited Sutton Center and Manchaug , I finished up my adventure in Douglas, another former mill town in the Blackstone River Valley. I took so many pictures and saw so much history that I am dividing the quick history stops into two parts. In the first part , I visited two churches, a former general store turned historical society, a building with a really high curb, and a library. In the second part, I visited war memorials, a church, and several houses.

Back in June, I visited Framingham and Sudbury in Massachusetts for a day away. During that time, I visited the Danforth Museum and took quick history stops in Framingham, including a state park, historic buildings around the original center of town, and a cemetery.

Back in June, I took a day trip to nearby Milford, MA to walk on the Upper Charles Trail and explore the downtown area on foot. I was born in Milford and have spent my entire life visiting the town but never did quick history stops there! This is the third of three parts about Milford. The first part covered the trail, a memorial, two churches, and a pair of repurposed buildings. The second part included an armory turned youth center, two town halls, and several churches. In the third part, I will discuss a funeral home, a library and its dog statue, an opera building, two war memorials, a church, and a post office turned police station.

Back in June, I took a day trip to nearby Milford, MA to walk on the Upper Charles Trail and explore the downtown area on foot. I was born in Milford and have spent my entire life visiting the town but never did quick history stops there! This is the second of three parts about Milford. The first part covered the trail, a memorial, two churches, and a pair of repurposed buildings. The second part includes an armory turned youth center, two town halls, and several churches.

In June 2026, after I gave a violin concert at the Blackstone Public Library, I took a walk to explore quick history stops in Blackstone, MA. This will be a three-part miniseries. The first part  described the library, a memorial, churches, bridges, and the fire/police station. This second part will focus on Saranac Dam Overlook, the Blackstone River Greenway in Blackstone River & Canal Heritage State Park, Blackstone Block, the Civil War memorial, the post office, and Veteran’s Memorial Corner.

On the second day of my long weekend trip to western Massachusetts in March 2026, I visited MASS MoCA , the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. Due to the size of the museum, I will cover it in three posts. The first post will describe the building, local history and ecology, and artwork on the exterior. The second part will describe the most long term an short term exhibits at the museum during my visit. The third part will describe the permanent Sol DeWitt exhibit and tips on how to visit the museum.

During the 2025-2026 winter holiday season, I took a trip to western Michigan. During this adventure, I visited the Grand Rapids Public Museum , which is receiving its own three-part mini series. The first part featured the history of the museum, the temporary dinosaur exhibit, a permanent exhibit about the people of Grand Rapids, a permanent exhibit about animals in Michigan, and a special exhibit featuring LEGO models. The second part includes an exhibit near the planetarium, signed baseballs, a large map of Michigan, skeletons, transportation, and exhibits in the Gallaria.

While I am far from a dummy when it comes to the history of the United States, I did inherit the third edition of U.S. History for Dummies written by Steve Wiegand. My book was up-to-date in 2014, while the latest version, the fifth edition, was published in March 2025 . The large softcover book has uncoated paper, allowing readers to take notes easily if desired, along with using intuitive design and plain language to make the topic approachable to a broad audience.

In early September 2025, I visited Brimfield, MA for the annual Brimfield Flea Market, a tradition that began back in 1959. Before a day of walking among vendors to find vintage bargains, I made a few quick history stops around the center of town, called Brimfield Center Historic District and on the National Register of Historic Places since 2006 . Like many other small New England towns, its center included a picturesque white church, town hall, war memorials, and a historic school.

Back in August 2025, I visited the Clara Barton Birthplace Museum in North Oxford, MA. I had previously visited the museum about twenty years early, and I wanted to see how the tour had changed. This small house tour focuses on the life of Clarissa “Clara” Harlowe Barton , founder of the American Red Cross, along with describing her family. Also on the property is The Barton Center for Diabetes Education, Inc. , a camp for children with Type 1 Diabetes. The property has been on the National Register of Historic Places as the Clara Barton Homestead since 1977. It is also one of the northern-most towns in The Last Green Valley , formerly known as Quinebaug-Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor.

During my trip to Washington, DC back in July, my final stop was the National Museum of American History (NMAH) . This series looks to be four parts long and will finish up this week. The first part covered “The Star-Spangled Banner”, “Within These Walls”, “Many Voices, One Nation”, “American Democracy”, a temporary exhibit about Latina reporters, and “Entertainment Nation”. This next part will include “The First Ladies”, “The American Presidency”, and “The Price of Freedom”, all located on the third floor.

During my trip to Washington, DC back in July, I visited the National Mall & Memorial Parks . Maintained by the National Park Service, this massive urban park contains monuments to Americans who made a difference to the country, especially political leaders and soldiers. The Mall is so big that I am dividing this adventure into two sections. Additionally, since most of my readers know about the Mall and have likely visited, I will keep the text more brief than usual and allow you to enjoy a selection of my many pictures.

This post was supposed to launch yesterday, but I spent longer than expected at a delightful Christmas party, so you will get the post today. A quick content warning: the National Museum of Health & Medicine is dedicated to the preservation of human remains for conducting research and to raise public awareness. I have included two images with human remains at the bottom of the article; there is an extra paragraph of text before these pictures, allowing you space to click away if needed. Additionally, I will be describing human remains, injuries, and medical inventions throughout the post. If you do not enjoy this topic, consider reading one of the many other articles on my blog.

On the same day I visited Coggeshall Farm at Colt State Park and Linden Place in Bristol, RI, I made many quick history stops around the historic downtown. Throughout this sidewalk hike, I followed the Historic Bristol Walking Tours provided by Bristol Historical and Preservation Society . During the first part , I saw beautifully preserved historic buildings and monuments. In the second part, I continued down Hope Street walked through an area known as Bristol Waterfront Historic District , which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975.

After visiting Forbes House Museum during my trip to Milton, MA in June, I made several quick history stops around the town. In my first post about these stops, I discussed local churches, short hikes, informational signage, a cemetery, a historic house, and memorial parks. In the second post, I will cover the buildings at the center of town, which is fittingly called Milton Centre and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988 .

After I visited Forbes House Museum during my trip to Milton, MA in June, I made several quick history stops around the town. In the first of two posts about these stops, I discuss the usual rounds of local churches, short hikes, informational signage, and a cemetery. My surprise bonus stops for this portion of the trip was a pair of memorial parks. In the second post, I will cover the many buildings at the center of town.

This is the fourth and final post in my miniseries on my quick history stops in Philadelphia, along with my last post about the city. The first part covered a bank building, a Quaker meeting house, a fire station dedicated to Benjamin Franklin, a cemetery, and a very old alley. The second part covered a historic house possibly belonging to a Founding Mother, commercial buildings from the Industrial Revolution, and a courtyard showcasing local history. The third part covered a bicentennial speech from an unlikely speaker, a publishing company, a preservation society, a religious statue, an historic athletic facilities, and a diner. This post will include fun facts from my favorite informational signs and how some facts relate to past articles on the blog.

This post comes a day earlier than usual, as Friday is American Independence Day, colloquially known as “the Fourth of July”. This is the fourth and final post in my miniseries of quick history stops in Ipswich. For a quick history review, I shared a pair of banks, a post office, murals on a factory building, and a story from the Industrial Revolution in Part 1 . I shared the Riverwalk, a war memorial, the town visitor center, a commercial block, and other historic buildings in Part 2 . I shared the history of three churches, a school building, the library, and informational signage in Part 3. Now I will finish up with several war memorials, an art installation, a very old bridge, public buildings, and a church with interesting tangents in its backstory.