Abby Epplett, Historian

On the same day I visited Peak House Heritage Center and Medfield State Hospital National Historic Site , I took several walks in the area, including Shattuck Reservation & Noon Hill managed by the Trustees of Reservations, Medfield Rail Trail, and Kingsbury Pond Grist Mill. The colorful fall leaves made the woods even prettier than usual.

On the same day I visited Peak House Heritage Center , I went down the road to Medfield State Hospital National Historic Site . Established in 1892 as Medfield Insane Asylum, the Queen Anne-style red brick buildings stand at the top of hill near a large field. A family event was going on during my visit, but few people were walking among the shuttered buildings. The grounds have been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994 .

In October 2025, I went to a special event at Peak House Heritage Center in Medfield, MA. Striking for its early colonial architecture and location on Main Street, Peak House has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975 . Despite being a small property (the parking lot only fits five cars), the combination of a well-trained volunteer group, updated signage, and an easy to navigate website make this destination well worth the trip. This is an ideal house for families on their first historic house tour.

Thursday, April 9, was the fourth installment of the 2026 season of Parked at Home hosted by Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park (BRVNHP) . Park Ranger Allison Horrocks presented from Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI, and was joined by Amanda Hatch of the Frances Perkins Center , the official philanthropic partner of the brand new Frances Perkins National Monument in Newcastle, Maine.

My last stop was Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens owned by the Trustees of Reservations , which I had last visited for Winterlights in 2024 . I have already shared details about the property and the family who lived there, but I was able to take a more extensive tour of the house and see the gardens during this second visit.

On the same day I visited Addison Gallery of American Art and Stevens Estate at Osgood Hill , I took a walk at Weir Hill run by the Trustees of Reservations in North Andover, MA. The 194-acre park is connected to Osgood Hill and part of the former Stevens family estate, along with an Essex National Heritage Site. With free parking an admission, plus clear signage on the four miles of trail, this is a great walk for those in the area, along with a place to learn about often overlooked local history.

In late September, I took a daytrip to Andover, MA. After a relaxing morning at Addison Gallery of American Art , I took a walk at Osgood Hill, a North Andover trail and a partner of Mass Audubon . While there, I saw Stevens Estate , a 1886 building on 143 acres listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999 .

In late September 2025, I enabled my mild obsession with Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) , a living history museum in Sturbridge, MA. In this five-part series, I will cover the forty antique buildings depicting rural New England life during the 1830s, exhibits showcasing artifacts from the period, and an art installation featuring cows decorated by local artists. In Part 1 , I visited two meetinghouses, a country store, a tavern, a tin shop, and a pair of homes, along with watching costumed interpreters. In Part 2 , I explored a school, workshops, mills, a covered bridge, heritage breed animals, costumed interpreters, and houses. In Part 3 , I continued my visit to The Countryside by visiting the barn and a pair of workshops before returning to the Common & Center Village. In Part 4 , I stopped in shops around the Common & Center Village, learn about plants, and visited exhibits. In Part 5, I discuss the CowParade art exhibit and conclude my visit with information about open t...

In late September 2025, I enabled my mild obsession with Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) , a living history museum in Sturbridge, MA. In this five-part series, I will cover the forty antique buildings depicting rural New England life during the 1830s, exhibits showcasing artifacts from the period, and an art installation featuring cows decorated by local artists. In Part 1 , I visited two meetinghouses, a country store, a tavern, a tin shop, and a pair of homes, along with watching costumed interpreters. In Part 2 , I explored a school, workshops, mills, a covered bridge, heritage breed animals, costumed interpreters, and houses. In Part 3 , I continued my visit to The Countryside by visiting the barn and a pair of workshops before returning to the Common & Center Village. In Part 4, I stopped in shops around the Common & Center Village, learn about plants, and visited exhibits.

In late September 2025, I enabled my mild obsession with Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) , a living history museum in Sturbridge, MA. In this five-part series, I will cover the forty antique buildings depicting rural New England life during the 1830s, exhibits showcasing artifacts from the period, and an art installation featuring cows decorated by local artists. In Part 1 , I visited two meetinghouses, a country store, a tavern, a tin shop, and a pair of homes, along with watching costumed interpreters. In Part 2 , I explored a school, workshops, mills, a covered bridge, heritage breed animals, costumed interpreters, and houses. In >Part 3, I continue my visit to The Countryside by visiting the barn and a pair of workshops before returning to the Common & Center Village.

In late September 2025, I enabled my mild obsession with Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) , a living history museum in Sturbridge, MA. In this five-part series, I will cover the forty antique buildings depicting rural New England life during the 1830s, exhibits showcasing artifacts from the period, and an art installation featuring cows decorated by local artists. In Part 1 , I visited two meetinghouses, a country store, a tavern, a tin shop, and a pair of homes, along with watching costumed interpreters. In Part 2, I explore a school, workshops, mills, a covered bridge, heritage breed animals, costumed interpreters, and houses.

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.

On the same day that I visited the Clara Barton Birthplace , I took a walk on a highway turned forest trail, and then visited grave of legendary outdoorsman Grizzly Adams in nearby Charlton, MA. I will have to returning this area in warmer weather to see more quick history stops.

During my trip to the Windsor area of Connecticut back in August 2025, I visited several historical places including: Connecticut Trolley Museum , East Windsor Historical Society , Northwest Park , Vintage Radio & Communications Museum , Windsor Historical Society , quick history stops in Windsor, CT , and New England Air Museum ( Part 1 , Part 2 ). Throughout the trip, I stopped at parks in the region, including Scantic River State Park, Windsor Center River Trail, and Windsor Locks State Park.

On the same day I visited the Connecticut Trolley Museum and East Windsor Historical Society , I walked through Northwest Park run by the town of Windsor, CT. This 473-acre park includes a tobacco museum, a nature center, a heritage breed animal barn, public art, and twelve miles of walking trails.

I go to Portsmouth, NH so often that this is my fifth installment of quick history stops. The city is highly walkable with wide sidewalks, crosswalks with traffic lights, and streets lights. On this trip, I went back to the public gardens at Prescott Park, learned about historic buildings, took a rest on Four Tree Island, and even saw a very large boat pass under Memorial Bridge.

Happy New Year, and welcome back to my blog after my winter holiday break! In July 2025, I took a daytrip to the Greater Portsmouth area and visited many history-themed attractions, including botanical gardens, a historic house, a boat tour, and quick history stops. The first post in the four-part series focuses on Fuller Gardens located in North Hampton, NH. This had been on my list of places to visit for several years, but the stop had eluded me. I was glad to have the opportunity to visit at last.

This is my last blog post of 2025! I will discuss two aspects of folklore that appear during “Chapter 2, The Shadow of the Past” related to the seventeen years Frodo spent living alone at Bag End. During this time, he took many trips through the woods of the Shire and was rumored to speak with people from other lands, refugees fleeing danger in the South. Folk cultures around the world have long been fascinated by or afraid of forests. The hobbits’ fears of who might lurk in the woods aligned with fears of Ancient and Medieval people in the Real World. Meanwhile, human migration and displacement due to natural or man-made disasters have existed for thousands of years but have been studied only for the past few decades. During this essay, I will describe both of these concepts and point out similarities between them: our natural unease over the unfamiliar.

Back in July, I visited the National Mall & Memorial Parks in Washington, DC . During the first part of my hike around the Mall , I visited many memorials dedicated to political leaders and veterans. During the second part, I visited even more memorials along with passing Smithsonian museums with distinct architecture.

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.