Abby Epplett, Historian

After visiting the Major Taylor Museum on my birthday trip, I took a pair of walks in nearby Marlborough, MA. Lake Williams Boardwalk completed a recreational trail with a floating walkway, while The Grove Conservation Land was a forested area beside Fort Meadow Reservoir, which borders both Marlborough and Hudson. This was a relaxing way to spend a warm and sunny day.

On the same day I made quick history stops in Petersham, MA , I visited Quabbin Reservoir and the conservation site Bear’s Den , which is managed by the Trustees of Reservations. These quiet walks allow visitors to enjoy nature while offering glimpses of the industrial past.

In September 2024, I visited places and attended programs in Essex National Heritage Area as part of its annual event Trails & Sails . During my trip, I hiked on several trails in the area, most of which were maintained either by Greenbelt, which is Essex County’s land trust, or by The Trustees of Reservations, a non-profit organization in Massachusetts.

In September 2024, I visited places and attended programs in Essex National Heritage Area as part of its annual event Trails & Sails . On my second day, I took quick history stops in Danvers and Beverly, MA between visits to Hospital Point Lighthouse ; Historic Beverly’s Cabot House , Balch House , and Hale Farm ; and Central Cemetery in Beverly . I visited the typical historic homes, parks, churches, and public buildings along with a stop at the oldest fruit tree in the United States.

In September 2024, I visited places and attended programs in Essex National Heritage Area as part of its annual event Trails & Sails . On my second day, I visited Central Cemetery in Beverly, just down the street from Hale Farm. This cemetery has been in operation since the 18 th century and is still active. Perhaps the most famous burial is Nathan Dane , last mentioned in my post on Cabot House as the Senator who added the amendment to bar slavery in the Northwest Territory into the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 .

As the name suggests, Bywater was a hobbit town in the Shire located by water, more specifically by the Water, the hobbit-name for a river that emptied into the Brandywine. Unlike Hobbiton, which appeared to be a late medieval village overseen by a landlord, Bywater was a commercial center occupied by working and middle-class hobbits who owned a shop or knew a trade. My design of Bywater considers many factors, including a map created by Tolkien, pre-historic town design, medieval markets towns, revivals of medieval architecture occurring around the time of the book’s publication, and design features specific to pubs and shops still used in modern England.

In September 2024, I visited places and attended programs in Essex National Heritage Area as part of its annual event Trails & Sails . On my second day, I visited the John Hale Farm in Beverly, MA . This farm was completed by 1694 and owned by Reverend John Hale , a minister at First Parish Church in Beverly who is best known for first supporting and then decrying the Salem Witch Trials, which seemingly took place during the construction the farm in 1692. Hale’s book, titled in part A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft , was published in 1702, two years after his death, and served as an explanation of what happened in Salem. The house has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974 .

In September 2024, I visited places and attended programs in Essex National Heritage Area as part of its annual event Trails & Sails . On my second day, I visited the John Balch House in Beverly, MA . This 1679 post-medieval style home was the former residence of the colonial Balch family and purchased by the Balch Family Association with the help of William Sumner Appleton, Jr. in 1916. Appleton would later found the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA), now called Historic New England (HNE) . Meanwhile, the house was given to the Beverly Historical Society, now Historic Beverly, in 1932, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 .

On Thursday, March 20 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., I watched the second Parked at Home webinar of the 2025 season. This is the fourth year of the  Parked at Home series of virtual talks hosted by Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park (BLRV) and other sites in the National Park Service, along with the third year of summaries appearing on my blog. The presentations this year are interpreted into American Sign Language (ASL) by Sherrolyn King. The hour-long webinars will be uploaded to the BlackstoneNPS YouTube channel and available to view at any time. The second installment to this year’s series was Saratoga National Historical Park (SARA) in New York and featured Eric Schnitzer, a park ranger who has worked at Saratoga for almost thirty years.

In September 2024, I visited places and attended programs in Essex National Heritage Area as part of its annual event Trails & Sails . On my second day, I visited Hospital Point Lighthouse in Beverly, MA. Built in 1872, this lighthouse is owned by the United States Coast Guard and acts as a private residence for the First Coast Guard District Commander and his family. The open house during Trails & Sails is one of the few times the general public is permitted on the property, and regular readers know I cannot deny myself a good lighthouse tour .

On Thursday, March 13 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., I watched the first Parked at Home webinar of the 2025 season. This is the fourth year of Parked at Home hosted by Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park (BLRV) and other sites in the National Park Service, along with the third year of summaries appearing on my blog. The presentations this year are interpreted into American Sign Language (ASL) by Sherrolyn King. The hour-long webinars will be uploaded to the BlackstoneNPS YouTube channel and available to view at any time. The first installment to this year’s series was Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO) in Colorado and featured Darcy Lilla, a winter naturalist at Rocky Mountain Conservancy , the nonprofit partner to the park, along with a seasonal park ranger at ROMO.

In September 2024, I visited places and attended programs in Essex National Heritage Area as part of its annual event Trails & Sails . As my first day drew to a close, I made many quick history stops around the town of Manchester-by-the-Sea, so many that this requires a two-part post. The first half of this adventure appeared on Wednesday and included the harbor and train station, library, historic houses, memorials, church, and post office. This post will describe the original and the newest fire stations, another church, an American Revolutionary War era powder house, and other historic buildings.

In September 2024, I visited places and attended events in Essex National Heritage Area as part of its annual event Trails & Sails . As my first day drew to a close, I made many quick history stops around the town of Manchester-by-the-Sea, so many that this requires a two-part post. The second half of this adventure will appear on Friday. Stops covered in this part include the harbor and train station, library, historic houses, memorials, church, and post office.

In September 2024, I visited places and attended events in Essex National Heritage Area as part of its annual event Trails & Sails . My second stop was Ravenswood Park , a six hundred acre nature reserve with hiking trails owned by The Trustees of Reservations and located in Gloucester, MA.

Each year in September, Essex National Heritage Area hosts Trails & Sails , an opportunity to “[b]e guided through unique landscapes on land and sea, explore historic properties, and take in cultural experiences of all kinds”. I attended locations and programs affiliated with this event for the second time in 2024. My first stop on this three-day adventure was Hammond Castle, a 20 th century home that takes inspiration from European Medieval architecture. This property was filled with history and artifacts, along with two great tours, so I am breaking this visit into two parts. As for national recognition, the house has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973 .

On the same day I visited Middleborough Historical Museum and Robbins Museum of Archaeology , I took my customary history stops around the town, including the library, town hall, churches, and war memorials. Most of these important community buildings were located in Middleborough Center National Historic District, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2000 . Unique features of this town are its incredibly tall town hall design, a historic bell, and signage commemorating American Revolutionary War hero Deborah Sampson . This is also an informal survey of who is on what side of the Middleborough/Middleboro naming divide.

Believe it or not, I had one more weekend left in August 2024 to go on a history adventure. I took a trip to Middleboro, MA to visit Middleborough Historical Museum . This was not your average small town history museum, as the complex combines an indoor exhibit about a celebrity couple plus mechanical musical instruments with a small collection of restored buildings and related artifacts. Once again, the weather was perfect for a summertime adventure.

Finishing up my trip to Newport in late August 2024, I took the Fort Adams Bay Walk around Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI after completing the excellent tour of the fort itself . A tall ship, unique signage, a cemetery, a bunker, and a historic mansion were all highlights of this relaxing two-mile loop. For those of you keeping track of how far I walked that day, when combined with my morning hike on the Cliff Walk , the fort tour, and other Newport exploration, this brought my total up to eleven-and-a-half miles.

In late August 2024, after a morning of hiking the Cliff Walk and viewing the Great Elephant Migration, I spent the afternoon at Fort Adams State Park . After a relaxing picnic lunch, I took  a tour of Fort Adams itself, originally named after second U.S. President John Adams, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970 . As an added bonus, the fort was celebrating its 200 Year Anniversary, with construction started in 1824 and completed in 1857.

My August adventures were not limited to my five-day trip on Cape Cod. Towards the end of the month, I visited Newport, RI to hike the famous Cliff Walk and view The Great Elephant Migration art exhibit, which roamed through Newport from July 4 to September 2, 2024. Both walk and elephants were within the Newport Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1968 . The day was bright and sunny but not to hot, a perfect time to get exercise and enjoy environmentally-focused sculpture.