Abby Epplett, Historian

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 .

Every year, The Trustees of Reservations hosts winter holiday celebrations called Winterlights, where several properties are brightly lit for visitors to walk through a night. This past December, I visited the Winterlights at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens in North Andover, MA. This ninety-one acre (0.37 km sq) estate was once the summer home of Helen Granger Stevens Coolidge , which she shared with her well-connected diplomat husband, John Gardner Coolidge .

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.

On a beautifully sunny day in October as the leaves changed to their brightest colors, I took a trip to rural Worcester County. My first walk was around the Petersham Common Historic District, where I made several quick history stops. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 , this relaxing and open space has many classic New England small town places of interest, including churches, a country store, town offices, a library, a historical society building, and walking trails.

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 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.

During my trip to the Berkshires in July 2023, I took a hike at Questing , a seventeen-acre property owned by The Trustees of Reservations. I visited several other properties owned by the Trustees during this trip, including Ashintully Gardens , Tyringham Cobble , and Mission House . Like these other properties, this park had its own unique history. The trails of Questing go up and around Leffingwell Hill , named after brothers William and Jerome Leffingwell who built a farm on the property and brought their families to live with them. Both brothers died in horrific farming accidents. In 1873 at age fifty-two, William was kicked to death by a horse, leaving his wife with eleven children. In 1879 at age forty-eight, Jerome was crushed by a thirty-foot long timber at a barn construction site and died several days later. After these accidents, surviving family members abandoned the seemingly cursed property and moved West. Hikers can see the ruins of this farm while...

During my adventure through the Berkshires in July 2023, I visited Mission House , a property owned by the Trustees of Reservations located across the street from Historic New England’s Merwin House . This self-guided tour comes in two sections: a small museum telling the history of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians , and a Georgian style home with antique furniture. Although more familiar with earlier colonial history than the average American, I did not know much about this community before visiting the museum, but the beautifully designed signage told the full story. While history textbooks frequently reference Cherokee Nation when describing colonization and displacement, European colonizers perpetuated the same acts of violence against many nations, including those who lived in Stockbridge. The exhibit telling this history began with the ancestors of the Mohicans and other Indigenous people, who arrived in the area between 12,500 and...

During my trip to the Berkshires in July 2023, I visited Tyringham Cobble , a 240 acre preserve owned by The Trustees of Reservations . While the Cobble Loop Trail is just 2 miles (3.2 km), with the option to add on a 0.25 mile (400 m) out-and-back trail to a local pavilion, parts of the path overlap the historic Appalachian Trail . Clear signage throughout the route ensures that visitors do not become lost on the 2,000 mile (3,540 km) trail and end up in Maine or Florida. The hilly trail is studded with stone, perhaps contributing to its early name “Cobble Hill”. Beginning in 1792, a Shaker village developed in this area. ( The last former Shaker village I visited was Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH back in August 2022. ) According to the National Park Service, Tyringham Shaker Village was the fourth of its kind in Massachusetts alone during the height of Shakerism. Nearby Jerusalem Road was named by the Shakers, along with adjacent Shaker Pond. The...

This post begins a new series! I took a trip to the Berkshires in western Massachusetts during mid July 2023 and visited many historic places along the way. My first stop was Ashintully Gardens in Tyringham, MA , ruins of a grand estate currently preserved by The Trustees of Reservations . According to the official website of the Trustees, this organization “is here to protect and share the Massachusetts places people love for their exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value”. I have visited several parks managed by the Trustees, many of which will appear in future blog posts.