Abby Epplett, Historian

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. I drove across the bridge to the town of Wareham, which proudly calls itself “The gateway to Cape Cod” to visit a few sites owned by Wareham Historical Society . I took a guided tour of the Fearing Tavern Museum and made quick history stops at the Old Methodist Meeting House, the One-Room Schoolhouse, and the Union Chapel. I also saw the towering Wareham War Memorial and smaller Wareham World War I Memorial in Center Park, the town green.

Finishing up my three-day trip to the Mystic / Lyme area of Connecticut, I made a few quick history stops along the way, including a nature preserve, a state park with a railroad bridge, and a historic farmstead.

While planning day trips to the Essex National Heritage Area, I stumbled upon The Beacons Are Lit: The Lighthouse Keepers of Bakers Island . I was intrigued by the bizarre juxtaposition of a late 18 th century lighthouse in Salem, MA and a line from Peter Jackson’s The Return of the King , so I had to further investigate this short online exhibit. The exhibit begins with a quick review on the history and importance of lighthouses with a special focus on the Pharos of Alexandria in Ancient Greece. Then the exhibit dives right into the importance of the lighthouse on Bakers Island. The current lighthouse is “Pa”, as it was the “husband” of “Ma”, a slightly older and shorter lighthouse next door that was torn down in 1926. Lighthouses have been on the island since 1798, and a keeper was needed to run them. This work was incredibly risky, as third keeper Nathaniel Ward and his assistant Marshall (with no clarity in the exhibit over whether this was a first name or last name...

In the second part of my two-part series on quick history stops in Amesbury, MA, I marched across a training field used during the American Revolutionary War, walked a wooded trail, passed by multiple historic buildings, and visited two monuments.

Besides visiting Historic New England’s Dole Little House , Museum of Old Newbury , and the Lower Green Area of Newbury , I also made several quick history stops while visiting the Newbury & Newburyport region, as I was unable to see these stops my previous trip to the area in September 2022 . Locations included a house and a memorial in the Upper Green Area of Newbury, along with historic buildings and one live horse in Downtown Newburyport.

Back in January 2023, while seeing family in western Michigan, I visited the Garden of Honor Memorial , also called Veteran’s Park , in Allendale Community Park of  Allendale Charter Township , about twenty-five minutes southwest of Grand Haven . Designed and constructed twenty-five years ago in 1998 by a local artist, the impressive but controversial memorial contains statues of soldiers and civilians surrounding an eagle-topped obelisk. The eight represented  conflicts include the War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Gulf War.

Last October, I made a few Quick History Stops in Southern New Hampshire on the border with Massachusetts just north of Fitchburg, MA. This fun day trip, which included longer stops at Cathedral of the Pines and Historic New England’s Barrett House , also featured apple picking at Washburn’s Windy Hill Orchard, climbing Mount Kidder, and visiting the childhood home of Uncle Sam.

Last October, I visited Salem Maritime National Historic Site in Salem, MA. I had visited the city of Salem several times in the past and had taken a ranger-led tour of the area, but I had never completed a Junior Ranger badge for the site, so the revisit was a must. The National Historic Site designation within the National Park Service in the United States originated with Salem, as it was the first National Historic Site. Created on March 17, 1938, the park celebrated its 85 th anniversary last Friday. Salem Maritime NHS can be divided into three parts: the Salem Armory Visitor Center, the tall ship Friendship of Salem at Derby Wharf, and historic buildings. Each of these parts is important for understanding the history of the city.

For my third main stop on the third day of my three-day trip through the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area, I visited Rundlet-May House , a property of Historic New England (HNE) constructed in 1807. Like the Sayward-Wheeler House in nearby York, Maine, which I visited as stop two on the same day, a single family lived in the house throughout its time as a residence. The Rundlet-May House has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976 .

During my three-day trip of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area, I walked through nearby Exeter listening to a Historical Walking Tour on izi.TRAVEL , a website and app for self-guided audio tours. This tour is vetted by the Exeter Historical Society and was recorded by local boy scouts and their family members. Additionally, a written transcript beneath the audio player allows Deaf and hearing impaired visitors, or anyone walking through busy downtown Exeter, to enjoy the tour. Stops can be visited in any orders.

For stop five on my trip through Maine, I went back to Wiscasset to visit another Historic New England (HNE) property and National Historic Landmark . Built by shipping investor  William Nickels and his wife Jane in 1807, Nickels-Sortwell House is a federal-style mansion with a ridiculous number of windows. Like many owners of grand houses in Maine and New Hampshire, the Nickels family was a victim to President Thomas Jefferson’s disastrous Embargo of 1807 and the subsequent War of 1812 . Both William and Jane had died by 1815, so the debt saddled children rented out the house. This started a tradition of renting at Nickels-Sortwell House, which continues to this day. The back portion of the house can be rented through Vacasa if you have the budget for it.

Stop three on my two-day tour of Maine was Castle Tucker , a property of Historic New England in Wiscasset, Maine. This charming tourist town has a history as a busy port along the Sheepscot River stretching back to the early colonial era. Many residents in the 18 th and early 19 th century made their fortunes through the shipping industry’s Transatlantic trade routes.

My second stop on my adventure in Maine was Hamilton House , located in South Berwick just down the road from Sarah Orne Jewett House Museum & Visitor Center . These Georgian style homes were built around the same time, with Hamilton House constructed around 1785 by wealthy privateer Jonathan Hamilton. He copied and enlarged the architectural features seen at Jewett House. Notable similarities include the layout of the houses, three-story buildings with four rooms on the main floor, a grand central staircase, and a wooden arch in the atrium, reminiscent of a ship’s hull. Hamilton House is more traditionally decorated than its counterpart across town, with Neoclassical wallpaper and white trim. The owner of this opulent manor paid double the taxes of the next best house in town. Due to the high price in upkeep and the economic downturn surrounding the Jefferson Embargo of 1807 and the War of 1812, the Hamilton family was forced to sell the house during the second generation....