Abby Epplett, Historian

The Lord of the Rings was originally written as an exercise in speculative linguistics, and Tolkien scholars enjoy discussing the invented languages, unique words, and antiquated concepts found in the text. Of the many words and phrases that may bring discomfort to the modern reader because of the evolution of language and changing social attitudes is one of Sam’s favorite words: master. While a thesaurus might list “boss” or “manager” as synonyms, “master” connotates feudalism in Europe and slavery in the Americas. Interestingly, the negative connotation seems to have arisen after these periods due to the Nazi Party declaring whites a “master race” during the Holocaust, changes in Western social structure after World War II, and the rise of social movements during the 1960s and 1970s. The word was part of daily language from the 16 th to early 20 th century, as a boy of an upper class family or a man of low social status were given the title “master” opposed to the higher ...

Right after my walk at Hamlin Reservation, I went to another site maintained by The Trustees of Reservations, Greenwood Farm in Ipswich, MA. The 216-acre property contains a short, g-shaped walking trail and a pair of historic houses, which won the 1998 and 2001 Mary P. Conley Preservation Awards given by Ipswich Historical Commission . While the site does not include much information about the three “dynasties” who lived on the property, these people are by far the most interesting part of the story.

During one of my trips to the North Shore in Massachusetts, I visited Hamlin Reservation in Ipswich, which is currently managed by The Trustees of Reservations . This one-mile walking path through the Great Marsh allows some sharp-eyed visitors to see birds that only live in this part of the state , including cattle egrets, snowy egrets, and black-ground night-herons. While I only saw a few crows, the quiet walk was a relaxing rest after running around the center of town, and the land turned out to have a connection to national history.

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.

Today, I continue with my miniseries on quick history stops in Ipswich, MA. As a quick history review, last week I shared a pair of banks, a post office, murals on a factory building, and a story from the Industrial Revolution in Part 1 . On Monday, I shared the Riverwalk, a war memorial, the town visitor center, a commercial block, and other historic buildings in Part 2 . I will discuss the history of three churches, a school building, the library, and informational signage in Part 3.

Earlier this year, I visited many historic places along the North Shore in Essex County, Massachusetts. I found so many quick history stops in Ipswich, MA that I have turned this adventure into a four-part miniseries. Part 1 covered a pair of banks, a post office, murals on a factory building, and a story from the Industrial Revolution. Part 2 will focus on the Riverwalk, a war memorial, the town visitor center, a commercial block, and other historic buildings.

Hobbits loved straightforward rules as long as these supported their interests of food, music, walks, and other simple but fun activities. Their society appeared to be governed by three sets of regulations: written laws similar to those in a medieval feudalist government; unwritten social norms similar to those found in the European Middle Ages, Regency period, and Victorian period; and animal-like behaviors not exhibited by the other “races” in Tolkien’s legendarium. While the rules maintained social order and allowed the hobbits to enjoy their favorite things, including walks, conversation, and smoking, these also excluded some individuals from social participation and upward mobility, not unlike the exclusion of individuals in the Real World. This also created the opportunity for individuals with social power and understanding to subvert the rules to their own advantage, perhaps leading to positive changes.

During my trips to the North Shore earlier this year, I spent time walking around Ipswich, MA. I really outdid myself with picture-taking in this colonial-era town, and accordingly will present a four-part miniseries of quick history stops. Special thanks to my sister who lives locally and tolerated me finding local history in everything. For the first part, I will share a pair of banks, a post office, murals on a factory building, and a story from the Industrial Revolution.

During my trips to the North Shore earlier this year, I twice visited a group of cemeteries in Ipswich, MA . This cemetery opened in 1634, a year after the town was founded in 1633, and is operational to this day. The oldest parts of the cemetery, located near High Street where on-street parking is available, is called Old Burying Ground or Old North Cemetery, while other sections were Highland and New Highland Cemetery. This entire area is part of High Street Historic District, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Like the High Street of many post-medieval towns (as last described in my Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical essay “Places: Bywater” , which referenced the original Ipswich in England) this was the main road until Central Street was built in 1871, or 238 years after High Street.

During the early 19 th century, also known as the Regency era in Great Britain, clothing mimicked contemporary events in Europe, including revolutions and building empires. People were inspired by similar events in classical history such as Athenian democracy and the Roman Empire. Northwestern European scholars had long appropriated the history of the Mediterranean as their own past, but this was the first time the mythology had gone mainstream. The beginning of print culture , or the mass production of written documents including books, allowed the noble and merchant classes to own their own copies of The Odyssey and The Iliad , albeit with varying accuracy in translation, while the display of marble statues at public institutions like our old friend the British Museum allowed the general public to see how their favorite heroes may have looked. This interest in the ancient world continues today, as the so-called Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon have been on display in the m...