Abby Epplett, Historian

At long last, I have managed to reach Book I, Chapter 2. During these past two weeks, I carefully read the chapter using multiple lenses of interpretation, including those of history, literature, world religion, and potential animated musical. I have written the first draft of the script to be used while crafting the animatic for this section, something I should have considered while creating the first chapter instead of building the landing gear while landing the proverbial plane. I have scheduled the essays I plan to write leading up to the release of the next animatic, which brings its launch to about a year from now, on October 25, 2026. Faster production is relative; I spent almost a year and nine months on the first chapter, and this is an improvement.

On the same day I visited Coggeshall Farm at Colt State Park and Linden Place in Bristol, RI, I made many quick history stops around the historic downtown. Throughout this sidewalk hike, I followed the Historic Bristol Walking Tours provided by Bristol Historical and Preservation Society . During the first part , I saw beautifully preserved historic buildings and monuments. In the second part , I continued down Hope Street and walked through an area known as Bristol Waterfront Historic District . For the third part, I admired the diverse architecture of private houses, small businesses, and public buildings.

On the same day I visited Coggeshall Farm at Colt State Park and Linden Place in Bristol, RI, I made many quick history stops around the historic downtown. Throughout this sidewalk hike, I followed the Historic Bristol Walking Tours provided by Bristol Historical and Preservation Society . During the first part , I saw beautifully preserved historic buildings and monuments. In the second part, I continued down Hope Street walked through an area known as Bristol Waterfront Historic District , which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975.

On the same day I visited Coggeshall Farm Museum at Colt State Park and Linden Place , I took a long walk through the center of Bristol, RI. During this sunny stroll, I photographed so many beautiful historic buildings and monuments that I am dividing the Quick History Stops into three parts, each with similar material. Throughout this sidewalk hike, I followed the Historic Bristol Walking Tours provided by Bristol Historical and Preservation Society , which was founded in 1936 and has used its current name since 1972.

On the same day I visited Coggeshall Farm at Colt State Park in Bristol, RI, I went downtown to tour Linden Place , a mansion owned by the family of Samuel Pomeroy Colt. An extensive audio tour told the story of how the family came into its wealth, and how this wealth influenced the town around them.

In July 2025, I visited Coggeshall Farm Museum . Located inside Colt State Park in Bristol, RI, the late 18 th century historic farm has been associated with Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) since 2020. The 48-acre farmstead has been interpreted to the 1790s, not long after the American Revolutionary War and also known as the Federalist Era. My visit took place on a sunny summer day with perfect weather, happy animals, and friendly museum staff.

I was not sure what to write to go along with this animatic, which is the culmination of many months of work. I had originally begun an essay about the history of computer programs used to create my animatic. While the essay was certainly interesting, especially for technology geeks, it did not seem in line with my other essays in this series. I have decided instead to keep this essay as simple as possible and instead offer a brief summary of what I have learned so far. During my research of global histories and cultures, creating illustrations, and composing music, I have amassed a vast amount of knowledge and a wide-ranging skill set that I would not have thought possible at the beginning of the project. I have uncovered delightful stories and fun facts during this journey. For some highlights, I enjoyed learning about traditional clothing worn by Manchus, which partially inspired my depiction of Dunlending culture and took a MasterClass on voice acting presented by Nanc...

I recently inherited a signed copy of the book Honor the Past Celebrate the Future: A Historical Overview of the Blackstone River Valley, Massachusetts written by David White and published by the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce in 2005. Since the book is celebrating its 20 th birthday, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to not only see what it teaches the reader but also how our understanding of history has changed in the past two decades. The book is divided into eight sections and not only explores how revolution and industry shaped the region but offers a snapshot of important local business from the time of its publication. The first section, “1 Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares” riffs on a line from the song “Amazing Grace”, reminding the reader how European colonization of the area was motivated in part by religion. Missionary John Eliot committed to converting Nipmuc people to Christianity, which allowed the colonists to more easily manipulate N...

I had originally intended this post to cover the Tolkien Society Seminar 2025 held online on Saturday, October 18. However, since the event took place from 4:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time, and I had already scheduled in-person history events for that day, I decided to watch the replays when these are posted to the Tolkien Society YouTube channel . Instead, I will talk about a mini documentary by the BBC-run YouTube channel HistoryExtra that I have been meaning to watch for seven months. The animatic is still scheduled to appear next week, and my discussion of the conference will appear after the recordings are posted to YouTube. Because of the YouTube algorithm demanding clickbait titles, the mini-documentary is called The REAL history behind Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and more . The host was James Osborne , a HistoryExtra employee who studied archaeology and has experience as an entertainment journalist. Like other mini documentaries produced by History...

On the same day I visited the Patriots Hall of Fame in Foxborough, MA , I took several walks at parks in the greater Foxborough area. I visited sites cared for by the Department of Conservation & Recreation in Massachusetts (DCR), the Trustees of Reservations, and Wildlands Trust of Brockton. Along the way, I discovered ruins in the woods, historic buildings, a massive tree, and a curious baby bird.