Abby Epplett, Historian

Several weeks ago, I took a three-day trip to the Mystic / Lyme area of Connecticut and visited many historical sites. The most remarkable hidden gem I found during this trip was Thomas Lee House & Little Boston School, properties in Niantic, CT belonging to  East Lyme Historical Society . Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970 , Lee House was among the best examples of post-medieval houses in New England that I have visited. In the late 1660s, the original portion of the house was built for Ensign Thomas Lee III who used the lower chamber as a Judgement Hall for holding court cases. Additions in 1709 and 1765 brought the house to its current size. The Lee family lived in the house until some point in the 19 th century, when a neighbor bought the property and turned it into a barn. Today, the lower chamber on the left is a 17 th century design, while the lower chamber on the left is an 18 th century or Georgian style design, all...

Several weeks ago, I went on a three-day adventure to the Mystic / Lyme area of Connecticut and visited many historic stops. During this trip, I went to Brookside Farm Museum in Niantic, CT, a village of East Lyme. Formerly called Smith-Harris House, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Thomas Avery House , some reasons behind its many names will be explained in this post. The route the house getting its complex name was likewise complex. In 1845, local carpenter John Clark built the Greek Revival style house for well-off merchant Thomas Avery and his new wife Elizabeth Brace Griswold Avery . The land on which it was built had been in the family for many years, with Thomas being in the seventh generation, and the new house included parts of an older house. Elizabeth died young in 1852 at age 29, so Thomas’ childless sister, Elizabeth Avery Henderson , moved into the house to care for their two surviving children. While older...

After weeks of anticipation, we finally arrive at everyone’s favorite section, “Appendix A, II Durin’s Folk”, where readers receive a taste of Dwarf history and culture. While many readers gravitate towards Elves or Hobbits when choosing their favorite fantasy Race of Middle-earth, I have always preferred the Dwarves. What was not to love about the murder munchkins, who were as prepared to make jewelry or go spelunking as hack up their enemies with an ax? More Dwarf stories are found in The Silmarillion , as alluded to in the opening paragraph of this section, but here the reader finds context for the events in The Hobbit along with stories from the Line of Durin, or Dwarves descended from the first Dwarf awakened, and accordingly considered the most politically powerful group. Dwarves in European literature have not always taken on the sometimes delightful, sometimes tragic tone of Dwarves in Tolkien’s books. Historically, their stories have contained antisemitic underton...

Several weeks ago, I had an adventure in the Lyme / Mystic area of Connecticut. In the village of Niantic in East Lyme, CT is Niantic Bay Boardwalk stretching 6000 feet from Niantic Bay Beach to Hole-in-the-Wall Beach. Fun yellow seashell location markers installed by Eagle Scout Joshua Miller of Troop 240 indicate how far a walker has traveled along the boardwalk and provide information for emergency services should something go amiss. Besides this excellent signage, the boardwalk boasts plenty of informational signs about the history and ecology of the area. As an added bonus, trains regularly run down the railroad tracks beside the boardwalk and cross the drawbridge on the Niantic Bay Beach end of the path. The Niantic River had been a challenge to cross since people settled in the area several thousand years ago, but the first known Niantic River Bridge was built in 1796 to replace a rope ferry, a pulley system that had brought passengers and goods...