Abby Epplett, Historian

Last night — on September 11, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. — I watched a book talk on The Lioness of Boston written by Emily Franklin and published by Godine . This webinar was hosted by American Ancestors in partnership with the Boston Public Library and GBH Forum Network. Franklin has published over twenty novels and poetry books, but The Lioness of Boston , based on the life of Isabella Stewart Gardner, is her first historical fiction novel. Other speakers during the talk included Margaret M. Talcott , Director Of Literary Programs & Partnerships at American Ancestors; Kristin Motte , Adult Programs Librarian at the Boston Public Library; and Claire Messud , an author of six novels. Frederique Rigoulot , a journalist at GBH, moderated the chat and Q&A. Franklin described her first exposure to Isabella Stewart Gardner and her legacy. As a high school student in Boston, Franklin visited the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and wrote a paper about two paintings: Rembrandt’s...

In June, I took a day trip to Milton, MA, where I had previously visited Historic New England’s Eustis Estate . This town has historic houses, hikes, and quick history stops. For my first stop, I visited Forbes House Museum . I last mentioned this property during my review of its online exhibition Opium: The Business of Addition , which was crucial for writing my highly popular essay “Concerning Pipe-weed” on the history of smoking . Since this aspect of the family fortune has been extensively covered, I will instead give an overview of important family members, the architecture on the property, objects found on the first and second floors of the house, the unadvertised extended tour, and a surprise cabin in the woods.

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 programs in Essex National Heritage Area as part of its annual event Trails & Sails . On my second day, I visited the John Cabot House in Beverly, MA. This 1781 Georgian style red brick building was the former residence of the wealthy Cabot family, who earned their fortune as successful merchant mariners. The building is now the headquarters of Historic Beverly and has been since 1892 after Edward Burley bequeathed it to the historical society.

While researching for the Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical installment “Prologue, 2 Concerning Pipeweed” , I came across an online exhibit hosted by Forbes House Museum , a historic house in nearby Milton, MA not far from Historic New England’s Eustis Estate , which I last visited in December 2022 and posted about exactly a year ago . This straightforward, to the point exhibit presents a candid look to one wealthy American family’s contribution to addiction and war in China during the Qing Dynasty , or late 18 th to mid-19 th century. The exhibit give a quick introduction and museum statement before diving into six topics concerning the China trade. Introduction & Museum Statement In 1784, American merchants began their trade with China in a range of products, including tea, porcelain, and opium. A long list of Boston Brahmin families — a term once used for wealthy Anglo-Americans who ran the government in colonial, federalist, and early constitutional Am...

During my trips to the North Shore several weeks ago, I visited many historic sites and took plenty of hikes. One of my stops was at Cedar Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in Wenham, MA. The scenic walking area is 158 acres (0.64 km sq) in size and is managed by Mass Audubon along with belonging to the Eastern Essex County Interior Forest Important Bird Area. Besides beautiful scenery and accessible pathways, the grounds contain the ruins of a mansion whose presence is more mysterious that it first seems.

On Thursday, June 6, 2024 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., I watched a webinar about an upcoming exhibit at Historic New England’s Eustis Estate Museum : “The Importance of Being Furnished: Four Bachelors at Home”. This exhibit was curated by R. Tripp Evans , an art history professor at my undergraduate alma mater Wheaton College, along with a material culture and historic preservation expert. The talk was introduced by public program administrator Moriah Illsley and site manager Karla Rosenstein. I first learned about this exhibition during  Day 1 of Historic New England Summit 2023  and wanted to find out more. Evans’ is based on his book by the same name, which was released on June 4 by Rowman & Littlefield . Both book and talk began with an anecdote about his grandmother’s house at 1821 Park Avenue in Richmond, VA. His grandmother moved into the house in December 1944, and his grandfather died suddenly only three days after moving in. Evans recalled being more ...

My final stop during my adventure on the North Shore was Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary , a site maintained by Mass Audubon and located in Topsfield, MA. The property once belonged to Thomas Emerson Proctor, Jr.  and his family, who apparently developed a habit of feeding the birds, which can be fed to this day. Additionally, if that name sounds familiar, Proctor School in Topsfield is named after him.

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 .

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.

Happy Hobbit Day to all those who observe! This essay is posted on September 22, the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, along with the autumnal equinox and the beginning of fall. The American Tolkien Society declared this a holiday in 1978, and since then, Middle-earth fans have celebrated with plenty of food and no shoes. While some fun-hating detractors argue that the celebration should really take place between September 12 and 14, owing to differences between the Gregorian calendar and the Shire calendar, a discussion of calendars will appear in two weeks and no longer be dwelt upon here. This week is dedicated to family trees. Genealogists gasp in delight upon reaching Appendix C, selections from the family trees of Hobbits first described back in Prologue, “1 Concerning Hobbits” : “The genealogical trees at the end of the Red Book of Westmarch are a small book in themselves… Hobbits delighted in such things, if they were accurate… set out fair and square with no c...

Back in August 2023, I visited Cambridge, MA for a history adventure. My main three stops during the trip were Longfellow House Washington Headquarters , Cooper-Frost-Austin House , and Harvard Art Museums , but I had plenty of quick history stops along the way. In Part 1 of this three-part miniseries, I visited historic homes in the Brattle Street area, a part of Cambridge once called Tory Row , and used walking tours from History Cambridge (formerly Cambridge Historical Society) as my guide, including Loyalist Women of Cambridge and The Work of the Revolution in Cambridge . Elmwood The first house on my tour was Elmwood, also known as Oliver-Gerry-Lowell House , a three-story Georgian style mansion with a spacious green lawn and covered with scaffolding, as the building was undergoing renovation. Thomas Oliver , a British Loyalist and the final royally appointed lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts, and his wife Elizabeth Vassell Oliver , who had grown up in...