The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692, over an exceptionally raw Massachusetts winter, when a minister’s daughter began to scream and convulse. They ended less than a year later but not before the execution of 19 people and the unfolding of a mystery that shaped the future American republic. In 1692 the Massachusetts Bay Colony […]
White-steepled churches, country stores, black-shuttered white clapboard houses, and bobbing boats provide the backdrop to the prettiest towns in New England.
A visit to the “Brooklyn of the Berkshires” town of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, including a stay at Hotel on North and afternoon at Hancock Shaker Village.
Feisty Annie Smith Peck conquered the world’s highest peaks —and horrified her Rhode Island relatives in the process. Born into a traditional New England family in 1850—her father was a lawyer and businessman, her mother a direct descendant of Roger Williams—she mortified her parents when she vowed she would develop the strength and stamina to […]
Our guide to the best artisinal cheeses, chocolates, jams, cookies, pickles, and other worthy New England edibles.
On Tuesday evening, shortly after sunset, I watched the full Hunter’s Moon rise above a gently rolling field in northern New England. The trees along the forest edge had already been stripped of their leaves, and their silhouettes were strong and spooky against the moonlight. Considering that Halloween is somehow already upon us, the timing […]
Gruesome images today of refugees, fleeing poverty and war in North Africa and the Middle East, only to drown in Mediterranean waters, are arousing horror and sympathy around the world. European governments are faced with painful decisions: How many can they take in without being overwhelmed? The crisis is a reminder that New England has […]
The change was abrupt. A cold front rushed through New England and temperatures dropped, as rain, and then snow, began to fall. After a generally warmer-than-normal autumn, it was rather shocking to be reminded that sometimes in New England, autumn means pulling out the winter hat and gloves! By Sunday morning, skies had cleared, but temperatures all across […]
A guide to some truly homegrown (and world-changing) New England plants. Photo/Art by Rose James When you travel down the aisles of your local supermarket, you’re seeing the products of thousands of years of food history. Some of that history began in New England. Plants like blueberry, cranberry, and maple were cultivated by Native Americans […]
The biggest tourism weekend of the fall in New England has come and gone, and we couldn’t have asked for better weather. Cool mornings, bright warm sunny days, clear skies and endless views were the dominant conditions, and when it did cloud up in Northern New England, the mountains were dusted with the first snow of […]
Photo/Art by Annie Graves Light shines brightly on Zaccharias Walker’s house, built in 1691 in Woodbury, Connecticut. We know Zaccharias built it, because the small wooden marker at the corner of this handsome white chunk of Colonial history tells us so. His house has weathered sun, rain, and snow for 325 years, alongside dozens more […]
Early New Englanders invented the Cape Cod house out of necessity, but its charm and ingenuity made it an American icon.
