New England's Hidden Past: 360 Overlooked, Underappreciated and Misunderstood Landmarks

by Dan Landrigan, Leslie Landrigan

New England is so compact that even casual visitors can sample its diverse history in just a short time. But travelers and residents alike can also pass right by historic buildings, landscapes, and iconic objects without noticing them. New England's Hidden Past presents the region's history in an engaging new way: through 58 lists of historic places and things usually hidden in plain sight in all six New England states. Pay attention and you'll find stone structures built by Indians, soaring churches financed by Franco-American millworkers, and public high schools started by colonists when New England was still a howling wilderness. You may have seen them, but you probably don't know the story behind them. New England's Hidden Past takes readers to the grave sites of revolutionary heroines, Loyalist house museums, as well as, Revolutionary taverns and colonial inns. It takes them to Indian trails, the oldest houses, historic department stores, ghost towns, and Little Italys. Each unique, interesting location or object has a counterpart in the other five New England states. A perfect guide to keep in the car and refer to when traveling New England or planning a trip.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Angel Rose]

New England's Hidden Past: 360 Overlooked, Underappreciated, and Misunderstood Landmarks by Dan and Leslie Landrigan is a hell of a title that I've had to keep typing. This was another spur of the moment book we found in Old Sturbridge Village, and I just had to read it.

So, as a born and raised New Englander (MA and RI) I absolutely love wild and ridiculous New England history. Yes, most of it was not great with the racism and thievery, but that doesn't make it less interesting, also it keeps things in perspective for me that this country has come a long way, but really... it hasn't.

The Landrigans have dedicated each chapter of this book to different New England events, but did limit it to giving one event/location per state (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont). If you enjoy day or weekend trips around New England I do highly recommend this book. They talk about old speakeasies you can still visit, famous scandals, old and mysterious stone structures, places that are supposedly haunted, trains, hotels, loony rich people and their lifestyles, how the states got their names, and so many other interesting and not often spoken about historical events and locations. Most of RIs talking points happened in Providence (Of course) and Newport, but Burrillville did win the "Most Unique Name" chapter.

I was astounded by how many of these places I've seen or heard about, but had no idea how much history was behind it. Did you know African Americans had a travel guide published to keep them safe in unwelcoming neighborhoods after dark? It listed friendly hotels and restaurants that could be visited safely, and one of them was the Biltmore! Did you know that RI has the most Italian population in the US? Only followed closely by CT.

This book is chock full of interesting tid bits of information, and will be essential on any travelling we do in New England. It's never a bad thing to know more about your own backyard!

[Jim Castine]

I admit, I kind of cheated. I blew through this book by only reading the NH parts 100%, and picking and choosing the other six states. However, the parts I did read were great! So many stories buried in our hills and wooded areas. Each anecdote in this book could make for a novel of its own. Very highly recommended for the curious locals.

[Dale Rosenberg]

This was fun to read. It would be fine to just peruse in pieces, too. Much of it is not all that "hidden" but it's still interesting. For example, there's a section on US Presidents who vacationed in New England. We all know about the Kennedy compound but there were lots of other presidential vacation spots.

There's a section on entries in the Green Book in New England - I had no idea there were any, thinking it was just places in the South (my naivete). And there's the oldest continuously operating restaurants and other interesting spots and curiosities.

[Lori]

I blew through this book because it was so interesting and I had a day of waiting for someone in surgery lol

Wicked interesting for any local New Englander or anyone who enjoys history. So many things I didn’t know about the names.

A really good read and probably could have been longer and more detailed. Totally enjoyed

[Christine McCloud]

Giving this 4 stars because I liked most of the little facts throughout the book. However, there were a few that I thought were kind of a stretch. Plus I didn’t always appreciate the writing style.
I do appreciate the bibliography at the end. That may lead me to read more deeply about the items that piqued my curiosity.

[Carolyn]

Bravo. This book will be a great addition to my ongoing project.

[Jack]

Better to be used as a trip advisor if you're visiting New England. A lot of the material was uninteresting to me, such as where did towns get their names, Wildlife sanctuaries,downtown shopping stores and civic New England, and others. What I was expecting was more unusual or extraordinary information that could only be gleaned from this book. I enjoyed the more unusual parts of the book such ethnic heritage, abandoned places, ghost towns and where hangings took place.