Units 90, 91, 92: Salem Maritime NHS; Saugus Iron Works NHS: Minuteman National Historic Park

Salem Maritime National Historic Site
10/15/17. What a great day for parks! We were at a wedding in Beverly Mass so we decided to make the most of the ride home and visit some of the MA parks. Jason, Jill, Catherine and I started at Salem where we toured the town a bit, then visites the Maritime Historic Park. We love architecture and history from this time period so we had a good time visiting the custom house and the displays inside. Couldn't help but think about Hamilton!
     There were all sorts of displays and information about the finances of the time, and a ridiculously outrageous American Eagle that took up most of the room!

Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site
After the morning at Salem, we headed off to the Saugus Iron Works. Jason figured out that today was their once-a-year iron pour so we hurried not to miss it. When we got there, they were set up and getting the equipment ready for the pour. We waited and waited and waited, and learned a lot about how they would have done the iron pour years ago. We also visited the small museum on site and some of the buildings that are still preserved.

Finally, after an hour and a half, they were ready! By now we had lost some of our enthusiasm, however, once they began the pour, it was the most amazing thing! The molten iron was awesome and the whole process what fascinating. We were all very glad we waited.

Minuteman National Historic Park 
We got on the road again, and made a quick stop at Minuteman National Historic Park. The park has that quintessential New England beauty and you get to the visitor's center by a lovely paved path through the woods. We spent a little time in the visitor's center which had some interesting displays, especially if you didn't know much about this time period. This would be a good park to return to see more of the period houses and for walks in the woods. 

We were thrilled to have been able to visit three parks in one day! We're looking forward to seeing more of the Massachusetts parks in the future!