Everything about Marblehead Massachusetts totally explained
Marblehead is a
town in
Essex County,
Massachusetts,
United States. The population was 20,377 at the
2000 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. A
yachting resort, Marblehead includes the neighborhood of
Clifton.
History
Marblehead was first settled as a plantation of
Salem in 1629 by John Peach Sr., then set off and incorporated in 1639. Originally called Massebequash after the river which ran between it and Salem, the land was inhabited by the Naumkeag
Indians under the
sachem, Nanepashemet. But
epidemics in 1615–1619 and 1633, believed to be
smallpox, devastated the tribe. Heirs of Nanepashemet would sell their on
September 16,
1684, the deed preserved today at the town hall.
At times called Marvell Head, Marble Harbour (by Captain
John Smith) and Foy (by immigrants from
Fowey,
Cornwall), the town would be named Marblehead by settlers who mistook its
granite ledges for
marble. It began as a
fishing village with narrow, crooked streets, and grew inland from the harbor. The shoreline smelled of
drying fish, typically
cod, which were exported abroad and to Salem. The town peaked economically just prior to the
Revolution, as locally financed
privateering vessels pirated the seas for bounty from large
European ships. Much early
architecture survives from the era, including the
Jeremiah Lee Mansion.
A large percentage of residents became involved early in the fight for American freedom, and the sailors of Marblehead, under General
John Glover, are generally recognized by scholars as forerunners of the
American Navy. The first vessel commissioned for the navy, the
Hannah, was equipped with
cannons,
rope, provision (including the indigenous "Joe Frogger" molasses/sea water cookie)—and a crew from Marblehead. Many who set out for war, however, didn't return. Indeed, the community lost a substantial portion of its population and economy. After the conflict, fishing would remain important, with 98 vessels (95 of which exceeded 50 tons) putting to sea in 1837. But a
gale or
hurricane at the
Grand Banks of Newfoundland on
September 19,
1846 sank 11 vessels and damaged others. With 65 men and boys lost in the storm, the town's fishing industry began a decline.
During the late 1800s, Marblehead experienced a short-term boom from shoe-making factories. At the same time, the exceptional harbor attracted yachting and
yacht clubs. It would become home to the Boston Yacht Club, Corinthian Yacht Club, Eastern Yacht Club, Marblehead Yacht Club, Dolphin Yacht Club, and the oldest junior yacht club in America, the Pleon Yacht Club.
After World War II, the town enjoyed a population boom, as a bedroom community for Boston,
Lynn and Salem. This boom ended around 1970 when the town became built out.
Image:Front Street, Marblehead, MA.jpg|Front Street in 1914
Image:Lee Mansion, Marblehead, MA.jpg|Lee Mansion in c. 1905
Image:NY Fleet in Marblehead Harbor.jpg|The Harbor in 1908
Image:La Fayette House, Marblehead, MA.jpg|Lafayette House, c. 1908
Geography
Marblehead is located at (42.497146, -70.863236).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 19.6
square miles (50.8
km²), of which, 4.5 square miles (11.7 km²) of it's land and 15.1 square miles (39.1 km²) of it (76.92%) is water. Marblehead is situated on
Massachusetts Bay and Salem Bay. The town is comprised of a rocky
peninsula that extends into the
Atlantic Ocean, with a
neck connected by a long
sandbar. This ring of land defines Marblehead's deep, sheltered harbor.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 20,377 people, 8,541 households, and 5,679 families residing in the town. The
population density was 4,498.9 people per square mile (1,736.8/km²). There were 8,906 housing units at an average density of 1,966.3/sq mi (759.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.56%
White, 0.44%
Black or
African American, 0.08%
Native American, 0.98%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.19% from
other races, and 0.73% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.88% of the population.
There were 8,541 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were
married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 29.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $73,968, and the median income for a family was $99,892. Males had a median income of $70,470 versus $44,988 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $46,738. About 3.2% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Marblehead Public Schools oversees eight schools: Bell School, Coffin School, Eveleth School, Gerry School,
Glover School, Village School, Marblehead Veterans Middle School, and Marblehead High School.
Points of interest
Historical Sites & Museums
Abbot Hall (1877), containing The Spirit of '76 by Archibald MacNeal Willard
Fort Sewall
(1644)
Frost Folk Art Museum
G.A.R. & Civil War Museum
King Hooper Mansion (1768)
Jeremiah Lee Mansion (1768)
Pride Rock (Conservation Land)
Notable residents
Keith Ablow, psychiatrist, writer and was host/executive producer of the The Dr. Keith Ablow Show
Frank Black, contemporary musician
W. Starling Burgess, yacht designer & aircraft manufacturer
Uriel Crocker, publisher, businessman
Shalane Flanagan, American-record holding distance runner
J.O.J. Frost, primitive artist
Elbridge Gerry, politician
John Glover, Revolutionary War general
Tyler Hamilton, cyclist
Ted Hood, yachtsman, America's Cup winner
Ada Louise Huxtable, architecture critic
Harry Kemelman, novelist
Peter Lynch, investor, author
Joseph Story, Supreme Court justice
Cory Schneider, Vancouver Canucks top-prospect goaltender
Arts
Movies filmed in Marblehead include:
Autumn Heart (2000)
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Moonlight Mile (2002)
Treading Water (2001)
The Good Son (1993)
Coma (1974)
The Witches of Eastwick
What's the Worst That Could Happen? (although filmed in Manchester-by-the-Sea, scenes are said to be set in town)
H. P. Lovecraft based his fictional Massachusetts town Kingsport on Marblehead. The real Marblehead, as well as Lovecraft himself, appears in the 1985 Richard A. Lupoff novel Lovecraft's Book. It also features in the eponymous 1978 Marblehead by Joan Thompson.
Lovecraft once visited Marblehead in December 1922 and described his voyage as: » "…the most powerful single emotional climax experienced during my nearly forty years of existence. In a flash all the past of New England--all the past of Old England—all the past of Anglo-Saxondom and the Western World—swept over me and identified me with the stupendous totality of all things in such a way as it never did before and never did again. That was the high tide of my life.".
Author Ben Sherwood set his novel The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud in Marblehead, featuring the Waterside Cemetery. Harry Kemelman wrote a series of mystery novels around a character, "Rabbi Small", who solves various murder cases in a town very similar to Marblehead, nicknamed "Barnard's Crossing". Kemelman lived in Marblehead for 50 years. Marblehead is referred to as the Birthplace of the American Navy.
Robert B. Parker supposedly based the fictional town of Paradise on Marblehead in his Jesse Stone book series, going so far as to include the annual Race Week yachting event.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Marblehead Massachusetts'.
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