Marblehead, Massachusetts

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Marblehead
Marblehead as seen from the sea
Marblehead as seen from the sea
Location in Massachusetts
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead
Marblehead
Basic data
Foundation : 1629
State : United States
State : Massachusetts
County : Essex County
Coordinates : 42 ° 30 ′  N , 70 ° 51 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 30 ′  N , 70 ° 51 ′  W
Time zone : Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents : 19,808 (as of 2010)
Population density : 1,737.5 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 50.7 km 2  (approx. 20 mi 2 ) of
which 11.4 km 2  (approx. 4 mi 2 ) is land
Height : 20 m
Postal code : 01945
Area code : +1 339/781
FIPS : 25-38400
GNIS ID : 0618300
Website : www.marblehead.org

Marblehead (literally: marble head ) is a coastal city in the American state of Massachusetts . The place is in Essex County on the Atlantic . Marblehead is the birthplace of the United States Navy and is known for its fishing and yachting relationship . The city's motto is " Where History Comes Alive "

history

Marblehead ( Maurice Prendergast , 1914, watercolors, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston )

The first settlement at Marblehead was established as a plantation for the nearby town of Salem in 1629 by John Peach Sr. In 1649 the place became independent. The original name was Massebequash , after a river between Salem and Marblehead. The land was inhabited by the Naumkeag , an Indian tribe led by the Sachem Nanepashemet . But two major epidemics in 1615–1619 and 1633, probably smallpox , took the tribe away. On September 16, 1684 the heirs of Nanepashemet sold their 15 km 2 of land. This document is in the town hall today.

The place was initially called Marvell Head, Marble Harbor (by John Smith ) and Foy (by immigrants from Fowey in Cornwall), but then got its current name of Marblehead because the settlers thought its granite rocks were marble . The place was initially a fishing village and then grew inland from the port. Mainly cod were caught here , dried and then sold inland. Economically, Marblehead experienced its peak shortly before the American Revolution . Some buildings from this period still exist.

A large part of the population of Marblehead was drawn into the American Revolutionary War early on . The Marblehead sailors became the first forerunners of the Navy . Their first ship was the USS Hannah , crewed by Marblehead men. The Marblehead sailors were also instrumental in helping the Continental Army escape after the Battle of Long Island . They eventually also shipped George Washington across the Delaware River in 1776 for his attack on Trenton . Although many of Marblehead's residents died in the war, the place remained among the top ten most populous places in America in the first census of 1790.

After the war, fishing remained important. 98 ships, 95 of which displaced more than 50 tons, set sail in 1837. However, a storm sank 11 of them on September 19, 1846 and damaged others. 65 seafarers fell victim to the storm, which made fishing less important.

In the late 19th century, Marblehead experienced a brief economic boom through the establishment of shoe factories. At the same time, the large port attracted many yachts, because seafaring as a purely recreational pleasure experienced its first peak during the Belle Époque . Marblehead are yacht clubs Boston Yacht Club, Corinthian Yacht Club, Eastern Yacht Club, Marblehead Yacht Club and the oldest junior yacht club America, the Pleon Yacht Club is home.

After World War II, Marblehead grew again because it had become the " dormitory " of Boston , Lynn and Salem . This boom ended around 1970 when the available space was exhausted.

  • Corinthian Yacht Club House Marblehead about 1894

  • Eastern Yacht Club House around 1894

  • Front Street, 1914

  • Jeremiah Lee Mansion , around 1905

  • Lafayette House, around 1908

geography

Marblehead Light, at the northern tip of Marblehead Neck

Marblehead is located at 42 ° 29 '49 "N / 70 ° 51' 47" W, approximately 20 km northeast of Boston . According to official information, the city covers a total area of ​​50.7 km 2 , of which 39.4 km 2 (77.6%) are water. The city consists of a rocky peninsula and an offshore isthmus . Between the two is the large, sheltered harbor of Marblehead. On the isthmus, called Marblehead Neck , is a Massachusetts Audubon Society bird sanctuary and a lighthouse at the north end. The city also includes several smaller islands in Massachusetts Bay and along the coast.

In addition to Marblehead Neck, Marblehead has two other villages, Devereux in the southeast and Clifton in the southwest. The urban area of ​​Marblehead is almost completely built over. There are shared borders with Swampscott and Salem .

traffic

The Massachusetts Route 114 and Massachusetts Route 129 end in Marblehead. There are no highways in Marblehead. There are 4 bus routes to Boston. Salem has a train station and a ferry line to Boston. There is an international airport in Boston.

The two railway lines Swampscott-Marblehead and Castle Hill-Marblehead only carried people up to 1959, then goods for a short time. The routes were then dismantled and their route is now a cycle path.

Demographics

Old Bowen House around 1905
Population development
1850 6167
1860 7646
1870 7703
1880 7467
1890 8202
1900 7582
1910 7338
1920 7324
1930 8668
1940 10856
1950 13765
1960 18521
1970 21295
1980 20126
1990 19971
2000 20377
2010 19808

At the 2000 census, there were 20,377 people in Marblehead. The population density was quite high at 1,736.8 people per square kilometer. The vast majority of the population (97.6%) were white .

education

There are eight school houses in Marblehead: Bell School, Coffin School, Eveleth School, Gerry School, Glover School, Village School, Marblehead Veterans Middle School, and Marblehead High School.

Devereux Beach

Devereux Beach on Ocean Avenue is Marblehead's most popular beach. There are picnic tables and play areas on the sandy beach. The beach is guarded in the summer season .

Attractions

Rockmere Point around 1905
Marblehead Harbor, 1908

Known residents

art

Movie

Thunderstorm, around 1910

The following films were made in Marblehead:

literature

HP Lovecraft based its fictional city of Kingsport on Marblehead. The real Marblehead, along with Lovecraft himself, appears in Lovecraft's Book of 1985 ( Richard A. Lupoff ).

Lovecraft visited Marblehead in December 1922 and described his visit as follows:

“… 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. "

- HP Lovecraft

gallery

  • alt1 = View of sea along fort wall

  • At Fort Sewall

  • Old Town House

  • Homes on Washington Street

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Marblehead MA - Official Website . Town of Marblehead, Massachusetts. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  2. ^ Population of the 24 Urban Places: 1790 . United States Bureau of the Census. June 15, 1998. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
  3. ^ Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Marblehead town, Essex County, Massachusetts . US Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  4. ^ Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary
  5. ↑ HP Lovecraft, Selected Letters Vol. 3, pp. 126-127; quoted from Joshi and Schultz, An HP Lovecraft Encyclopedia , p. 92.

Web links

Commons : Marblehead, Massachusetts  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files