USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts : a guide to its places and people > Part 46
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77
Near-by (W.) is Oldtown Hill (alt. 180), from the summit of which is a sweeping view (W.) of the Atlantic coastline and rolling hills. In the sides of the hill near its base are several Dugouts where the settlers en- dured the bitter winter of 1635. Thatched saplings were stuck in the ground outside as windbreaks.
South of Newbury, State 1A winds between orchards and fields and across stretches of salt marsh.
At 7.8 m. the Platts-Bradstreet House (open in summer; adm. 25g), head- quarters of the Rowley Historical Society, overlooks a small village green. This two-and-a-half-story frame house was constructed about 1660.
ROWLEY, 8.2 m. (town, alt. 59, pop. 1495, sett. 1638, incorp. 1639), is the center of a peaceful agricultural area. On Rowley Common in 1813 the 'Country's Wonder,' a 90-ton vessel, was built, and afterward hauled to the river (1.5 m.) by 100 yoke of oxen, while bystanders refreshed them- selves from a well into which had been poured a full barrel of Jamaica rum. Shipbuilding here was begun in 1780, and continued for nearly a century.
Near-by stands the Public Library (open) housing a good collection of local birds.
At 8.7 m. is the junction with State 133.
Right on this road, 0.4 m., is the Clarke House (1671), now in disrepair, but still picturesque with its lean-to roof and overhanging second story. (Open on request.)
At 11.3 m. on State 1A is the junction with Linebrook Rd. and High St.
I. Right on Linebrook Rd., 0.7 m., is the Burnham-Harte House (1640) (Ye Olde
417
From Newburyport to Everett
Burnham Inn, open as summer tearoom), one of the best-known 17th-century houses of New England, which through successive reconstructions has lost its typical exterior mass. The rooms within, on five levels, retain such original features as a nine-foot fireplace, hand-hewn joists, and 'frog-leg' hinges. The living-room has been copied for the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in 1937 the parlor and an upstairs chamber were removed and sent to the Metro- politan. Copies of these have replaced the originals.
2. Left on High St., the worn slate stones of the Old North Burial Vard straggle up the slope of Town Hill. Many of the pioneers are buried here; the oldest legible stone is dated 1634.
At 0.2 m. on elm-lined High St. is (L) the Waldo Caldwell House, built before 1650, which has small-paned windows with old glass.
The Rogers Manse (open by permission) at 0.4 m., a gracious example of early 18th- century architecture, contains elaborate paneling and a wide staircase with beauti- fully turned balusters.
High St. is lined with tall elms, and on days when the wind blows strong from the east it brings through the shaded streets the throb of surf on far-off Ipswich Bar. This sound calls to mind the legend of Harry Main, a smuggler and pirate of the old days, who, so runs the tale, was chained to the Bar and condemned to coil a rope of sand till Doomsday. When the moaning of the bar is heard, the old folks still say, 'Harry growls at his work today.'
High St. becomes East St. at N. Main St.
The Norton Corbett House (private), 0.5 m., 8 East St., little changed since it was built, before 1650. has a lean-to roof and massive central chimney.
At 0.7 m. the Hovey House (private), also with lean-to roof and large central chim- ney, faces County St. In 1655 this house was occupied by Jeffrey Snelling, the Town Whipper.
Left from East St. on County St. to Green St .; left on this to No. 8 (L), the Burley House (private), built before 1688 and now falling into decay.
Green St. crosses the Ipswich River and enters Turkey Shore Rd. Here, directly opposite the bridge, stands the Emerson House (open daily in summer; adm. 25€) on a grassy terrace. Built in 1640, and now belonging to the Society for the Preserva- tion of New England Antiquities, it has an overhanging second story, steep roof, and large central chimney.
IPSWICH, 11.7 m. (town, alt. 30, pop. 6217, sett. 1633, incorp. 1634), first known as Agawam, was settled by a group of 12 pioneers, among whom were three or more 'gentlemen' who apparently set the tone for this community; for this remote frontier village was a cultural center of the 17th century. Anne Bradstreet, the poet, and Nathaniel Ward, witty author of 'The Simple Cobler of Aggawam,' lived here.
The Rebellion Tablet marks the spot where in 1687 the townsfolk, led by John Wise, gathered nearly 100 years before the Revolution in angry protest against the oppression of Governor Andros.
On the North Green stood the First Parish Church, built in 1635. Deep in the rock beside the present Congregational building (1847) is a cloven hoofprint left, legend says, by the Devil.
Lacemaking, the first industry here, was supplanted by tanning and shoe- making, and later by machine knitting. The small parts of the knitting machines were said to have been secreted in pots of Yorkshire butter and brought to Ipswich in defiance of English export regulations.
418
High Roads and Low Roads
The Choate Bridge, built 1764, of rough-hewn granite blocks, spans the amber water of the Ipswich River. From here are visible the stark red- brick buildings of the Ipswich Mills, an important hosiery plant till 1927, when it was closed and its equipment sold to the Soviet Union. Several small industries now occupy the building. Digging and marketing clams supports many of the residents.
The square, three-story John Heard House (not open, 1937), on State 1A, built in the late 18th century by the father of Capt. Augustine Heard of the China sea trade, is now owned by the local historical society.
Opposite is the Whipple House (adm. 25g), built about 1640, with over- hanging gable end, massive central chimney and long sweep lean-to roof. The well-preserved, age-darkened timbers are exposed in the low-ceiled rooms of the structure - one of the few existent with hand-carved shadow mouldings in every room. The house is furnished almost entirely with originals.
The South Church (1748), with white columned portico and an exterior of classic simplicity, overlooks the South Green.
1. Left from the South Green on County Rd. to the Town Wharf, 0.7 m. (boats for hire to Plum Island, 7 m., and Brown Bird Sanctuary).
2. Left from South Green on Argilla Rd. is Ipswich Beach (parking fee; limited bathhouse facilities; three small restaurants), 4.5 m., an unspoiled stretch of shore line and sand dunes.
At 12.5 m. is the junction with State 121.
Left on State 121 through hills to sea level. The John Wise House (open on request), 3.5 m., built in 1701, has a long roof and central chimney, and was the home of a minister honored for his vehement defense of victims of the witchcraft frenzy, and even more for his denunciation of the Taxation Edict of 1687.
At 4.6 m. is ESSEX (town, alt. 27, pop. 1486, sett. 1634, incorp. 1819). A thin stream of tidewater divides the township of Essex, spinning out from the shuttle of the village, the strongest thread in a web of creeks and channels woven through miles of salt marsh. The clammers' flat-bottomed dories slide along on the stream, bringing their catches for roadside vendors to fry and sell to tourists on the cause- way joining the two halves of the town.
Annually in May or June, the river is barred with a net, leaving an opening large enough to permit some of the alewives to continue upstream to spawn. The others, baffled by the net, pack the stream solidly and are ladled into barrels. The town owns the alewife rights, and sells them each year to the highest bidder.
The First Congregational Church (1792-93, remodeled 1842) has one of the last three bells cast by Paul Revere.
The gracious old Universalist Meeting House (1836) looks down on the Shipyards (1668). The yards have launched many types of vessels, from small 'Chebacco Boats' of the old-time Cape Ann fishermen to modern schooners, trawlers, yachts, and freighters. Tradition says that the first boat was built by a Burnham in the garret of an ancient house, and that it was necessary to cut away the windows in order to launch her.
State 1A, here the Old Bay Rd., winds through farms, woods, and fine estates.
HAMILTON, 16 m. (town, alt. 52, pop. 2235, sett. 1638, incorp. 1793), named for Alexander Hamilton, spurned an offer from a newer town to buy its name.
--
419
From Newburyport to Everett
Mary Abigail Dodge (pseudonym, Gail Hamilton), a writer romantically devoted to the memory of Alexander Hamilton, is said to have asked to be buried under the pine trees outside her house, and she is supposed to have had the habit of rising from that dark resting-place to stand, a white- shrouded figure, in her own bedroom window. The pine trees still remain, but if gravestones may be believed, Mary Abigail Dodge is decently in- terred in Hamilton Cemetery.
The First Congregational Church, with a congregation formed in 1714, has a square tower surmounted by a steeple, and two Ionic columns at its entrance.
The Town Hall of Hamilton is a white frame building with a well- proportioned cupola.
Beside the church is the Covered Wagon House (private), from which in December, 1787, departed the first covered wagon to leave Massachusetts for the Northwest Territory. The Rev. Manasseh Cutler (1742-1823), Yale graduate and Hamilton's second pastor, was the moving force in this emigration. He was sent to Congress to secure land for the Ohio Company, of which he was one of the founders.
On the corner of Farms Rd. and State 1A is the old Brown House (private), with lean-to roof and small-paned casement windows, fine doorways, and large central chimney.
Right on Farms Rd. at 0.4 m. to the Black Brook Plantation (open), a large demon- stration forest owned by Harvard University (see CAMBRIDGE).
On Bridge St., 0.2 m. E. of the Center, is the Oldest House (private) in the town, built in 1680; it has an overhanging second story with carved pendrils. Wings added in later years show three distinct periods of architecture.
The polo field stretching along the highway at 16.6 m. belongs to the Myopia Hunt Club, so named when established in 1882, because all the founders happened to be near-sighted. An annual event on Labor Day is a combined horse-show, polo match, and steeplechase.
At 17.1 m., at the corner of Asbury St., is the Hamilton-Wenham Com- munity House, presented to these towns by the Mandell family as a memorial to a son killed in the World War. A bronze statue of young Samuel Mandell by Anna Coleman Ladd stands on the stone-flagged porch.
Right on Asbury St. 1 m. to the picnic ground and Methodist camp-meeting place, Asbury Grove.
At 17.8 m. is the junction with Larch Row.
Left on this road, 0.2 m. to the Lowe-Pickering House, built before 1680 and re- stored in 1924; it has been considerably altered, but has fine paneling, the original broad floor boards, old hinges, and box locks, and a small archway in the rear with linen-fold carving. Its large main chimney contains a smoke-house, and wood- ash and soap-making arches. Near the house are 13 magnificent English lindens said to have been planted by Alexander Hamilton to symbolize the 13 original Colonies.
420
High Roads and Low Roads
At WENHAM, 18.1 m. (town, alt. 56, pop. 1196, sett. 1635, incorp. 1643), on the Green is the frame First Church (1843), a favorite with artists. The interior has been restored, and the pulpit is a copy made from the wood of the original pulpit. John Fiske, the first pastor (1644) of the parish, was described by Cotton Mather as ranking 'among the most famous preachers in primitive New England.' A dissenter, he is said to have hidden in a cellar in England for six months before he came to Massachusetts.
The second dwelling along the Green beyond the church is the Henry Hobbs House (private), built in 1747, with a gambrel roof, paneled wain- scoting, exposed beams, H-L hinges, eight fireplaces, and a brick oven. Here once lived the Tory Nathaniel Brown, whom representatives of the Marblehead Company attempted unsuccessfully to tar and feather.
Almost opposite is the restored Claflin-Richards House (open 1-5; adm. 25g; adm. in morning by application at the Tabby-Cat Tea House, opposite). This house (1664) with huge serpentine braces, said to be the only ones in New England, contains an international collection of 1000 dolls. A Shoe Shop (open June-Sept.) stands in the rear. In 1860 there were over 80 such shops in Wenham.
At 18.7 m. is Wenham Lake, remembered as the scene of Whittier's poem, 'The Witch of Wenham.' A boulder by the lake shore marks the site of Peters Hill, upon which the Rev. Hugh Peters of Salem preached the first sermon in the new settlement, choosing the text 'In Enon near to Salem, for there was much water there.' In the days of the clipper ships, ice from Wenham Lake was exported as far as India.
State 1A runs through flat fields covered with suburban homes.
At 19.5 m. is NORTH BEVERLY (alt. 69). In this vicinity is Grover St., named for the family of a Beverly citizen of long ago who in punish- ment for some mysterious crime was haunted by troops of black cats.
This region was part of the 1000-acre grant allotted to the 'Old Planters,' among whom was Roger Conant. In 1668 the Bass River settlement, incorporated as the town of Beverly, was maliciously dubbed 'Beggarly' by the Salem autocrats whom the planters had flouted.
The Scruggs-Rayment House (private), 64 Dodge St. (State 1A), built be- fore 1683, has been altered so much that its original lines have been lost. At 20.2 m. is the junction with Conant St.
Right on Conant St. is the Second Church, built in 1714.
Beside the fire station, at 20.5 m. on the corner of Cabot St., is a tablet marking the birth of an American industry, the Site of the First Cotton Mill, built 1789. The jenny of the mill spun 60 threads at once, and the carding machine carded 40 lbs. of cotton a day. Nineteenth-century Beverly specialized in shoemaking, silversmithing, and the manufacture of britannia ware.
Right on Conant St. is the Conant House (private), at No. 634, built on land given
421
From Newburyport to Everett
by Roger Conant to his son Exercise in 1666. It is much altered, but the original steeply pitched roof and central chimney are visible through the trees.
The many-gabled Balch House, 21.2 m., is the home of another of the old planters. Incorporated in the quaint dwelling with its steep pitch roof and gables is the hut built in 1638 by John Balch, one of the first settlers of Beverly, and a member of Roger Conant's company of pioneers.
At 21.3 m. is the junction with Balch St.
Right on this street and L. on McKay St. to the plant of the United Shoe Machinery Corporation (open to genuinely interested persons), the largest industry in Beverly and the largest of its kind in the world. All of the machinery is owned by the corporation and leased to shoe factories on a royalty basis.
Mckay St. continues to the Bass River, on whose banks the 'Old Planters' landed; near its mouth are Salter's Point and Dock Lane, early the centers of town activities. John Winthrop, Jr., in 1638 established a salt works at the point; at the foot of the lane vessels were built for the coastwise trade soon developed for salt fish and local products. This trade in time extended to South America and Europe.
At 22 m. is BEVERLY (city, alt. 26, pop. 25,871, sett. about 1626, incorp. town, 1668, city, 1894). From the modern business section, it is hard to visualize the post-Revolutionary decades when the merchant princes of Beverly were sending their vessels to sea and the fisheries aided by Federal subsidies were flourishing; when rich cargoes from Africa and the Spice Islands scented the air of the waterfront.
The first letter of marque in the United States was issued to the local schooner 'Hannah,' commissioned by George Washington and said to be the first vessel to fly the Continental flag.
The basis of the Salem Athenaeum (see SALEM) was a collection of more than 100 scientific volumes captured from a British vessel off the Irish coast and brought to America as the Kirwan Library. This collection played a vital part in developing the mathematical genius of Nathaniel Bowditch.
The original building of the First Church on Cabot St. was erected in 1656. During the last days of the witchcraft hysteria of 1693, Mistress Hale, exemplary wife of the Beverly minister, was among the accused. Her case was dismissed, and shortly after that the witch trials were abandoned altogether.
At 115 Cabot St. is the Historical House (open daily in summer; on Sat. the rest of the year; 10-4; adm. free), a stately building erected in 178I by John Cabot, now containing a collection of relics.
Beverly is at the junction with State 62 (see Tour 1C).
At 22.6 m. is the junction with State 127.
Left on State 127 is the North Shore Drive, which follows the rocky edge of the harbor to Independence Park, 0.5 m., Dane Street Beach (public), and Lyon's Park, 0.9 m. Here, as in the Montserrat section, granite hills, heavily wooded, are monopolized by pretentious estates.
The Old Woodbury Tavern (still a hotel), 1.4 m., was built in 1690 and remodeled in 1933. This building, with pitch roof and massive central chimney, has lost much of its charm through the addition of an outdoor dining-room.
PRIDE'S CROSSING, 3.8 m. (alt. 57, City of Beverly), a residential village, is noted for its fine summer homes.
--------
422
High Roads and Low Roads
BEVERLY FARMS, 4.5 m. (alt. 21, City of Beverly), was the summer home of Oliver Wendell Holmes, poet and novelist, and of his son, the late Justice Holmes.
State 127 runs along between estates half concealed behind their field-stone walls, and the rocky rim of the bay.
At 6.2 m. is the junction with Harbor St. which leads (R) to Tuck's Point Beach (picnicking and bathing), 0.5 m.
MANCHESTER, 7 m. (town, alt. 14, pop. 2509, sett. 1626-27, incorp. 1645), is a sleepy village clustering about its Green; its frame church (1809) is surmounted by an unusual tower. The first settlers were two fishermen who established them- selves at Kettle Cove when the Cape Ann Colony broke up in 1626. The little Salem community was known as Jeffrey's Creek. It throve as a fishing village, but by the middle of the 19th century Boston merchants had already begun to transform it into a fashionable resort.
Opposite the town library is the Trask House (open July-Aug., 3-5), headquarters of the local historical society. The Major Israel Forster House (private), 0.1 m. south of the Center on State 127, is a fine building of the Post-Colonial type, with a Captain's Walk. On the front door is the original knocker, inscribed 'I. Forster, 1804.'
Towering over Friend Court about 0.5 m. north of the Center on School St., is wooded Powder House Hill. On its summit is the red-brick Powder House, used during the War of 1812 for storing ammunition.
GLOUCESTER, 15 m. (see GLOUCESTER and ROCKPORT, CAPE ANN).
At 24 m. is SALEM (see SALEM).
Right from Salem on State 128, at the corner of Bridge and Winter Sts., a marked highway leads (R) to PEABODY, 2.2 m.
The industrial section on Main St. is one of the largest leather-processing districts of the world, with 37 tanneries (1934). Tanning was done here before the Revolu- tion, and by 1855 it was carried on in 27 plants; the town had also 24 currying shops. As early as 1638 glassmaking was started by Ananias Conklin, who manufactured coarse lamps and squat, heavy bottles.
The Peabody Institute, Main St., contains a general library, a fine reference library and a commodious auditorium. It was founded in 1852 by the philanthropist George Peabody, in whose honor the city changed its name in 1868. This man, born February 18, 1795, came of poor parents, and his formal education was limited to that provided by the public schools. Later, going to London, he became a busi- ness man and finally a great banker. He declined a baronetcy offered by Queen Victoria, accepting instead (a charming and perhaps not unstrategic gesture) the Queen's gift of a miniature of herself, now on exhibition in the auditorium. When the death of George Peabody occurred in England in 1869, a funeral service was held for him in Westminster Abbey, and the man-of-war 'Monarch' of the Queen's Navy, convoyed by French and English warships, bore his remains back to the United States for burial.
Right from the square on Central St. 0.9 m. to Andover St. (State 114); left here to an old dwelling, 1.8 m., with a sign proclaiming it the summer home of Elias Hasket Derby, bought and remodeled by him in 1776 and officially known as the Eppes-Derby-Endicott-Osborn House (open). Horse-chestnut trees stand in a sen- tinel row across the lawn.
St. Joseph's Juniorate (Oak Hill) (grounds open), at 2.4 m. on Andover St., is housed in a building designed by Samuel McIntire (1800). Although somewhat altered, the three-story hip-roof mansion retains such distinctive McIntire touches as window heads ornamented by carved eagles, a front porch with dignified Ionic columns and pilasters, and a doorway finely carved by hand. The interior contains exceptionally fine woodwork on the stairway, mantels, and elsewhere. The Junior- ate is conducted by the Xaverian Brothers as a college preparatory school, es-
423
From Newburyport to Everett
pecially for those who intend to join the brotherhood. Three of the finest rooms have been removed to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
State 1A continues south through residential and business areas. At 27.4 m. is the junction with Vinnin Square.
Left on Vinnin Square past the General John Glover Inn (1781) and straight ahead on Tedesco St., on Humphrey St., on Pleasant St., and (R) on Washington St. is MARBLEHEAD, 3 m. (see MARBLEHEAD).
SWAMPSCOTT, 28.8 m. (town, alt. 127, pop. 10,480, sett. 1629, incorp. 1852), a summer resort and fashionable residential suburb of Boston, was settled as an outpost of Saugus. The first white settler was Francis Ingalls, who erected a tannery in 1632.
The spot was from the beginning noted for its fine fishing; lobsters were picked up at low tide, and the sunken ledges offshore teemed with cod. The beaches offered a convenient place to land the catches, and it is said that piles of frozen cod used to be stacked like cordwood near where the Swampscott Club now stands. Although there was a ready sale for fish, and farmers from inland drove their wagons to Swampscott to trade geese, eggs, butter, and cheese for the yield of the sea, the fishermen were always wretchedly poor.
On Paradise Rd. (State 1A), 0.1 m. northeast of the Center, is the Mary Baker Eddy House (open daily 10-12, Sun. 2-5; adm. 25¢), where the founder of Christian Science began her demonstrations of healing in 1866. By that year the metamorphosis from poverty-stricken fishing village to luxurious resort was well under way. In 1815 'Farmer' Phillips had taken in the first 'summer boarders.' A few years later 'Aunt Betsey' Blaney was obtaining the scandalous price of $3 a week for room and board. The first summer hotel was built in 1835. When the farmer owning the land adjoining was offered $400 an acre for it, he ran to get the deed before the 'city man' should come to his senses.
The Humphrey House (now a candy shop), 0.2 m., northeast of the Center on Paradise Rd., was built between 1635 and 1640. It has an overhanging second story, and contains interesting relics. John Humphrey, a wealthy English lawyer, was treasurer of the Dorchester Adventurers and later a magistrate of the Bay Colony and member of the first Board of Over- seers of Harvard. His wife, Lady Susan, was a daughter of the Earl of Lincoln and a sister of the ill-fated Lady Arbella for whom Governor Winthrop's ship was named. Mr. Humphrey and his wife came to settle in Swampscott in 1634; but, unhappy on the frontier and homesick for the brilliant life they had left, they soon sold their house and grant and took ship for England. According to Winthrop's 'Journal,' several passengers on this vessel spoke slightingly of God's Province of Massa- chusetts Bay and almost immediately a storm descended upon them. A shipwreck was averted only by earnest prayers.
The Humphrey House and land were soon purchased by Lady Deborah Moody. Lady Deborah appears to have had a mind of her own, for she almost immediately became involved in a religious controversy and
-
-
424
High Roads and Low Roads
was banished from Swampscott for 'maintaining that the baptism of infants was unwarranted and sinful.' She departed to Long Island, where she became a person of great influence in the Dutch Colony.
Left from the Center on Burrill St., to the junction with Humphrey St .; left here past Blaney's Beach to the junction with Puritan Rd., 0.7 m., at the corner of which is the Town Fish House, where bronzed fishermen sit mending and drying their nets.
Puritan Rd. continues past Whale's Beach, 1.3 m., and on through the estates on exclusive Little's Point to White Court (private), once the summer White House of Calvin Coolidge.
At 29.8 m. is LYNN (see LYNN).
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.