(1879) the north shore of massachusetts bay (catalogue)

8/9/2019 (1879) The North Shore of Massachusetts Bay (Catalogue)

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Class ^

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT


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PBAa*yii227 AND 229 ESSEX STREET,SALEM, MASS.EabiFS 3?upnis|ing (Joohs

F iViPY VARrjgTY.

Watches, Jewelry, and. Fancy Goods,

SILVER PLATED TABLE WARES.

Hosieiy, QTove^, doi>^et^, L(kce>s,

Black Dress Goods a Specialty.Silks, Cashmeres, Alpacas,

Prints, Demins,Cottons, &c.

Our Stock is the Best, and our Prices the Lowest^EXAMINE BEFORE BUYING.

JOHN.-P: PEABODY.^1V'


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^(mg, ^iuelow 1 1|}4toOFFER ASTJX'Eie/B stock:

ia each of the 22 departments of their store.

m Jm

fADIES' SURNISHING loODS,

^i^]eiiti:0S^ Sci^PR.ICES AS XuO^W

as at any store in the State.

fio^ &^ C?i|

188 ESSEX STREET, SALEM.


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BOSTOlSr.The locHtion of the House is particularly desirable to

the Summer Tourists.Horse Cars to all parts of the city and places of in-terest in the immediate suburbs pass the door.The house has always been the resort of the mostEminent Citizens and distinffuished Statesmen of thisCountry nnd of the Nobility, Diplomatic and Artist Celeb-rities of Europe.

The rates haie recently been reduced to0^.M& m^^W) $^MQ> ^mm smr^

Excepting Front Rooms and Rooms with Baths.Notwithstanding the reduction in prices the hitherto

unrivalled excellence of the Table will be strictly main-tained. CHAS. B. FERRIN, Prop.


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THE LEADING ESTABLISHMENT IN ESSEX CO.,occiipying the best business location in Salem, is

(UNDER FIRST GHTJRCH,)COE. ESSEX & WASHINGTO]!^ STS., SALEM,

Waltham Watches at Wholesale Prices.STERLING SILVER WARE,

Jet, Siim, SlieU and Pancy Jew'eiry, comSs, Spectacles, Eye Classes, &c.FIN-E GJ-OODS .^T ILiO^W^ PRICES.

DJSLITZBZi ZiOlSr,SPECIAL FBICES FOU LABQE OEDEItS OE COITTEACTS.


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INTRODUCTORY.

When Roger Conant, that observing pioneer, sailedalong the Cape shore from Gloucester to the mouthof the Naumkeag river he saw the coast was one ofno common beauty. To his penetrating glance wasrevealed a landscape of fresh and charming lines,the foreground a picturesque coast, the distancefilled by undulating hills that lay soft hidden in theblue of a bright summer morning. Conant was de-lighted. Seeking a spot where religion should beas free as the air around, could he do better thanplant a colony where every influence of nature sec-onded his pious purpose? Intolerance and bigotrycould hardly find place when every idling windplaced its veto on slavery to anything. Conantneeded no second thought, and with the readiness ofa man who apppreciates, he at once moved a por-tion of his little colony to the mouth of the Naum-keag.What Roger Conant gloried in, two hundred and

fifty years ago, strikes the observer to-day with thesame gentle force ; whether he sails along the coastor travels the centre of the Cape by the EasternRailway to Salem, Marblehead, and Beverly Imrbors,


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acres of tin}^ forests, little villas like diamonds inrich natural settings, broad and undulating fields,glimpses of the sea, each and all contribute to painta picture for the traveler that can scarce fade fromhis memory. From Newport to Portland a moredainty bit of natural beauty it would be hard tofind. And visitors to the north shore of Massachu-setts bay, let them come when they may, neverleave it without the resolve to return. How charm-ingly Higginson has written of it in his OldportDays, and 3'et the immortalit}^ conferred on it therehas not made it known to the large mass of readers ;for Higginson wrote as a poet, and the practicalpart, the unpoetic part of this life, is wanting. Hadhe supplied this, no special pleading for our belovedCape would have been needed. And while we donot presume to place ourselves on a level with thatdistinguished writer, we trust the work we submitto the public in all modesty may fill their needs andsatisfy their thirst for knowledge. Woven with adescription of the localities the reader will find themore interesting events of their histories, and, whilenot overlooking the needs and certain aims of aguide book, we have endeavored to obliterate asmuch as possible the dry matter-of-factness of suchproductions.

Copyright by Benjamin D. Hill and WinPIEld S. Nevins, in theLibrary of Congress, Washington, D. C.


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bT MARBLEHEAD.The Neck.Clifton House.Old Landmarks.As a summer resort Marblehead is unsurpassed on theNew England coast. Its bold and rocky shores extendingfar out into the open sea, its cool, pure, and invigorating

air, its irregular cliffs, its green fields, its beautiful slopes*and its pleasant roads, make it a perfect paradise for suchas seek genuine rest and recreation ; and those who visitthe place, and among them are many of wealth and cul-ture, come for this purpose. The peninsula known asMarblehead Great Neck is one and a quarter milesill length and about a half mile in width at the widestpoint. It is a part of the grand historic old town of Mar-blehead. Just before tlie first gun of the Revolution wasfired a company of "British regulars" was stationed onits heights to overawe the people of the town and to com-pel compliance with the restrictions which the BritishGovernment was attempting to enforce. But althoughthe place was cool and airy, the Marblehead boys whoafterwards composed the "amphibious regiment" of Col.Glover made it so uncomfortably warm for them that theysoon deemed it expedient to evacuate. The Neck is con-nected with the main land by a narrow isthmus, alongwhich the sea itself has constructed one of the firmestfoundations for a highway by washing up a vast line ofboulders. In a storm the sea beats upon the ocean sidewith tremendous force. There can hardly be conceived agrander sight than is witnessed on this neck when asoutheaster gets at work in earnest. The ledges exposed


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MABBLEHEAD.to the ocean are high, and in several places channels havebeen worn into them one known as the Churn andanother as the Spouting- Horn into which the water isdriven in storms with such tremendous force as to throwthe spray and water often more than one hundred feetinto the air. The Neck is bounded on the one side byMassachusetts Bay and on the other side by MarbleheadHarbor. It comprises every variet}' of shore.

Its area is about 300 acres. In the centre, or nearly so,between the pasture hills, is a meadow where grow a largevariety of the most fragrant and beautiful wild flowers inthe greatest profusion. The harbor, which is on thenorthwesterly side, is a half mile wide and is one of thedeepest on the coast, having five fathoms of water at lowtide. It is pronounced the best yacht harbor in NewEngland. On this account mainly, many yachtsmen aresettling at the Neck. It is a tine sight on a summer dayto see the harbor alive with yachts and small boats, andin the evening, "when the lamps are lighted," the townand boats present a fairy-like scene. The view acrossthe harbor is peculiarly attractive. There in plain sight(a very bird's-eye view) lies the quaint old town on itsfoundation of porphyry and granite the most pictu-resque town in the Commonwealth, if not in all America;to look upon which reminds the traveler of two-century-old cities he has seennestling'around some harbor on theshores of the Mediterranean. There too, are thosesombre old Marblehead wharves, as solid as the foun-dation on which stands the town. There, also, to theeastward, is Peach's Point, and on one side of it PortSewall, still maintained as a fortification under the careof a gentlemanly sergeant. The view along the coastand out to sea is grand in the extreme, taking in a fullsweep of old ocean. In full view on the harbor side are


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MABBLEHEAD.' Beverly, Manchester, and Gloucester shores, Thatcher'sIsland, Eastern Point, Boardman's Point and Baker's Isl-and light-houses, Marblehead light near the point of theNeck, and on the ocean side, Swampscott, Lynn, Nahant,and the South Shore, Egg Rock light, Minot's Ledge andthe other outer lights of Boston Harbor.The bathing facilities are very good, although there is

no high rolling surf. As for fishing, the sea perch maybe caught from almost any point on the shore, and codand other large fish by rowing a short distance. Thedrives both on the Neck and about the town generally arevery fine. A splendid highway encircles the entire terri-tory of the Neck, afi"ording one of the grandest drives onthe New England coast. On the main land the roadsthrough Marblehead, Swampscott, Lynn, Nahant, alongAtlantic avenue. Ocean street, and Nahant beach canhardly be surpassed in attractiveness. In the other direc-tion the drives to Salem, where all its historic points may

* be visited, thence along the Beverly and Cape Ann shore,are equally pleasant.Some twenty years ago attention was attracted to theNeck as an agreeable summer resort. A road was built

along the causeway and many lots were sold for summerresidences. The greater part of the land belonged to theestate of Ephraim Brown, deceased, and the remainder toIsaac C. Wyman, Esq., who is now one of the trustees ofthe Brown property with Hon. William D. Northend andGeorge F. Flint, Esq. For some time the sale of buildingsites and the settlement of the place was suspended onaccount of disputed claims. But full settlement of allcontroversies was made in 1878, and under the energeticmanagement of the trustees named, sales of building lotsto the amount of more than $40,000 have been made sinceOctober, 1878. The placing of prices of lots at a reason-


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MABBLEHEAD.able rate has contributed much to this remarl^able suc-cess. Most of the lots sold by the present trustees arefrom one-half acre to three acres each. It has been andis the desire of the trustees that the estate be sold ingood-sized lots, so that the place may not become toocrowded for comfort ; but smaller lots are sold in partic-ular sections. The arrangements for streets and fordrainage are ample. The distance from the entranceupon the Neck to Devereux station on the Swampscottbranch railway is about three-quarters of a mile. Bargesconnect with all the trains during the summer mouths.Many of the residents prefer, however, to reach the carsby crossing the harbor in boats (and there are regularferrymen), which takes about ten minutes, and thencewalking through the town about one-half mile to the Mar-blehead depot. Frequent trains run to Boston over theSwampscott branch by way of Lynn and over the Marble-head branch via Salem. The running time between Mar-blehead and Boston is about fifty-five minutes by eitherroute. There are a very large number of never failingsprings of the purest water on the Neck. Ice, milk, veg-etables and provisions of all kinds are supplied daily fromwagons from the town. The healthfulness of MarbleheadNeck is proverbial. Many years ago it was peopled withfarmers. One very old lady, who had passed nearly allher days here, finally moved over to town. On beingasked why she had left the Neck she replied : *'I wish todie sometime, and people never die on the Neck ; its toohealthy there."The society on the Neck is of the best. A fine hall hasbeen erected principally through the exertions of the

young people, which is used on week-days and eveningsfor social gatherings, amateur theatricals and dancing,and on Sundays for religious purposes. There are about


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MABBLEHEAD.fifty cottages here, some quite extensive, and two board-ing houses. It is expected that ten or twenty new resi-dences will be erected the present season.The shore around the Neck is reserved to public uses;

that is, no purchaser of shore-lots is given control of thebeaches or cliffs. Beside the peninsula, in close prox-imity, are two islands, one Marblehead rock near thepoint, on which, it is said, the pulpit of the Old SouthChurch of Boston reposes ; the other, Tinker island at theopposite end.On leaving the Neck we pass the well-known Devereux

estate and mansion, near the depot. Then follow-ing Atlantic avenue, a broad highway recently laid out,we pass the little Peabody settlement and leave the townof Marblehead just beyond the Clifton House. Thishouse, one of the oldest and most popular in the vicinity,is managed by Mr. Benj. P. Ware Jr. It will accommodate125 persons. A large vegetable and fruit farm extendingback of the hotel supplies fresh fruit and vegetables, anda premium herd of thoroughbred Ayrshire cows furnishan abundance of milk. This farm is one of the best inEssex County. Mr. Ware himself is a prominent memberof the Mass. Horticultural Society and president of theEssex Agricultural Society. Connected with the houseare billiard room and bowling alley, croquet grounds anda grove. A good beach directly in front affords excellentand safe bathing and boating. Fish may be cajaght fromthe rocks or in boats off the shore.The house stands on high land, within ten rods of the

broad ocean, and commands a view of Massachusetts bay,enlivened by the numerous shipping passing to and fromBoston harbor, and also a view of four light-houses. Theshores of Nahant, Nantasket and Cohasset are visible, andwith the various islands of the bay, present, under certain


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MABBLEHEAD.atmospheric conditions, wonderful and beautiful mirageeffects resembling the palisades on the Hudson. Therocks on this northern shore offer an interesting study tothe geologist, from their strange formations. A particu-larly interesting feature near the Clifton House, is " GunRock," a singular crevice four feet wide and ten feet deep,extending fifty feet into the rock, through which the wavesare forced, at times, spouting some sixty feet high with aloud report like a gun.

CUFIOX HOLSE.On the other side of the village, along the shore, is the

Crowningshield estate with several pretty residences, andon the Salem harbor side is the elegant residence of Hon.J. J. H. Gregory, the well-known seed-man.Marbleheacl being one of the oldest towns in the state,

has much historical interest. It was deeded to the earlysettlers by the Indians in 1684, for the sum of 14 13s.The deed may be seen at the present time. The remainsof a rude fortification near the western limits of the townis all that is left to remind the present generation of the


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MABBLEAEAD.powerful tribe, that here gathered about Naimpashemet todefend their lands and rights against their Indian foes.This town in point of wealth and commerce was at onetime the second in Massachusetts. Its harbor is one ofthe deepest on the Atlantic coast. Longfellow wrote ofthe towik in 1849 as follows:

*' We sat within the favm-house old,Whose windows, looking o'er the bay,Gave to the sea-breeze, damp and cold,An easy entrance night and day.Not far away we saw the port,

Tlie strange, old-fashioned, silent town,The light-house, the dismantled fort,The wooden houses, quaint and brown.

The windows, rattling in their frames.The ocean roaring up the beach,

The gusty blast, the bickering flames.All mingled with our speech."

A writer in ''Old Naurakeag" gives the following com-prehensive description of the poi,nts of interest in thetown:"One of the curiosities of the village is its crookedmeandering streets. The town was evidently settledwithout regard to streets or boundary lines, each settlerlocating on some ledge or rise of ground wherever hepleased. Marblehead is rich in landmarks of the past,which would require a volume to describe and give theiuhistory. There is the Mugford monument on Pleasantstreet near the Eastern depot; the Soldiers' and Sailors'monument on Mugford street; the old North Church, richin historic associations; St. Michael's Church, built in1714, still in a good state of preservation, and serving theEpiscopalians of Marblehead as a place of worship, andwhose second pastor the Rev. David Mosson, subsequently


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SALEM NECK.moviDg to Virginia, had the distinguished honor of mar-rying George Washington and Mrs. Martha Custis Alsothe town house, built in 1728, on the spot ivhere the -gaoland cage" once stood; the old powder house; parsonBarnard's old residence, bnilt in 1720; the house in whichElbridge Gerry was born ; the birth place and early homeof Judge Story; the early home of good old parson Hoi-yoke who left Marblehead to take charge of HarvardCollege and win fresh laurels; the old burial ground witbIts Quamt tomb stones bearing the oddest of inscriptions.Then there is the famous old Lee house, built bv HonJeremiah Lee at a cost of 10,000. It was magnificentlyfinished and some remains of its former grandeur may beseen to-day in its spacious hall, carved wainscotings andbeautiful historic paper hangings. Towering above allthese monuments of the past is the new Abbot Hall abequest from a generous native of the town, BenjaminAbbot. Mr. Abbot's bequest amounted to over ^100 000and the hall cost ^75,000. The sum of $20,000 was setapart for a public library and reading room, of whichstrangers may enjoy all privileges by depositing $3. assecurity. *^

SALEM NECK.The WiLLOws.-JuNiPER Point.-Winter Island.Felt says that Salem Neck was occupied by fishermen as^early as 1637 at the -point of rocks on the presentRowell farm near the Rowell homestead. The Hawthornesowned land here at one time and the family house is stillstanding. This is the first point of interest on the ri-htas we enter upon the Neck. On the left is the Salem Cityfarm extending along the shore to the Willows The


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SALEM NECK,toAlms house, a large brick building erected in 1815, stands

at the extremity of a lane leading ofi" the main street tothe left. A little further along on the main avenue, andnear the top of the hill, is a building used as a public pest-house in case of epidemic. Just beyond, on the brow ofthe hill, stands Fort Lee, now dismantled and crumblingaway. A fort was built here" as early as 1699 and has ex-isted in one condition and another dow^n to the presenttime. In 1775 Gen. Henry Lee rebuilt it and mountedguns on it. Hence the name. After the war of the rev-olution and the war of 1812-14 it was abandoned by thegeneral government. It was again rebuilt during the frat-ricidal strife of 1861-5, but little used. Taking the left-hand road of the three just beyond the fort, we soon reach*'The Willows" so called, (formerly known as Watch-house Point), a few acres of city property set apart forpublic use. It received its present name a few years sincefrom the venerable grove of willow trees that were hereplanted by order of the Board of Health in 1801, whenforty trees were set out, "in such direction as they (theBoard of Health), may think will be most conducive tothe comfort and convenience of the sick that may infuture be there." The hospital and quarantine stationwas here located. On the shore of the Willows in frontof the Eimtree pavilion, was a fine breastwork erected in1812, which was defendedby troops from Salem, Thisbreastwork was partially demolished a few years since.Faint traces of it still remain. This is the terminus of thestreet railway and brings us to the water's edge.Time was when this locality was a mere waste without

a building on it. Under the spreading willow trees, insummer, the children of the poorer classes have oftengathered to breathe for an hour the pure air of heavenand enjoy undisturbed the beauties of nature, or bathe


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SALEM NECK.their feet in the cooling water which washed the shore.The only path leading here was a rough and crooked lane.Now all is changed. A broad highway thanks to theenergy of ex-mayor Williamsand a line of street carsthanks to the enterprise of the Naumkeag Street Railwaymake the journey short and pleasant, either on foot,or in private carriage, or puWic conveyance. All this hasbeen done in the face of unexplainable opposition on thepart of some citizens and members of the city government.As an event of a remarkable and at the same time amus-ing nature in this connection, it should be recorded thatin the spring of 1879 a member of the Common Councilrefused to favor an appropriation for shade trees at theNeck unless the order was accompanied by a provisionfor the closing of all the restaurants at 8 p. m., and re-straining the band from playing there in the evening.Thus depriving the laboring people who work all day ofany opportunity to enjoy the ordinary pleasures of theplace. It is gratifying to record further that the measurefailed by an overwhelming- vote.A number of eating places have been established at*'The Willows" and the city has erected pavilions andseats. Numberless pleasure boats and dories for sailingor rowing may be found on the beaches.A large pavilion is open to the public for dances, picnicsor general meetings. At timee steamers are run from theNeck to Lowell island or down the harbor. The effect ofthese public improvements on the Neck, together withthe improvements on Juniper point by Mr. D. B. Gardner(described further on) has been to add very largely to thecity valuation. The private property here was assessed,in 1873, for $9,800. To-day the assessed valuation isabove one hundred thousand dollars; showing that thecity's investment and fostering care was judicious.


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8ALE3I NECK.

Returning now to the junction of the three roads nearFort Lee and the Juniper House, formerly the Allen farmhomestead, we take the middle one of these roads whichleads to the settlement known as "The Juniper" orJuniper point. This is the extreme easterly point ofSalem Neck. It is mainly elevated land with a rockyshore, rendering it peculiarly situated for drainage andfree from miasmatic lowlands. No breeze sweeps over itwhich does not come tempered by the sea. For manyyears this section was mainly a pasture known as theAllen farm. A pretty tradition tells us that some Bostonclerks first discovered the merits of the place as a summerresort by camping out here about 1855-6. But this talelacks the essential of truth. About six or seven yearsago some Lowell people, dissatisfied with the then exist-ing arrangements at Marblehead, were led to seek it, andin 1873 a few small cottages were erected. Each succeed-ing year brought them back and others with them fromLowell, Salem, Peabody and other places. In 1875 Mr.Daniel B. Gardner of Salem purchased the Allen farm ofthe Dustin heirs, containing about forty-two acres, andlaid it out in building lots and streets. Since then he hasexpended much time and money improving the place.Good roads have been built; some shade trees planted;Wenham water introduced and fountains erected. Atpresent writing (May, 1879), a sea-wall is being built be-tween the Point and Winter island, with a view to form-ing a retaining dam. The enclosure will make a salt-water basin for bathing and boating. It will containsufficient water for these purposes even at low tide, andyet will be changed with every change of tide. TheJuniper settlement numbers seventy cottages, some ofthem large and handsome, and in mid-summer has anagreeable population of about 500.


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SALEM NECK.The situation is picturesque and pleasant. Standing

here we can see the City of Salem, and its harbor, theMarblehead shore, and, across the extreme point of thetown, Lowell island and the hotel on it. Directly in frontare the islands of the bay and Salem harbor. On the leftis the beautiful shore of Cape Ann from Eastern Pointpast Magnolia, Manchester and West Beach, with hereand there a glimpse of some charming villa, to Beverlyvillage and harbor.Just across the little cove is Winter island, now con-nected with the main land by a permanent causeway.With the exception of a small section controlled by theUnited States government whereon stand a light-houseand the ruins of Fort Pickering, the entire island is theproperty of and connected with the Plummer FarmSchool, a reform school for small boys. The institutionwas founded on a bequest of $25,000 by Miss CarolinePlummer. The farm is a fine one and furnishes abund-ance of vegetables for the early market. On this islandthe old U. S. Frigate Essex, one of the most historic shipsof the American Navy was built, in 1799. The Essexwas the first ship to carry the stars and stripes aroundthe Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn ; was the first tocapture an armed prize in the war of 1812-14. Amongher commanders were numbered Preble, Bainbridge,Decatur, Stewart and the father of Admiral Porter. Onher deck Admiral Farragut was first wounded. Previousto the late war the island was the muster field of theEssex County militia. During that war it was a rendez-vous for troops. All of these points may be reached bystreet cars and barges which are running constantly dayand evenins: duriner the summer season.


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BEVEBLY.

EEYERLY.History and Description.The Sea Shore.Pride's

Crossing.Beverly Farms.Across Beverly harbor from Salem lies the town of

Beverly at the head of Cape Ann. To reach it, either bycarriage or rail, we must cross a long bridge which spansan arm of the sea known as Bass river at the head ofBeverly harbor. The highway bridge extends from theterminus of Bridge street, Salem, to Cabot street, Beverly,and is 1,484 feet in length and 34 feet in width. It wasincorporated as a toll-bridge in 1787, and the first timberwas driven in May, 1788. The Act of Incorporation pro-vided that tolls might be collected during seventy years.It did not become a free bridge until some time after theexpiration of that period, and since it has been free, theexpense of maintainance has been borne by Salem andBeverly. The railroad bridge crosses the river just westof the carriage bridge. The main pipe of the Wenhamwater supply rests on an independent pier close besidethe carriage way. It is related that when George Wash-ington made his tour through New England he so admiredthis bridge that he got out of his carriage and walked itsentire length. ~Beverly was once a fishing and agricultural community,but of late years the fishing business has considerably di-

minished, and a new industrythe shoe businesshasgrown up. Some thirty factories have been erected,mostly in the vicinity of the railway station on the west-erly side of the town, and during the last few years theyhave done a thriving business.


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BEVERLY.Historically, Beverly is one of the oldest towns of the

Massachusetts Bay colony. Roger Conant himself wasone of the first settlers here, John Woodbury and Wil-liam Woodbury preceding him by a few years. The set-tlement was detached from Salem, of which it formed apart, and incorporated as the town of Beverly in' 1668.The first town meeting was held on Nov. 23 of the sameyear. Capt. Thomas Lothrop, William Dixey, WilliamDodge, sen., John West and Paul Thorndike were the firstselectmen. The people worshipped with the SalemChurch until 1649, when they received permission to haveseparate worship among themselves, and in 1656 theybuilt a meeting house. It stood near the site of the pres-ent Old South Church, which is on the corner of Cabotand Hale streets, but not on the same spot. Rev. JohnHale was the first pastor. Among his direct descendantshave been Hon. John P. Hale, Hon. Nathan Hale and Rev.Edward Everett Hale. A second church was establishedat North Beverly about 1713, with Rev. John Chipman aspastor. During subsequent years the following churcheshave been organized: First Baptist on Cabot street;Third Congregational on Dane street ; Second Baptist atBeverly Farms, Fourth Congregational at North Beverly(now merged in the Second Congregational at NorthBeverly) ; Washington Street Congregational on Wash-ington street; Uuiversalist on Thorndike street; Metho-dist on Railroad avenue; Catholic on Cabot street; St.Peter's (Episcopal) on Bow street; Independent Metho-dist in Odd Fellows building.Beverly has made wonderful strides in the march of im-

provements during the past ten or fifteen years. True,some of these improvements have been costly, and thetown is burdened with a heavy debt, but there is certainlysomething substantial, something permanent, to show for


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BEVEBLT.it. The roads are the best in Essex County; Wenhamwater pipes penetrate to the remotest corner; the schoolhouses and fire department houses are unsurpassed inoutward appearance or internal arrangements by any inthe county. The town house was more than doubled insize a few years ago. This building was originally theprivate residence of Mr. Andrew Cabot. Subsequentlyit was owned and occupied by Hon, Israel Thorndike,whose heirs sold it to the town. On the first floor are theoffices of the various town officials and a free publiclibrary of 5,000 volumes; on the second floor is a large^and well appointed hall ; in the upper story is Thorndike 'Hall, a large banqueting room. Nearly opposite the townhouse is Odd Fellow's building, a handsome brick struct-ure. Just beyond is the fine Briscoe school-house occu-pied by the High and Briscoe schools, beside which thetown has nine other school-houses, all newly built. Pri-vate enterprise has also made extensive improvements.While many of the present generation will complain ofthose who were instrumental in. incurring the debt neces-sary to secure these public and private improvements, thenext generation will no doubt praise its predecessor forhaving left these public works. The post office and bankare located in Masonic block on the comer of Cabot andWashington streets. This block was erected by the mem-bers of Liberty Lodge of Freemasons in 1867 at a cost of$20,000.Those who delight in tracing out early settlements will

doubtless be interested to know that the first settlers ofBeverly, Roger Conant, John and William Woodbury andJohn Balch, of the '' old planters," who came hither fromCape Ann, located on grants very near Balch street.Among those sons of Beverly who have obtained morethan local prominence may be mentioned Robert Rantoul,


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BEVEBLY.Jr., statesman and scholar. Graduating at Harvard in182G, he practised law in Essex County, was representa-tive to the General Court, collector of the port of Boston,United States District Attorney, succeeded Daniel Web-ster in the United States Senate, and finally died while am ember of the National House of Representatives. Con-temporary with Eantoul was Isaac 'Ray, a distinguishedwriter on medical jurisprudence and mental diseases : also,Wilson Flagg, the great naturalist. Rev. A. P. Peabody,one of the ablest clergymen of the county, now pastor ofthe North Avenue Congregational Church, Cambridge, andRev. E. P. Tenney, author of the beautiful hymn, "Thereis an hour of peaceful rest," were both natives of Beverly.

Statistically speaking, Beverly has a population ofabout 7,500 (7,271 in 1875). According to the census of1875 it contained 1,399 dwellings (in 1860 the number was900). The amount of capital invested in manufactureswas (1875) $314,700. The values of some of the manu-factures were as follows : earthern ware, $10,000; bricks,6,G00; machinery, $5,000; wagons, $8,000; boxes, $9,000;boots and shoes, $1,539,800. The capital invested in thislatter branch was $290,150. These occupations gave em-ployment to 1,314 persons. The fishing business, as hasbeen stated, has diminished largely. The value of the codbrought to its ports in 1875 was $131,000. The valuationof the town in 1878 was $5,386,600 real estate; and$2,372,300 personal; polls, 1,910; rate of taxation, $14.80,per $1,000.The art connoisseurs who visit Cape Ann will find in

Beverly one of the most attractive "galleries" tliat thecountry afibrds, in the works of the " Beverly pottery."Here they will see accurate reproductions of all the bestspecimens of ancient pottery, literal copies of some ofthe finest pieces now in the old world art museums. This


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BEVEBLY.pottery was established at the very beginning of theeighteenth century and has been in operation during thegreater portion of the time since. The manufacture ofcopies of ancient vases was begun by Mr. C. A. Lawrencein 1872, and was the first efibrt of the land in this coun-try. Mr. Lawrence, at the solicitation of some art-lovingladies of Boston, undertook to copy certain ancient pot-tery vases. This he did for three years for private salesonly, the wares fetching fabulous prices. Eventually thegoods were offered for sale in Boston and New York, andsince then the demand has been very great. It is impos-sible to describe here what Mr. Lawrence's store roomscontain, and the writer can only urge every visitor to thissection to make a personal visit. The imformation in theart of ancient vases, and in pottery in general, to be ob-tained, to say nothing of the pleasure, will ten times re-pay the slight trouble. This pottery is located on Federalstreet, near the Eastern depot. The clay used is obtainedfrom the dry beds of the ancient pottery established inBeverly in 1701. Mr. Thomas Pitman, a thorough artist,and a connoisseur in ancient ware, is employed in decor-ating the various articles. All visitors will receive a wel-come from the proprietor and be shown through the works.The " sea-shore" section of Beverly, which may prop-

erly be said to begin at the corner of Washington andLathrop streets, extends to Manchester, a distance ofseven miles. Every rod of the shore with the exceptionof a few small farms just out of the village, has beengiven over to the wealthy Boston and Salem people forsummer residences, and they have built on nearly everyavailable lot of the water front, and to a great extent onall the territory for a quarter or half mile back from theshore. Most of these residences are quite extensive,large houses, with stables and green-houses, etc., all sur-


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BEVEBLY.rounded by broad law^is and groves, and in some instancesseveral acres of field and wood-land. The shore is analternation of bold, rocky points and inlets, coves andbeaches, affording all necessary facilities for the three in-dispensibles to a sea-shore summer residence, boating,bathing and fishing. A broad highway, known as Halestreet, skirts the shore from the village to Manchesterline, sometimes almost at the water's edge and anon a halfmile from the extreme end of some point. These distantprojections are reached by branch streets. There aremany residences in the settled portion of the town equallyextensive and pleasantly surrounded as some of those onthe shore. Such for instance as the residence of Dr.Haddock, a skilful physician of the town, on Bartlettstreet; the residence of Hon. John I. Baker on Abbottstreet; A. N. Clark and William Endicott on Broadway,and Hon. F. W. Choate on Rantoul street.

If the tour is made in a carriage, we shall, after inspect-ing the village, proceed down Washington street toLathrop. The large old-fashioned house on the corner isthe Rantoul mansion. It has of late, and until his re-moval to Lexington, been the summer home of Rev. A. P.Putnam of New York. Turning to the left into Lathropstreet we pass the charming English villa of Wm*. M.Whitney. The house is on the land side of the street andthe estate extends to the water on the opposite side. Justbeyond here is the Robert Rantoul, Jr. estate, sometimesoccupied in summer by the family of Chief Justice Gray.The unoccupied estate adjoining is the Bancroft estate,now as always heretofore the property of the heirs of Rev.John P. Hale. Following this street through the valleyof willows and up a hill to the Louer hose-house, we turnto the right into Hale street (named for Rev. John Hale),past the cosy residence of Israel Whitney in the little


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BEVERLY.grove on the knoll at the right, and then from that intoOber street jast as we enter the " Cove " village, so-called,once known as " mackerel cove." The first sea-shoreresidence which will attract attention is that of CharlesElliott on Galloupe's hill on the right. A short distancebeyond here is the large and elegant estate of B. F. Bur-gess, extending about a fourth of a mile from the streetto the sea, the house standing on Burgess point. Adjoin-ing this estate on the same street is William Sohier'slarge residence, and also the Bard well estate. Acrossthe cove on the next point of land is Hospital Point light-house, reached by a new street leading off Neptune street.From the point a fine view is obtained of the Beverlyshore, Salem, Marblehead, the bay and islands. Return-ing to Hale street by way of Neptune street we pass theresidence of M. W. Shepard. Hale street now leads usbetween two noticeable granite walls extending some dis-tance on either side.On the water side, but hidden from view, are the resi-

dences of Wm. D. Pickman and Mrs. Willard Peele.These joint estates extend from the sea to the street, andfrom the street back through the woods some distance,the whole being modeled after one of those grand oldEnglish manor-house parks, with drives and foot-pathsopen to the public. The next street is Brackenberry lane,which leads to Patehe's beach and the residence of Mrs.David Sears, Jr. Returning to Hale street once more wenext turn off at Prince street. This leads ns to the ele-gant residences of John G. Cushing, Richard D. Parker,Mrs. John D. Silsbee and S. Endicott Peabody, the firstnamed being on the extreme end of Ober's point. Acrossa little cove and beach from here we see the massivestone mansion of Mrs. Franklin Dexter, which, from itselevated location, presents on the water front something


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BEVERLY.of the appearance of a Rhinish castle. The occupant, bya slight stretch of the imaj^^iuation, can sing with Byron,as he drifts dreamily down the Rhine :

' The Castle crag of DrachenfelsFrowns o'er the wide and winding Rhine,Whose breast of waters broadly swell?;,Between the banks which bear the vine;And hills all rich with blossomed trees,And fields which promise corn and wine;And scattered cities crowning these,Whose far white walls along them shine.Have strewed a scene, which I shonld seeWith donble joy wert thou with me."

Once more back on Hale street we drive through alovely wooded park with the estates of Mrs. Dexter andof John G. King on the right, extending to the water, anda number of villas in the woods on the opposite side.Among them those of George Z. Silsbee, W. G. Salton-stall, Mrs. G. H. Shaw, Waldo Higginson, and J. P. Gard-ner's heirs. This wood is crossed in all directions bydriveways and bridle and foot-paths. To the right as weemerge from the park is Mingos beach. Adjoining it, andextending beyond, is the elegant estate of Mrs. J. S.Cabot, and opposite her residence, approached by delight-ful driveways from several directions, is the Swiss villaof Hon. Martin Brimmer. There are a number of hand-some cottages on either side of the road here while onthe hill a short distance back are the residences of Wil-liam Endicott, Jr. and Sidney Bartlett. The next beyond,and situated far up the hill on an overhanging rock, isanother Swiss cottage which belongs to Francis W.Palfry and is known as " the crows-nest." The beach onthe right is Plum Cove beach, and the pretty cottageoverlooking it is that of C. W. Loriug, which adjoins thefine farm of the heirs of C. G. Loring. The estate adjoin-


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BEVERLY.ing Mr. Palfry's, on the same side of the road at thecorner of Thissle street, and like Mr. Palfry's located ona high ledge, is that 'of Francis Bartlett, approached by acircuitous driveway.This brings us to the Pride's Crossing railway station.

The veteran agent here will readily furnish the touristwith any desired information. He is the Directory of thetown. He will tell you that that cottage just across thetrack, up there in the woods, is Mr. James F. Curtis's,and the avenue to the left of it, next to Mr. Palfry's, isthe summer residence of Gen. C. L. Pearson. He willtell you that the embowered carriage way which youpassed on your right just before reaching the station leadsto the elegant C. W. Loring estate ; that the drivewaywhich extends towards the sea from the depot will leadyou, by numerous diverging paths, to some of the mostextensive estates on the coast, through parks, groves,gardens, and lawns.Taking them in order we shall find the following

George Gardner, Miss Paine, Wm. C. Paine, John T.Morse, Mr. S. B. Schlessinger, John T. Morse, Jr., E. RollinMorse, Mrs. B. F. Thomas, F. Gordon Dexter, FrauklinHaven, T. A. Neal, R. S. Rantoul, and Mrs. S. Cabot.These form a group of fine cottages scattered through thesection lying between the railway and the water on theone hand, and between the Pride's Crossing and BeverlyFarms stations on the other. Scarcely one of thesehouses can be seen distinctly from the railway or fromHale street. The traveler by rail should leave the carsat one of these stations, walk through this series of parksto the other station and take the train again. These** mansions by the sea " are surrounded by extensive nat-ural forests, meadows, fields, lawns, and flower gardensinterspersed with ponds, streams, carriage roads, bridle


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BEVEBLY.paths, and foot-paths. Those who are driving along Halestreet should take the principal of these carriage roads toWest beach and follow along that a mile or more to Bev-erly Farms, making an exit on "West street. The whitebrick house here is that of Jonathan Preston, the yellowone on the westerly side Mrs. E. A. Boardman's, and thelarge establishment on the elevated point beyond is Mr.Henry Lee's.These private grounds of which we have just spoken

and the roads through them are mostly open to the publicin summer, and a drive or walk through them should notbe omitted. But in so doing the visitor should bear inmind that the least recompense ho can make for so muchpleasure is to conduct himself decorously and not strayfrom the beaten paths picking flowers, trampling thelawns, or breaking the limbs of trees and shrubl)ery.He ought at least to be as considerate as his Englishcousins who, year after year, travel through the broadacres of the "Lord" without ever stepping to the one sideor the other, thankful that his more favored fellow beingshares with him thus much. The unique Swiss villa seenfrom Beverly Farms in the distance on a "back" streetbelongs to Mrs. Ozias Goodwin, and near to it is W. B.Sewall's cottage. The cottage on a high hill some distancefrom the water in the rear of the depot is Mr. C. H.Daltou's. Others in this vicinity are owned by J. ElliotCabot, Dr. II. W. Hooper, Henry Adams, Henry Dexter,Mr. Luke, Charles Storrow, and Mrs. Parkman. In thewooded park towards Manchester on the right of the road,is Mr. S. T. Morse's elegant villa, and nearly opposite, onthe hill, completely hidden among the trees, is the exten-sive estate of Thornton K. Lothrop.This completes our visit to Beverly, for just beyond

here we enter Manchester-by-the-sea. These non-resi-


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MANCIIE8TEB-B Y-THESEA.dents have clone much to help build up the town and are agreat aid to its prosperity. Men now living rememberwhen the entire sea-shore section of Beverly was assessedfor .$25,000; to-day the non-residents alone are assessedfor several hu-ndred thousands.

lANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA.History and Description.The Masconomo House.A Drive Through the Town.Eagle Head.From Beverly we pass to Manchester along the same

road that we have traveled most of the time since leavingLathrop street. Mancliester-by-the-sea is one of the mostattractive sea-shore resorts on the Atlantic coast. It ex-tends along the shore some four miles, presenting fromthe sea a picturesque front, a charming alternation ofcragged rocks, forming bold headlands and sandy beachesand inlets. The sea dashes against these rocky shoreswith great force in the pleasantest weather, and rollsgently in upon the beaches; while in a storm all ischanged, and the scene is one of wild grandeur, the sealashing the rocks with terrific force and rolling up thebeach as if it would submerge the dry laud. The air inthis vicinity is remarkably pure and bracing, and there isa freshness in everything around us. There are peculiarproperties about the climate here which banish asthmaand hay-fever. A certain ex-mayor of a New Englandcity may be found at his cottage on the "Neck" in Aprilof each year, and he will tell you, if you ask him why hecomes so early, that it is because this is the only place inthe country where he can live in the spring and summer


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MAXCHESTEB-B Y-THESEA.on account of asthma. The pretty cottages, some ofthem, with their lawns, forests, flower-gardens anddrives, remind one forcibly of some bright Swiss orFrench villa, save that they are even more bright andcheery.

Historically, Manchester is one of the oldest settle-ments in this section of the country. It was originally apart of Salem and was the second municipality takenfrom her territory, having been set off as a separate townon May 14, 1645. It was early known as Jeffry's creek,so-called from William Jeffry, the first settler. The prin-cipal stream of water still bears his name. "When thesettlement was incorporated as an independent town itwas called Manchester, presumably in honor of the Dukeof Manchester. It was once an important fishing port,but that business graduall}- died out, owing largely to thesuperior facilities offered by Gloucester. Some years agofurniture manufacturing was extensively carried on in thevillage, but that, too, has very much declined. The terri-tory of the town comprises only 4,310 acres, and the totalvaluation in 1878 was $2,001,984. The rate of taxationwas 66.43 on each $1,000. The population is about1,600, and the number of polls 434. lu the villageare three churchesCongregational, Baptist and Catholiceight schools, drug store, and the usual complement ofshops and business places. As a summer resort Manches-ter-by-the-sea has attractions for the permanent residentas well as the transient visitor. "With a view to keepingthe society somewhat select no hotel for summer visitorswas erected until the spring of 1878, when Mr. Junius B.Booth built and opened to the public the MasconomoHouse, one of the best watering place hotels in thecountry. It is a good/ac simile of some of those charm-ing hostel ries to be seen around the shores of the Swiss


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573IANCHE8TEB-B Y-THE-SEA.

lakes among the Alps, the best hotels in Europe. Locatedat the top of a gentle elevation, well-kept lawns slopeaway on either side, while immediately in front is a largeflower garden. At the rear of the house beyond the green"platz" is the celebrated Singing beach, which, besidesbeing a first class beach for bathin^g, has peculiar musicalqualities. At the base of the hill in front of the house,is JefiVy's creek and Manchester harbor which extends outto the sea and aflfords excellent facilities for safe bathing.A writer in the New York "Graphic" has written of

Manchester-by-the-sea and the Masconorao :"The Masconomo House, named after the Chief of a

local tribe of Indians, is builded adjoining and continuouswith what has been Mr. Booth's beautiful seaside resi-dence for some seasons past. And it deserves to be statedthat in selecting his seaside home Mr. Booth studied thecoast very thorouglily from Long Branch to Old Orchard.Those who follow him in the study and make up theirconclusions at his hotel will speedily assent to the claimthat he holds the gem of the North Atlantic sea coast.Mr. Booth's estate is a supeib lawn of twelve acres look-ing out on a smooth, broad crescent of shore, whose sand,by some peculiarity of its particles, actually whistles as youtread upon it. Beaten hard by the surf, it is compact andalmost unyielding to tread or wheel, and, sloping gently, hasa splendid floor for the bather, with no perils from under-tow, the reefs, far outside, receiving the first force of thesea. "The Singing Beach " is famous in the guide-books.Appleton makes mention of it; so have the tourist's let-ters for years. The beach has this other feature of espe-cial value to our Northern sea-coast resorts. By the trendof the shore line it fronts almost due south, and thedreaded northeast winds come to the Masconomo Houseacross eight miles of pine woods, tempering the blast that


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MANCHESTER-B Y- THE-SEA.

rr

Sa. ?1


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MANCHESTEB-B Y- THE-SEA.described ; j'ou may ride for miles through pathways ofcultivated and costly estates, or, turning inland, you maydrive for hours in deep woods, through pleasant valleysand farms or in silent forests. The roads of Manchester-by-the-sea are among the best in Essex County. Arrange-ments have been made by which a line of woods will bemaintained forever on either side of the "road to Essex,"and the town has recently appropriated money to com-plete a circular drive around by the beautiful Chebaccolakes, and return over a new road direct to Manchester-by-the-sea.The traveler driving through the town will note first

as he enters it the cottage away to the right in the woodsnear the w^ater. This isthe residence of Mr. Benj.G. Boardman, and verynear it is that of his son T.Dennie Boardman. Mr.Boardman also owns thecottage at West Manches-ter on the point of rocksnear the railway. Thelarge peculiarly shapedhouse near the top of thehigh hill as we 'enter thetown is Mr. Henry L. Hig-

ginson's, built in 1879. It is a sort of Schonberg castle,and would be much more like that famous structure, inminiature, were it of granite. On the further side of thehill is a road leading to West Manchester depot and acluster of summer cottages. Among them are those ofN. B. Mansfield, Dr. Bartol and W. C. Cabot. Dr. Bar-tol's is the cottage with the tower on top, and near it ishis observatorv.


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MANCHESTEB-B Y-THE-8EA.The road over which we are driving takes us through

Manchester village, situated at the mouth of JeflYy's creekand at the head of the harbor, an arm of the sea whichmakes up about a half mile. Passing the town house andCongregational Church, we turn to the left and followRailroad avenue across the railway and up the hill to theMasconomo. The red-roofed Swiss villa on the ledge"Thunderbolt-rock" to the left, is the residence ofJames' T. Fields. At the top of this hill we turn to theright on to the " Old Neck Road " (why not call it Masco-nomo avenue). The large mansion on the right, backedby a fine grove, is the residence of Mrs. Mary C. Martin.Opposite to it are the estates of Mrs. Jedediah Cobb, Rus-sell Sturgis, Jr., Esq., a retired Boston merchant, andLewis Cabot, the latter including a large orchard. Theseestates once formed a part of the Hemenway estate. Thisroad will lead us to Gale's point, a territory of seventy-four acres, owned by Dr. Bartol, which he has recentlyput into the market. He has built a winding carriageroad around the Neck, making a drive equally as grandas that around Marblehead Neck, and very romantic fromits tortuous course. Keeping to the right, the roadpasses between the fine residences of Hon. J. WarrenMerrill of Cambridge and Hon. E. E. Rice of Boston, theformer on the knoll above and the latter directly opposite.Below Mr. Rice's is the red-roofed cottage of Prof. O. S.Eowler, and beyond that, on the shore of the harbor, thewhite cottage of Augustus W. Smith, being a portion ofthe old Smith farm. Continuing along this road to theextreme point we reach the new estate of George B.Howes of Boston, which, when completed (it is now,May, 1879, building), will be unsurpassed by any resi-dence on the North shore. The elevation is nearly a


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3IANCHESTEB-B Y-THESEA,hundred feet above water level and the point lies out inthe open sea, " Where the waves are wildAnd the winds are free,"and where, during a southeaster, the seas break on thegranite cliffs with the roar of a thunder-storm, throwinghigh their foam and spray.We return to the old road by a driveway along thethe southeasterly side of the Neck. At the Masconomo

we visit "Singing beach." The musical sound here willbe noticed only when the sand is dry. When struck withthe heel of the shoe or by an incoming wave it sendsforth a peculiar musical sound. The pretty summer cot-tage standing off the beach road near the hotel is L. N.Tappan's. Just beyond the Masconomo a street branchesoff the Old Neck road to a number of cottages, includingJohn G. Gilbert's, the last on the left before entering thegrove, and Mrs. Stephen H. Bullard's, the last on theright, and terminating at the charming English villa ofMrs. John H. Towne of Philadelphia. The visit to Mrs.Towne's should by all means include Eagle-head, thatgrandest old headland of Massachusetts Bay. Leavingthe carriage we walk down any of the embowered pathsleading to the base of the ledge and then clamber up itssteep side until we are on a level with the tops of thetrees and one hundred and thirty feet above the sea, whichbreaks along the cragged rocks at our feet. Now it rollssoftly, almost noiselessly up the side of some slopingledge, and anon dashes against a perpendicular front as if,in its anger, it would tear the huge headland from its foun-dation. The white-winged craft which sail to and fro be-low us, as we sit here, look like toy ships. This on alovely May afternoon. How changed the scene on a dark


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MANCHE8TEB-B Y-THE-SEA.winter's night wlien a southeasterly storm rages. Thedamp snow which half blinds us makes the distance to thewater seem double what it really is. The wild waves beardown on our post like an army attacking a fort, as if, intheir wild rush, they fain would carry all before them.As they approach nearer, rolling now like mountains,they seem to pause for a moment as if for renewed breath,and then to throw themselves against the giant rock in aperfect rage. And yet we feel not their blow. But forthe roar of their bursting and falling back we shouldnever know of their presence, for their spray is mingledwith the driving storm. They crumble like dead forestleaves beneath the feet; they are "dashed into countlessfragments " and thrown into the air like so much chaff.All along the shore, though in a somewhat milder degree,perhaps, the same process is going on. Above the beat-ing of the storm, above the howling of the forest trees asthey bend before the wind, rises the roar of this furiouswar of the waters and the rocks, like ten thousand infu-riated demons, each bent on destroying the other and rul-ing both land and sea. It is difficult at such a time tobelieve the sea inanimate. And though it seems as a toycompared with the granite ledges upon which it appar-ently has no effect, still,

'These restless surges eat away the shoresOf earth's old continent; tlie fertile plainWelters in shallows, headlands crumble down,And the tide drifts the sea-sands in tlie streetsOf the drowned city."

Returning again to the main road near the village cem-etery we proceed towards Gloucester, There are but fewmore sea-shore estates until we reach Magnolia, and thoseare situated some distance from the highway and practi-


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MAGNOLIA.cally out of sight. The large old-fashioned house somedistance to the right which we see, about the time wecross the railway after leaving the village, is the Danahouse, the first summer residence built in Manchester.During many years, and until his death in 1878, it was thesummer home of Hon. Richard H. Dana, the scholar andpoet, the friend, companion and contemporary of the poetBryant, and the contemporary of Caleb Gushing. It isnow occupied by Mr. Dana's son, Richard H. Dana. Onthe shore in the vicinity of the Dana estate, but hiddenfrom the highway by intervening forests, are the pleasantestates of Greely S. Curtis and Mrs. Emily T. Curtis.These and the Dana residence may be seen by drivingthrough the w^oods along either of two carriage paths.The settlement just beyond the woods is known as KettleCove. There are a few farms here and some fishermen'shouses ; also two or three summer cottages. The estateof T. Jefi'erson Coolidge lies ofl" to the right across thecove on a point of laud. His residence is one of the mostcostly on the shore. Near Crescent beach is the CrescentBeach House, a pleasantly located summer hotel keptby Mr. Allen Kno.wlton.The inhabitants of this section of territory are desirous

of being set off as a town by themselves. Mr. Knowltonhas been a prime mover in the matter. The line desired,starts from the shore a short distance from Crescentbeach, and runs straight inland to the junction of Man-chester and Essex, about four miles, thence back to theseashore just below Norman's Woe, making a triangularsection of about four square miles, with some seventyhouses, and, allowing four persons to a family, 280 in-habitants. The shore line would be about four and ahalf miles. The distance to the voting place in Ward 8,Gloucester, is about four miles, and to Manchester town


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MAGNOLIA.

house over three miles. The residents here have achapel and schoolhouse. It is proposed to bring thesubject before the Legislature next winter. The CrescentBeach House was built in 1873, and has been enlargedannually since, until now it will accommodate 150 guests.The neat and prelty farm cottage opposite is occupied byRev. Henry W. Foote, of Kings Chapel. Mr. Knowltonis numbered among those few who know how to keep ahotel, as his increasing patronage shows. He has asuperior location, a fine house, and provides a first-classtable, leaving nothing to be desired by the guests. Hishouse is sheltered from the north and east winds by thedense woods, a short distance inland. In the cove theopportunities for boating are excellent.At the head of the beach, not far from the hotel, Rev.

James Freeman Clarke is to build a fine residence, whichhe will occupy every summer. Other parties will buildhere ere long, and, with good roads and proper municipalarrangements, there seems to be no reason why a goodsized town by the name of Magnolia may not be formedfrom the two present settlements of Kettle Cove andMagnolia.

MAGNOLIA.The Newest Summer Resort. Hesperus House.

Rafe's Chasm. Norman's Woe. Magnolia toGloucester.

About three miles from Manchester and the same dis-tance from Gloucester, the traveler over the highwayfrom Salem will see, on a guide-board at the corner of tworoads, the word "Magnolia." The road which this sign


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MAGNOLIA.points out to liim leads to one of the newest as it is oneof the best sea-shore resorts on Cape Ann. The growthof Magnolia as a summer resort has been rapid sinceattention was first attracted to it. The first strictly sum-mer residence here was built in 1872, by Charles E.Billings, "W. O. Trowbridge, J. S. Potter, and LucienChase, of Newton.Mr. Charles C. Goodwin built another in 1873. During

the intervening years since, some twenty cottages andboarding houses and a hotel have been built. OriginallyMagnolia was a fishing and farming settlement. Thelittle fishermen's huts are still standing on the shore ofthe cove. The section known as the "Point" was pur-chased in 1867 by Mr. Daniel W. Fuller, of Swampscott.Mr. Fuller has built several cottages on this land, someof which he has sold, others he rents annually',and has also sold lots to parties who have built residencesfor themselves. In 1877 he built a hotel on the risingground, a few rods, back from the shore. This he morethan doubled in size in the spring of 1879, so that nowthe Hesperus House will accommodate about one hundredguests. The two wings of the hotel stand some seventyfeet apart and are connected by a covered walk, in themiddle of which is a handsome Chinese pagoda. Duringboth of the years since the Hesperus was opened, thepatronage has exceeded the capacity of the house, andoverflowed into the neighboring cottages. The housecommands a magnificent view of the bay and ocean, withsea views from nearly every room.

ISTo place on the Cape excels Magnolia in variety ofattractions. On one side of the point is Crescent beach,an excellent beach for bathing, arid a cove for anchorageof yachts. In front, the opportunity for fishing from the


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MAGNOLIA.rocks is good, while those who wish can put out from theshore a mile or two and anchor on deep-water fishinggrounds, where cod, haddock, and other kind of salt-water fish are plenty. To the left, lies a bold rock-boundcoast. Back of the shore, the dense woods, threaded by-innumerable carriage and foot-paths, offer unusual attrac-tions to the strollers. Numerous varieties of berries andwild flowers grow in profusion along the half-hiddenpaths. In a swamp some two miles distant grows thefragrant Magnolia.There are two ways of reaching Magnolia besides the

highway by rail and by boat. The Magnolia station onthe Eastern road is about two miles from tlie point, butbarges connect with all trains to and from Boston in thesummer season. The Gloucester boats frequently touch,here in summer, and sometimes boats run from Salem.With the growth of the place the frequency and regularityof the boat trips will increase. One of the attractions inAugust is the encampment of the second corps of Cadets,M. V. M., a fine company composed of members fromSalem and vicinity. Their camping-ground is just back ofthe hotel, and the residents enjoy the band concerts andall the displays, including the inspection by the governorand staff and other dignitaries."The Flume," about a half mile from the hotel, is a

channel in the cliff, 150 feet in length, 50 feet in depth,and 6 in width, with perpendicular sides.

Rafe's Chasm, a little way beyond, is another attractive'natural curiosity." It is a channel cut into the solidrock, nearly 60 feet in depth, 200 in length, and 10 inwidth. During a storm the water rushes into this channelwith tremendous force, striking against its sides with thesound of thunder, and spouting upwards in torrents. It


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Down came the storm, and smote amainThe vessel in its strength;She shuddered and paused like a frighted steed,Then leaped her cable's length.'Come hither I come hither I my little daughter,And do not tremble so;For I can weather the roughest galeThat ever wind did blow.'

He wrapped her warm in his seaman's coat,Against the stinging blast;He cut a rope from a broken spar,And bound her to the mast.

' O, father 1 I hear the church-bells ringOh, say, what may it be ?

' 'Tis a fog-bell on a rockbound coast I 'And he steered for the open sea.

* O, father I I see a gleaming lightOh, say, what may it be ?'

But the father answered never a word,A frozen corpse was he.Lashed to the helm, all stiff and stark,With his face turned to the skies,The lantern gleamed through the gleaming snowOn his fixed and glassy eyes.

And fast through the midnight dark and drear,Through the whistling sleet and snow,Like a sheeted ghost the vessel swept,Towards the reef of Norman's Woe.

The breakers were right beneath the bows.She drifted a dreary wreck,And a whooping billow swept the crewLike icicles from her deck.

She struck where the white and fleecy wavesLooked soft as carded wool,But the cruel rocks, they gored her side,Like the horns of an angry bull.


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MAGNOLIA.Her rattling shrouds all sheathed in ice,With the masts went by the board;Like a vessel of glass, she stove and sunk: Ho 1 ho I the brealiers roared I

At daybreak, on the bleak sea-beach,A fisherman stood aghast,To see the form of a maiden fair,Lashed close to a drifting mast.

The salt sea was frozen on her breast,The salt tears in her eyesAnd he saw her hair like the brown sea-weed,On the billows fall and rise.

Such was the wreck of the HesperusIn the midnight and the snow

Christ save us all from a death like this.On the I'eef of Norman's Woe 1" Hesperus Gulch" is still another ravine, or channel in

the ledge, into which the seas run with great force.There is a rough carriage-road running from here to

Western Avenue, joining the latter near "Brook Bank,"about a mile and a half from town. Or, we can return toMagnolia point and go from there to the main highway aswe came. By the latter plan we have a pleasant, woodedroad of about two miles. We emerge from the woods atthe head of Fresh-water cove, an inlet from Gloucesterouter harbor. It is of sea water, but derives its namefrom the fact that a stream of fresh water empties into it.The English villa on the right, with lawns sloping awayto the edge of the cave, is "Brook Bank," the residenceof Mr. Samuel E. Sawyer, who gave a liberal sum tofound a public library in Gloucester, and for whom thelibrary is named. The fine mansion belonging to theGeorge F. Hovey estate, formerly stood in the grovebeyond, at the top of the hill, but was burned in thewinter of 1878-9. The surroundings, like those of"Brook Bank," were of the nature of an English villa.


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3fAGN0LIA.

It was on this hill, looking over the sea and up and downthe coast, that Epes Sargent was inspired to sing :

" Look 1 All the lighthousesFlash greeting to the night. There Eastern PointFlames out ! Lo, little Ten Pound Island follows 1See Baker's Island kindling I MarbleheadAblaze I Egg Rock, too, off Nahaut, on fireAnd Boston Light winking at Minot's Ledge ILike the wise virgins, all with ready lamps I"The avenue now follows along the side of the hill, the

"HESPERUS GULCH," 1 MILE FROM HESPERUS HOUSE.trees and houses far above us on the left, and the oceansixty or seventy feet below us on the right. On one of


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GLOUCESTEB.these cliflfs above is the cottage formerly occupied by thelate Eben Dale and now the summer residence of his fam-ily. Between here and the town is some attractive nat-ural scenery, and among the handsome residences is thatof John Bray on the next hill, to the right. Instead offollowing the avenue the traveler will enter the field onthe shore side and drive along the carriage path past oldStage Fort. This is supposed to be the site of the firstsettlement on Cape Ann. There is little doubt but thatConant's " large frame house " which was moved to Salemwas built in close proximity to the old breastwork here.This land is all in the market, but certain stringent condi-tions attached to all sales have greatly retarded settle-ment. The end of our tour to Gloucester city is soonreached, the distance being only a half mile further andthe scenery pleasant.

GLOrCESTER.A Drive Through the Town. Representative Busi-

ness HousEg.History of Churches.The FishingBusiness.TVe enter Gloucester by "Western avenue and cross the

town by Main street. There are some fine business housesalong this thoroughfare. We have space to refer to butfew of them and therefore select representative firms indifi'erent lines of goods. One of the most attractive storesis Tappan's Clothing house established in 1833. This firmoccupy a handsome new block, 24 feet front and 80 feetdepth, built especially for their business. On the firstfloor is the large sales-room and on the second floor thework-rooms where all the goods are manufactured. Near


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HsGL0UCE8TEB.

Tappan's is Pattillo's Dry-goods house, one of the largestof its Ivind on tlie Cape. This establishment has somethingof a history. It was burnt out in the great fire of 1864,again in 1870, and still again in 1873, and now occupies alarge and handsome store in the heart of the city. W. J.Maddocks and Daniel D. Sanders represent the pharma-cists of the town, on opposite sides of the street, both infine locations and neatly arranged stores. Mr. F. M.Loring near the Post Office, is the principal manufacturerand dealer in hardware and its attendants, always havingan immense stock on hand. These are but a few of themany reputable business houses in town, and we can recom-mend them to the reader as just what they are here rep-resented to be.There are no *' special" sights in the city to attract the

traveler. The fishing wharves should, by all means, bevisited and also the fine new city building.The Eastern railway station is situated on the northerly

side of the town and is a handsome structure, built in 1878.The cars leave here for Rockport and for Salem, Bostonand all stations on the line, five times each way, every day(Sunday excepted), and in the Summer season a sixthtrain is run. From here, too, on the arrival of all trains,coaches depart for East Gloucester, Bay View, and Lanes-ville. Hacks are always plenty. There is no restaurantin the station but a good one kept by Mrs. Doe near bywill satisfy the hungry tourist.And now a word about Gloucester itself. History in-forms us that two or three expeditions visited the vicinity

of Cape Ann early in the seventeenth century and oneentered Gloucester harbor as early as 1606. The first at-tempt at settlement however was made by the DorchesterCompany which sent over two ships in 1624. The furtherprogress of this settlement is thus tersely described in


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GLOUCESTER." Old Nanmkeag" under the chapter relating to the settle-ment of Salem. "When Conant arrived at Cape Ann,"Which must have been some time in the fall of 1625, hefound affairs in an unsatisfactory state. The fishing hadturned out unprofitable and there was much insubordina-tion. He was unable to revive the interest and in the fallof 1626 the settlement broke up, a portion of the peoplereturning to England. Conant, it appears, had sailedalong the shores of Cape Ann as far as the Naumkeagriver during the summer of that year, and marked it asone suitable for his purposes. He succeeded in inducingthose of the settlers who had not already returned to themother country to follow him to Naumkeag. They leftCape Ann m September or October, 1626, taking withthem all of their household goods and efiects and imple-ments of husbandrj\"Mr. John J. Babson, in a recent work on Gloucester,

tells us that there is no certainty as to when the first per-manent settlement of Cape Ann was begun. It was prob-ably as early as 1633. In May 1642 the settlement wasincorporated by the General Court as a plantation underthe name of Gloucesterthe name of the town in Englandfrom which most of the first settlers came. Selectmenwere first chosen in 1642 at a town meeting held in Mayor June. A church was organized under Rev. EichardBlymman, probably in 1643. John Emerson, the thirdminister was paid " 60 pounds per annum in Indian corn,peas, barley, fish, mackerel, beef or pork." He served40 years or more. Eev. John White, who succeeded him,was ordained April 21, 1709. The church then had 70members. At the end of his fifty-first year as a pastor itcontained 260 members after three new churches had beenorganized out of the parish. He died at the age of 83,having served as pastor of this church 58 years. In the


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GLOUCESTEB.

year 1743, the population having outgrown the agricultu-ral capacity ofthe place, a number ofyoung men emigratedto a township in Maine about twenty miles from Portlandwhich they named New Gloucester in honor of the parenttown. Among the citizens of the new town we may nowfind the names of some of the earlier settler at Cape Ann,such as Eveleth, Grover, Haskell, Evans (properly Nevens)Skellin (now Skillings), Fogg, Rowe, Wharff, Withamand others. Our municipal history of Gloucester may beclosed with the incorporation as a city on April 28, 1873,and the inauguration of Robert R. Eears as the first mayorin 1874. Its population by the United States census of1870 was 15,389.

In addition to the First Parish, of which mention hasalready been made, there were organized, the following :Second parish. West Gloucester, 1716; Third Parish,

Annisquam, 1728, Fourth Parish, 1742; Fifth Parish, San-dy Bay, 1754; Independent Christian Society, 1779; FirstBaptist, Rockport, 1811 ; Second Baptist, 1830; First Meth-odist, 1821; Second Methodist, 1826; Third Methodist,1870; Evangelical Society, 1829; North Orthodox, Cong,society, 1831; Catholic, 1849 ; St. John's, Episcopal; EastGloucester Baptist; Swedenborgian ; West GloucesterUniversalist; Lanesville Universalist.The town of Gloucester originally included the entire

portion of the headland on the northerly side of Massa-chusetts Bay, known as Cape Ann and also a portion ofnearly equal extent running back on the cape to Manches-ter. The present city is divided into six distinct villages,East Gloucester ; Annisquam on the North side of the CapeBay View; Lanesville; West Gloucester, and Gloucestervillage, oi city proper, which borders on the harbor. Eachof these villages has a post-office. The harbor is one ofthe best ports on the coast, safe and easy of access, and


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GLOUCESTEB.of depth sufficient to float the largest vessel. The princi-pal portion of the city proper, lying around the harbor, iscompactly built and picturesquely situated. There are noextensive manufactories in the city. Such small ones asthere are, are confined to the manufacture of articles per-taining to the fisheries. There are six marine railwaysand 70 wharves, on the harbor. The private residencesare of the ordinary character to be found in all small citieslikewise the stores and other semi-public places. Thereare also insurance companies, banksnational and sav-ingstwo newspapers"Cape Ann Advertiser" and "TheBulletin."Gloucester, as is well-known, is the most extensive

fishing port in the country if not in the world. The bus-iness began to be actively pursued in the eighteenth cen-tury. In 1841 it had so increased that seventy fishingvessels were owned in the town. In 1775 the number hadincreased to eighty of an aggregate tonage of 4000 andan average value of $1400. Besides these fishermen in dis-tant waters, some seventy vessels were employed in fish-ing in home waters. The Grand Bank fishing had, in1825, from various causes, dwindled to almost nothing.The home fisheries increased, in the mean time, so thatby 1828 the value of the cod-fisheries was $120,000. Aftersome years, vessels went to the Georges, and eventually.Grand Bank fishing was renewed with the old time enter-prise. The catching of mackerel in Massachusetts Bay isnow, also, an extensive pursuit and highly remunerative.The extent of the fisheries of Gloucester will be compre-hended from the following figures :

In 1865 the number of vessels engaged, was 341, havingan aggregate tonage of 24,450 and employing 4090 men.The capital invested was $1,865,700; amount of mackerelcaught, 154,938 barrels, valued at $2,190,562; cod and


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GLOUCESTEB.other dry fish, 113,028 quintals, worth $706,425; value ofcod-liver oil sold, $90,420. The total value of all the fish-ery products was $3,319,457. The figures for 1873 are asfollows: Codfish, 460,000 quintals, valued at $2,070,000;other fish, 25,000 quintals, valued at $50,000; fresh fish,including halibut, 9,000,000 pounds, valued at $310,000;oil, 275,000 gallons, valued at $165,000; mackerel, 86,544barrels, valued at $1,125,000; herring, 5,000 barrels, val-ued at $23,000; shell-fish, 18,000 barrels, valued at $18,000miscellaneous, $40,000; total value of the fisheries for theyear 1873, $3,800,000. There were 375 vessels with 3,500men engaged in the business that year. The figures forsubsequent years are not reliable, those of the State cen-sus of 1875 being especially faulty. The figures for 1876were: cod, 2,020,297; halibut, 679,754; mackerel, 710,-201. These figures are ample to indicate the enormousextent of the fishing business of this port. This work,as all know, is attended with very great danger, nearly asgreat as that of active service in the army in the time ofwar. Since 1830, 250 or more vessels and more than 1800lives have been lost in the fisheries. During the year1873, alone, 31 vessels and 174 lives were lost.The Gloucester custom's district includes the towns of

Manchester, Rockport and Essex. The commerce of thecity is very limited, particularly with foreign ports. Theexports during 1873 amounted to only $1,512 and the im-ports to $60,735. The latter was mainly of salt, used inthe fisheries; about one hundred thousand hogsheadsbeing required annually. The other imports were of fire-wood, fish and potatoes from the provinces. The totalnumber of vessels, sloops, schooners and boats belongingto the port and used in its business, is 446, measuring 28,-621 tons and manned by about 490 men.


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EST^BLISHEID 1835.&nxt\$ ^mU &21 Merchants Eow, Boston, Mass. tThe oldest and most noted manufacturers of Soap inNew England, makers of those celebrated brands, "Ameri-can Peerless," "Curtis Davis' Extra," "Gold Dust," &c.,would most respectfully iuvite attention to a new brandof their goods, called

'W'l':2i\P=la^V^3fiTi;;0^5^


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^t^^r"^:^- f"i> '. ^j*-"^ ^^'iV ^w;fe::


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EAST GLOUCESTEB.

EAST GLOUCESTER.Bass Eock.The Bass Rock House. Eastern Point

Light.And now let us turn our attention to the surroundings

of the old fishing town on the easterly side. This sectionis known as East Gloucester and is reached hy stage orcarriage, by way of East Main street. Ascending thehigh hill back of the town we behold a magnificent pano-rama. Below US' lie the city and the harbor with its ship-ping, and the fishing vessels going and coming. Perhapsit is a brave fisherman who has just bid his wife andchildren farewell forever, for he may be starting on hislast voyage ; or perchance a vessel returning from theBanks to tell of storm and loss of life. 0, what messagesof joy and sorrow these little crafts bear as they pass toand fro this harbor! Back of this picture across the har-bor and town is nature's setting of granite hills and densewoods, broken here and there by a green field. If theday be clear, we see the Cape Ann shore towards Salem,then Salem harbor, the bay, half-way rock, Marbleheadwith the tall tower of Abbot Hall, old Boston light, andthe South Shore with its burning sands, in striking con-trast with the cool green hills of the North Shore. Awayto the right towards Essex is Beacon Pole hill. On theocean side is the broad Atlantic, unbroken save by thenumerous tiny sail, of which the writer counted at one\ime more than a hundred on the first day of May. Alittle to the left lie Salt Island, Milk Island, and Thatcher's.Beach avenue leads to Little Good beach and Bass Rock.The summer settlement here is known as the Bass Rocksettlement. The land was formerly the property of George


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5EAST GL0UCE8TEB.

H. Rogers. Mr. Rogers, knowing full well the advan-tages of the place as a summer resort, expended morethan one hundred thousand dollars in improving it andbringing it into the market. He did not live to realizehis hopes and witness the fulfilment of his predictions.On his death the estate became the property of the Glou-cester Land Company. Much of it was thus brought intothe market and a score or more houses built, some ofthem of good size and all well made. A good hotel wasalso erected. The entire estate, including the unsoldbuilding lots, the hotel and several cottages, has nowbecome the property of Mr. Henry Souther of South Bos-ton. He has put it into the market and will begin at oncethe work of building up the place. It is a place of un-usual picturesque situations and there are scores of thefinest building sites on the coast now thrown into themarket at low prices. Locations may be selected here tosuit all tasteson the ledges overhanging the water,on the edge of the beach, on the high hill some distanceback, or in medium localities between these two extremes.Edwin P. Whipple, writing from the Bass Rock House(formerly Whiting's) in July, 1878, said :" To an ordinary July observer the principal productions

of this portion of Cape Ann seem to be rocks and roses.Hence it is, I suppose, that the air in the hot season is sosweet, pure, and invigorating. You cannot have richvegetation and beautiful meadows without sultriness andits horrible moral consequences; but the gaunt, bleakrocks, which make vegetation almost impossible, and putdown with a strong hand the timid efforts of gra ss to gothrough the process which ends in a profitable crop ofhay, are the grand agents which brace up and restore tonormal strength, constitutions debilitated by the stifledand corrupt summer atmosphere of large cities. There


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EAST GLOUCESTEB.are two places in Massachusetts where this sterility ofthe soil promotes the good of the soul, as ftir as the soulis influenced by physical conditions. One is inland, thetown of Princeton. The second place is Cape Ann. Yougo over this wilderness and laugh at the potato patcheswith their grim surroundings of rocks, big enough forthe missiles which the insurgent Titans hurled againstthe gods

;you think that if the potatoes ever reach thefamily board they will partake of the hardness of their

geological companions, and that the peculiar "mealiness"which is the only quality which makes the potato a pala-table article of food, will never characterize the potatoraised in Cape Ann. Now, it is to be said'for Mr. Rogers,who lost his hard-earned property in trying to make asummer town in this region of Good Harbor Beach andthe Bass Eocks, that he discovered the purpose naturehad in view in pushing this part of Cape Ann out into theAtlantic Ocean ; for he saw that it was nearly surroundedby water, and that the hot winds the south, the south-east, and the southwest came directly over the sea. Hewas simply a little ahead of the time, and was ruined. Inten or twenty years the summer population will be num-bered by thousands, for there is no place so easily accessi-ble from Boston, which can be compared to it in sanitaryqualities.And now for the roses. I got up early this morning,

and walked down the road leading to the sea. The pathwas all ablaze with wild roses. The air was not onlycool, but it had a virginal freshness. It seemed that theworld was in the process of creation, and that this wasthe morning of the fifth day. It brings to mind that pas-sage in Herrick where he celebrates the morning dew as

Those tender showers.Which, at the peep o' day, bestrewTheir baptism o'er the flowers.'

i


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^3

EAST GLOUCESTEB.Col. Edgar J. Sherman, of Lawrence, has the finest

private residence here. In fact it has no equal for loca-tion on 'the whole shore. It occupies the extreme pointof the overhanging ledge of Bass Rock itself. From hispiazza a pebble can be dropped into the sea seventy feetbelow. The waves beat against this rock at all times,and during a storm the scene is one of unsurpassedgrandeur; the angry sea dashes against the rock withtremendous force. Col. Sherman can sing with T. B.Read : " My house is built on the cliff's tall cvestAs high as an eagle might choose her nest;

The builders have descended the hillLike spirits who have done their master's will.Below, the billows in endless reach,Commune in uncomprehended speech."

The Bass Rock House occupies a sightly position on thecorner of Beach and Bright-side avenues, opposite the sitewhich the late Mr. Rogers selected for his own residence.It is a comparatively new hotel, accommodating aboutfifty people in large and well-furnished rooms. Mr. andMrs. Ami Brown have leased the house for the season of1879. Mrs. Brown has heretofore kept a first-classsummer hotel at New Rochelle, Long Island, and comesto Cape Ann with a view to abiding here permanently.The guestsat the hotel will of course enjoy all the advan-tages of the place which we have described, including theexcellent beach with its high-rolling surf. Coachesconnect with every train to and from Boston.The settled portion of East Gloucester is composed

mainly of fishermen's hamlets and the shops for themanufacture of fishing goods, in the lower section ; andof the better class of dwellings and summer boardinghouses farther up the hill. Among the important manu-factures of the place perhaps none ranks higher than


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EAST GLOU

(1879) the north shore of massachusetts bay (catalogue)

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