April 28, 2026 – The Essex National Heritage Commission (Essex Heritage), in keeping with its long tradition of supporting the region’s unique cultural heritage, announced the 2026 Essex Heritage Partnership Grant Program recipients at the Commission’s Spring Annual Meeting at Topsfield Town Hall on April 16th. Over the next year, the 12 grant recipients will be working to implement a diverse range of educational, interpretive, accessibility, and preservation projects throughout Boston’s North Shore and the Merrimack Valley.
We recognize the importance of supporting local organizations and we are proud that we are able to award twelve partnership grants again this year. Over the life of the program, we have provided grants to every community in Essex County – and we know that this seed money greatly impacts the region by leveraging more investments in the Essex National Heritage Area.
2026 Essex Heritage Partnership Grant Recipients:
Amesbury
Amesbury Carriage Museum
Amesbury Carriage Museum will use their grant to revolutionize the Industrial History Center with interactives, hands-on elements and updated panels to better serve neurodiverse individuals and showcase Amesbury’s role during the American Revolution.
Whittier Home Association
Whittier Home Association will purchase new boxes and other materials to rehouse a collection of historic linens, textiles, and clothing to ensure it remains preserved for the future. The collection includes clothing that belonged to and was worn by the poet and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier.
Andover
Andover Village Improvement Society
Andover Village Improvement Society will install signage along their recently completed All Persons Trail which includes stories about Bessie Goldsmith – who left the Goldsmith Woodlands in trust – as well as information about the indigenous inhabitants around Fosters Pond.
Beverly
Beverly 400+*
Beverly 400+ will undertake the “Independence Park Legacy Project,” redesigning the historic waterfront park to improve ADA access and add interpretive boards telling Beverly’s Revolutionary story, including the 1776 Declaration reading, Esop Hale, and the first naval battle between the Hannah and Nautilus, culminating in a 2026 public reenactment.
Haverhill
Buttonwoods Museum*
Buttonwoods Museum, as part of their Revolution 250 programming, will present a bilingual exhibit and living‑history event reconstructing an 18th‑century gown purportedly owned by Abigail Adams. The summer 2026 project reveals historic dressmaking techniques and the unrecognized global labor behind early American clothing, connecting audiences with Essex County history through inclusive interpretation and community engagement.
Marblehead
Marblehead Museum*
Marblehead Museum will use their grant to support two sections of the inaugural exhibit in the Jeremiah Lee Slave Quarters, “Resistance & Resilience: Slavery and Freedom in Marblehead.” The sections examine Black Marbleheaders’ experiences as soldiers in the Revolution and the contradictions of the Patriot enslavers.
Newburyport
City of Newburyport
City of Newburyport will establish an Indigenous Peoples Place steering committee to work with intertribal Indigenous cultural consultants to develop a plan for an outdoor site on Newburyport’s waterfront that will publicly acknowledge, celebrate, and interpret the Indigenous history, heritage, and contemporary cultural legacy of this area.
Peabody
Peabody Historical Society and Museum*
Peabody Historical Society & Museum will create the Peabody-Danvers Enslaved Revolutionary War Soldiers’ Interpretive Project, aiming to disseminate research on the Black and enslaved residents of Peabody and Danvers who fought during the American Revolution by introducing interpretive content in public spaces in Peabody.
Rockport
Thacher & Straitsmouth Islands Association
Thacher & Straitsmouth Island Association will rebuild the Entry Cabin to the Straitsmouth Tower, which was totally destroyed by the No-Name Storm of 1991, including installing a slate roof which was part of the initial design when the tower was built in 1910.
Salem
North Shore Community Development Coalition
North Shore Community Development Coalition will create “Roots: I am From Here / Soy de aquí,” focused on connecting new artist communities, existing creative and cultural groups, and the community at large to the Punto Urban Art Museum’s mission through three distinct exhibition opportunities. These events will showcase the artwork of 30+ North Shore artists.
Salem Sound Coastwatch
Salem Sound Coastwatch will run their School to Sea program, offering free, drop-in science programs for families that transform public spaces into hands-on learning environments. Led by marine science educators, sessions engage children and caregivers in exploring local watersheds, coastal ecosystems, and environmental stewardship during out-of-school times.
Topsfield
Massachusetts Audubon Society
Massachusetts Audubon Society will create The Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary’s 75th Anniversary Learning Experiences, a six-part series of interpretive talks and walks, celebrating both Mass Audubon’s time caring for that special place, but also bringing to life local history, culture, and stories from well before their care and conservation began.
About the Essex Heritage Partnership Grant Program
The Essex Heritage Partnership Grant Program is a matching grant program created to foster and support the stewardship activities of municipalities and organizations that share Essex Heritage’s mission to preserve and enhance the historic, cultural and natural resources of the Essex National Heritage Area (Essex County). Impacting many in the region, the 27-year-old program has invested more than $1.6 million in support of the region’s nationally significant heritage.
