For some social history background related to Robert “King” Hooper’s “Great House at Danvers,” social historian Judy Anderson of Marblehead will present an illustrated talk about the two dozen members of Robert “King” Hooper’s family in Marblehead, Newburyport, and Danvers. You’ll find drama, tragedy, high-end fashion, nearly twenty portraits by J.S. Copley, complex family relations,...
Privateers, often seen as profiteers and pirates, were crucial to America’s first war. Explore this little-known part of Revolutionary War history. The ragtag fleet of private vessels, from 20-foot whaleboats to 40-cannon men-of-war, truly revealed the new nation’s character, its ambition and entrepreneurial ethos. Award-winning author Eric Jay Dolin will make this aspect of our...
A walking tour of downtown Marblehead focusing on the mid-1700s, on the eve of independence, when the gritty but thriving and prosperous international Atlantic seaport was the sixth or tenth most populous metropolis in British N. America. The town’s zealous and nearly fully rebel (Patriot) service, both on land and at sea, through the American...
Join a park ranger for a 45-minute walking tour on the grounds of Salem Maritime National Historic Site. During the tour, learn about Salem’s role in the American Revolution, from the arrival of General Gage in 1774 to the privateering battles featuring Salem ships and crews. Explore the stories of Salem residents, both free and...
Pick up a program book and experience Revolutionary War-era Marblehead at various sites in the Historic District. Meet the wife of war hero, James Mugford; explore Fort Sewall with Glover’s Regiment; meet diarist Ashley Bowen portrayed by Don Friary and experience a loyalist service at St. Michael’s church; participate in a recreated town meeting and...
Pick up a program book and experience Revolutionary War-era Marblehead at various sites in the Historic District. Meet the wife of war hero, James Mugford; explore Fort Sewall with Glover’s Regiment; meet diarist Ashley Bowen portrayed by Don Friary and experience a loyalist service at St. Michael’s church; participate in a recreated town meeting and...
Professor Donald Hayes, will be presenting on his recent research and discovery of the role Danvers militias played in the Battle of Menotomy (Arlington) at the time of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Danvers lost seven men that day, second only to Lexington itself. He will highlight what is myth and lore about the...
Tour the site of the Great Salem Fire, October 6, 1774 with retired park ranger, Curtis White. The fire destroyed shops, a meeting-house, dwellings, and the Custom House. Was the fire a diversionary tactic to deter the arrest of Massachusetts delegates who met in defiance of the Massachusetts Government Act? This 1.25-mile walking tour will...
On October 7, 1774, ninety chosen representatives met at Salem in defiance of General Gage’s order. They elected John Hancock to serve as chairman. They resolved to form themselves into “a Provincial Congress...to take into consideration the dangerous and alarming situation of public affairs in this province, and to consult and determine on such measures...
On Sunday afternoon, November 3rd, at 1 pm at the Marblehead Arts Association’s King Hooper Mansion, an illustrated talk will bring those enigmatic individuals from Marblehead’s late colonial past to life. In most communities before American independence, portraits of only a very few individuals were painted, and even fewer survive. But, surprisingly, two dozen portraits...
First lecture in the series, Freedom and Unfreedom in Essex County Suing Their Enslavers: 18th Century Freedom-Seekers in Andover A lecture given by Christine Boehmer, independent historian Not all Native Americans in Massachusetts were invited to celebrate the harvest with English colonists. Some were enslaved by the colonists. In Andover in the 17th and 18th centuries,...
Speaker: Joann Michalik, local historian and researcher If you missed our 18th-century tavern night in April, here's your chance to experience it . . . with a holiday twist. The introduction of stage coaches along major roadways leads to taverns as inns, houses of entertainment, and political headquarters. Learn about the role of rum in the...
