Abbot
Hall & The Spirit
of '76
Every American has seen a photo
of Archibald M Willard's famous painting
The Spirit of '76 (1876) of the
wounded fife-player, the drummer and
drummer-boy marching
to battle
with Old Glory waving behind
them. Don't miss seeing it for real, in
Marblehead's Abbot
Hall. More...
Old Town
Historic Marblehead, gathered around the
harbor, has narrow, winding streets lined
with quaint and noble houses, cafes,
chowder eateries and shops. This is the
Marblehead you come to see.
The Waterfront and Crocker Park
After a walk in the "downtown" part
of Old Town, make your way down to the
waterfront and Crocker
Park, on a hill at the western end of Front Street.
Relax on one of the benches and admire
the panoramic view of the harbor and the
town. Bring or buy a sandwich,
and have a picnic here. The view is unforgettable.
Fort Sewall
From Crocker
Park, walk east along Front Street, past
its
little restaurants, boatyards,
and houses built on the rocks, to Fort
Sewall, an earthwork fortification
built in the 1600s and "modernized" in
the late 1700s to include barracks and
half-buried buildings, which still remain.
Fort Sewall is right at the mouth of the
harbor and offers a commanding
view of
the water
and of Marblehead Neck, at the other
side of the harbor's mouth, dominated by
a light.
This is another good picnic place, and
it's great for children, who will love
playing within the fort (where there
is little risk of falling into the water).
Fountain Park & Old Burial Hill
When
you're ready to leave Fort Sewall, walk
back along
Front
Street, turn right
on Franklin, then right again on Orne Street
to get to Fountain Park and Old
Burial Hill, where the town's first church meetinghouse
was built (it's gone now) and where ancient
gravestones mark the places of many of
Marblehead's earliest inhabitants and Revolutionary
War dead. Orne Street east of Fountain
Park leads to the beach.
Jeremiah Lee Mansion
The mansion, now owned by the Marblehead
Historical Society, was built
by a wealthy maritime merchant and furnished
with the best things money could buy in 1768—just
before the American Revolution.
More...
King-Hooper
Mansion
Built in 1728, with a Georgian extension
added in 1747, it is presently owned by
the Marblehead Arts Association,
which offers tours of four floors. Art
exhibits change each month. More...
