From the earliest use of the area by Native Americans, the Great Marsh has been an important part of daily life on the North Shore. Salt marsh haying, farming, fishing, shipbuilding, and the arts continue to link our past to the present.
The area around Essex Bay was colonized in 1634 by fisherman, farmers, and their families. The region was once famous for ship and dory building, which peaked in the late 1800s. Most of the shipbuilding was in support of the Gloucester fishing industry. The Essex Shipbuilding Museum and Lowell's Boat Shop tell the story of the Great Marsh's great boatbuilding tradition.
Prior to colonization by Europeans, the Great Marsh area was said to be controlled by Masconomo. According to The History of Byfield by John Louis Ewell, published in 1904, "When the white man came, all the territory from the Merrimack south as far as the North River of Salem and inland as far as Andover was subject to Masconomo, who (Governor) Winthrop terms "the Sagamore of Agawam ..." Today, Masconomo's memorial site is found atop Sagamore Hill in Hamilton.
Salt marshes were a tremendous asset to early colonialists and settlers. Salt marsh hay was used for insulation, roofing, and livestock feed and bedding. Salt marsh haying declined in the 1930s as farms switched primarily to upland hay. Today, salt marsh hay is almost exclusively used as mulch.
The following museums and organizations interpret the importance of the Great Marsh to our history and culture.
Society for the Protection of New England Antiquities
Cape Ann Historical Association
The Cape Ann Historical Museum in Gloucester features the largest collection of paintings and drawings by the painter Fitz Hugh Lane, and many other artists who were inspired by the region's light and landscapes. The Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport is officially designated an Essex National Heritage Area Visitor Center. The museum maintains original artifacts from the prosperous trade era including maritime art, models of Newburyport-built vessels, trades routes, journals and old maps illustrating the city's birth. The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities maintains the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury and the Cogswell's Grant property (c.1730) in Essex, providing wonderful examples of early settlement farming in the region.
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