Marblehead Harbor, c. 1763, Ashley Bowen

Set on the rocky shores of northeast Massachusetts, Marblehead is alive with over 375 years of history, including tales of rugged fisherman and intrepid mariners, enterprising merchants and skilled craftsmen, self-reliant women and courageous seamen.

The town was founded in 1629 as a commercial fishing operation. In 1660, in an official report to the English king, Marblehead was acclaimed as "the greatest Towne for fishing in New England."

For most of the first decades, its earliest settlers were primarily from England’s West Country. They were a unique mixture of non-conformists whose hardiness and seafaring adventures brought prosperity to the town by the mid-1700s. A vigorous shore-based industry of rope-makers, sail-makers, ship’s block-makers, carpenters, and others supported the fishing and shipping fleets from the mid-1600s through the mid-1800s.

Marblehead mariners were crucial participants in America’s War for Independence, serving General George Washington and his army in several pivotal and famous operations on both land and sea. General John Glover’s Marblehead Regiment transported the Continental army across the Delaware River for the surprise attack on Trenton and rescued 9,000 men with horses and equipment from the British on Long Island.

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