Marblehead

Originally part of Salem, Marblehead was incorporated in 1649. It’s been called Massebequash, Marvell Head, and Marble Harbor. Old Town is located between the colonial-era residential and retail areas, while the Barnegut neighborhood is from the Little Harbor to Dolliber’s Cove area.

Explore

Ambrose Gale house, 17 Franklin Street. PRIVATE home. Ambrose Gale lived here in 1692 when he accused Wilmott Redd of being a witch. Built circa 1663.

Marblehead Historical Commission, 188 Washington Street. Abbot Hall includes the town offices as well as museums and archives for the MHC.

Marblehead Museum, 170 Washington Street. Archives and online collection.

Old Burial Hill, 50 Orne Street. Walkway at Redd’s Pond and a stairway at the intersection of Orne and Pond streets. The hill was first used for burials in 1638; it’s also the site of the 1648 meeting house. In 1998, the town of Marblehead placed a cenotaph for Salem witch trials victim Wilmot “Mammy” Redd (d. 1692) next to her husband’s grave. Online tour. Slideshow Art of the Tombstone.

Redd’s Pond, at the intersection of Pond and Norman streets. Wilmot Redd lived in a small house next to Old Burial Hill on the southeast corner of the pond. The pond was later named after her.

Research

Abbot Public Library, 235 Pleasant Street. The Marblehead Room includes maps, histories, genealogies, and clippings.

Online Books & Records

History and Traditions of Marblehead by Samuel Roads, Jr. (1880)

Marblehead in the Year 1700 by Sidney Perley

Old Naumkeag: an historical sketch of the city of Salem, and the towns of Marblehead, Peabody, Beverly, Danvers, Wenham, Manchester, Topsfield, and Middleton by Charles Henry Webber and Winfield S. Nevins (1877)

Vital records of Marblehead, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849 (births)

Vital records of Marblehead, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849 (marriages, deaths)