Your Guide: Marblehead Before and After 1813

Tour Marblehead this weekend and learn about her rich history. 

The tours start at the main entrance to Abbot Hall at 188 Washington St.  Suggested donation is $5 per person, toward a planned future architecture website for Marblehead.

Learn about Marblehead and its social history, economy, and changes in its built environment during and after the Revolution, through the War of 1812, and ending at the nation’s Centennial in 1876 when Abbot Hall was built.

On Saturday, Aug. 31 and on Monday, Sept. 2, Labor Day, from 9 to 11 am, a “Spirit of ’76” tour will discuss conditions in Marblehead and in the field during the Revolution, using the writings of John Glover and others from the time. The tour marks the anniversary of the privateer Hannah, commissioned September 1775 and ends at General John Glover’s house on today’s Glover Square.

On Sunday Sept. 1 and Sunday Sept. 8, from 3 to 5 pm, a “Marblehead before and after 1813” tour will explore life and homes in Marblehead after the Revolution, when the town was still the tenth largest in America. The tour will explain Marblehead’s difficult recovery after 1783 to the War of 1812, followed by economic improvement in the 1830s and an architectural and social transformation, until the great September gale of 1846 and construction of Abbot Hall 30 years later. 

The last “First Saturdays” tour about Marblehead’s development in the 1600s will be Saturday,  Sept. 7 from 10 am to noon, starting at the corner of Beacon and Norman Streets, by Doliber’s Cove, passing Maverick’s Cove, and ending at Franklin Street. 

Two tour presentations will also be part of Essex National Heritage Area’s Trails & Sails event the last weekend in September.

For further information contact 781-631-1762 or go towww.MarbleheadTours.com.