Marblehead Museum

09/04/2026

On this , we're doing some laundry.

George Peach owned a commercial laundry on State Street on the bottom floor of what became Maddi's Sail Loft. George is pictured here with employees.

We don't know the names of everyone in this picture, but they include Gertrude Holden, Lena Perkins, Pauline White, Mamie Callahan, and May Perkins, and Kate Murray.

09/03/2026

On in 1783, the Revolutionary War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. This portrait by Benjamin West depicting the treaty is unfinished, because the British delegates refused to sit for the painting.

For Marblehead, it was an incomplete peace. The town faced a severe depression thanks to the war's disruption of trade routes and the loss of men and ships.

A visit from the Marquis de Lafayette in 1784 raised the town's spirits and reminded them of why they fought, but decades of hard work followed as Marblehead rebuilt its industrial center.

09/02/2026

Join us on Thursday, September 10 for a new talk on Marblehead's Loyalists, with historian Judy Anderson.

Tickets are available here: https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/marbleheadmuseum/items/754149/?full-items=yes

“I hope that I shall live to return, find this wicked rebellion crushed, and see the streets of Marblehead run with rebel blood.”

Those were Mary Robie’s parting words to Marbleheaders as she and her Loyalist husband, Thomas Robie, left their home at 137 Washington Street, seen here, for Nova Scotia in 1775.

Their flight followed a campaign of persecution against Loyalists who refused to support boycotts of British imports like tea and silk. Anderson will reveal a softer side to Marblehead's most notorious Loyalist and his family.

09/01/2026

On this , take a look at this letter by John Glover in our current exhibition, Voices of Independence: Marblehead in the Revolution.

After Glover submitted his resignation in 1779, he wrote this letter to his daughter, Hannah, looking forward to life beyond the battlefield.

He tells Hannah of plans to visit her in April, and offers her advice on raising her children: "You must be kind and tender to them. Keep them constantly in school. They must not be kept in the streets; if they do it will infallibly spoil their pretty faces."

Voices of Independence is on display Tuesdays-Saturdays from 12-4pm at 170 Washington Street through December 24.

09/01/2026

Last weekend, we had a very special visitor in the Brick Kitchen: Elbridge Gerry's great great great great grandson!

It was his first trip to Marblehead in many years. He's pictured here, at left, with our new director Dan Marshall!

08/30/2026

Local favorite Judy Anderson will return to the Marblehead Museum's JOJ Frost Gallery on Thursday, September 10 for a new talk on Marblehead's Loyalists.

About twelve heads of households held Tory sympathies in Marblehead, the sixth most populous town in British North America. What inspired them to support the Crown over their fellow colonists? Anderson will reveal their motivations, their actions, and their fates. Some of the Loyalists featured in the talk include Robert "King" Hooper, Thomas Robie, Jacob Fowle, and more.

Tickets are available here: https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/marbleheadmuseum/items/754149/?full-items=yes

08/30/2026

On in 1830, the town voted to build a 20 foot lighthouse on a rocky point of Marblehead Neck. The lighthouse is pictured here, with the lightkeeper's cottage next to it. The original light was fueled by whale oil, and the lighthouse stood until it was torn down to construct today's Marblehead Light, erected in 1895.

08/29/2026

On in 1776, Glover's Regiment evacuated Washington's army from Long Island after 10 hours of skilled rowing past a British fleet of 10 frigates and 20 gunboats. Read more about the daring escape in this article from the U.S. Naval Institute

https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2024/march/john-glover-and-george-washingtons-amphibious-regiment

It was early in the American Revolution—August 1776—and the Americans had driven the British out of Boston to regroup in Canada.

08/27/2026

August is . Many of Marblehead's prominent black citizens in the 18th and 19th Centuries were its business owners. Check out this video below from the Marblehead Racial Justice Team about Joseph and Lucretia Brown, whose tavern near Redd's Pond was the site of celebration, conviviality, and a certain delicious cookie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyYu503-R8Q

This is the first installment in a planned series of historical vig...

08/26/2026

Happy National Dog Day from the Marblehead Museum