Sites with Online Resources

Explore heritage sites around Essex County with online resources you can engage with from home.

Check out this important resource for primary sources and teaching resources in Essex County: Using Essex History

AMESBURY
Amesbury Carriage Museum - The Amesbury Carriage Museum is a small organization that champions the history of Amesbury industry and people.

"Researching People and Place" online resources
Amesbury in the Library of Congress Digital Collections - You can search - Amesbury, Essex County, Mass - or dive into the catalog by subjects. The Historic American Building Survey includes material about Lowells Boat Shop, the Powow River Bridge, and others. Two favorite sources are the 1890 Bird's Eye View of Amesbury, and the 1914 Amesbury Aero-view.
Amesbury in the Digital Commonwealth - Photographs from the 2018 Mass Memories Road Show and the 1880 Birds Eye View of Amesbury can be found in this collection.
Amesbury in MACRIS - this is a database of historic resources surveyed by the historical commission throughout Massachusetts. While it is not comprehensive - it is impressive how many buildings and other features in Amesbury can be found here.

Lowell's Boat Shop - Established in 1793, Lowell's Boat Shop is the oldest operating boat shop in America.

Whittier House and Museum - A National Historic Landmark and tribute to the Quaker poet and the anti-slavery champion who made outstanding contributions to the life and literature of this country.

ANDOVER
Andover Center for History and Culture - The Andover Center for History & Culture gathers and shares Andover’s stories to deepen connections between people and their community.

Discover Andover's Stories with online collections

Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology - Today’s Peabody Institute employs collaborative learning to actively engage students, teachers, scientists, and Native Americans with the institute’s significant archaeology and anthropology collections, while also encouraging and enlivening cultural discourse on race and gender.

Browse the archives of the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology

Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy - The Addison Gallery’s collection of American art is one of the most comprehensive in the world, including more than 23,000 objects spanning the 18th century to the present.

Browse the collection

BEVERLY
Historic Beverly - Sharing Beverly history with everyone through collections that encompass three houses, five centuries, and thousands of stories.

BOXFORD
Boxford Historical Society - The Boxford Historical Society strives to preserve the history of our town by connecting it to present day.

Read more about the Holyoke-French House

DANVERS
Danvers Historical Society - To educate present and future generations of the public about the history and development of that geographical area encompassing the original Salem Village and the Town of Danvers, Massachusetts.

Explore some of the collections of the Danvers Historical Society

Rebecca Nurse Homestead - The Rebecca Nurse Homestead sits on 25+ acres of an original 300 acres occupied by Rebecca Nurse and her family from 1678-1798. The property holds the traditional saltbox home lived in by the Nurse family. This is the only home of a person executed during the trials open to the public.

Danvers Archival Center at the Peabody Institute Library - The Danvers Archival Center is a department of the Peabody Institute Library of Danvers, Massachusetts.

Explore the online resources of the Danvers Archival Center

ESSEX
Essex Shipbuilding Museum - The Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum provides a center for education, preservation, and study of traditional wooden shipbuilding and the community that supported it for more than 350 years.

Cogswell's Grant (Historic New England) - A must-see for lovers of American folk art, Cogswell’s Grant was the summer home of renowned collectors Bertram K. and Nina Fletcher Little.

GEORGETOWN
Georgetown Historical Society/Brockelbank Museum - Incorporated in 1962, the Georgetown Historical Society presents programs of general historical interest for its members and townspeople throughout the year.

Genealogy resources

GLOUCESTER
Cape Ann Museum - Founded in 1873 as the Cape Ann Scientific and Literary Association, today the Museum is a vibrant cultural center that includes galleries, an auditorium, library/archives, a children's activity center, two sculpture gardens and three historic homes.

Hammond Castle - Sitting high on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, the castle brings together a unique combination of art, architectural elements and culture, backstopped by many innovative technological applications, yet unknown and unseen by the visitor.

Maritime Gloucester - To inspire students and visitors to value marine science, maritime heritage and environmental stewardship through hands-on education and experiences.

GROVELAND
Groveland Historical Society - Maintains a museum that collects and archives information and artifacts to share with the community through its museum displays and educational programs.

Explore historical sites in Groveland

HAMILTON
Asbury Grove Historical Society - Supports Asbury Grove through education, highlighting the conservation of our architectural heritage, preservation of our archives, fundraising activities, and encouraging community participation in sharing this ongoing story.

Patton Homestead and Family Archives - the former home of two famous American generals – General George S. Patton Jr. and his son Major General George S. Patton IV.

HAVERHILL
Buttonwoods Museum - to collect and preserve history, and to educate the community about Greater Haverhill's past and culture.

Explore some of the collections at the Buttonwoods Museum

Whittier Birthplace - The Whittier Birthplace, located on its original site, is an outstanding example of an old New England farm. It is substantially the same as when the Poet lived there from 1807 to 1836.

IPSWICH
Ipswich Museum - To preserve Ipswich’s social, cultural, and architectural history – with the goal of making these treasures more accessible, more relevant, and more connected to our day-to-day lives.

Publications of the Ipswich Historical Society

Castle Hill on the Crane Estate (The Trustees) - Experience the grandeur of a seaside estate and its marvelously landscaped grounds, notable for a broad, undulating lawn running down to the shore.

Wolf Hollow - Wolf Hollow, aka the North American Wolf Foundation, is a 501(c)3 non-profit wolf sanctuary and educational facility where visitors are given a unique opportunity to meet the resident gray wolves.

Check out more about Wolf Hollow including videos and live-streams of the wolves

LAWRENCE
Lawrence Heritage State Park - The exhibits in the Visitors Center, a restored 1840s boarding house, tell the stories of Lawrence's mill workers, including their role in the 1912 Bread and Roses Strike.

Lawrence History Center - Founded in 1978 as the Immigrant City Archives, collects, preserves, shares, and animates the history and heritage of Lawrence and its people.

LYNN
Lynn Museum/Lynn Arts - Founded in 1897 to collect, preserve and illuminate the city’s remarkable history. The museum has evolved into a vibrant cultural center, expanding its footprint to include the LynnArts building.

LYNNFIELD
Lynnfield Historical Society - To preserve and maintain the Old Meeting House built in 1714, and collect and record the history and progress of the town of Lynnfield

MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA
Manchester Historical Museum - founded in 1886 to serve the entire community through the preservation of irreplaceable town records and artifacts, its research capability and commitment to education.

Watch previously recorded lectures of the Manchester Historical Museum

MARBLEHEAD
Marblehead Museum - The Museum’s three properties and its preeminent collection serve as the catalysts for programming that connects individuals to the past and present, broadening their perspectives and understanding of Marblehead and the wider world.

MERRIMAC
Merrimac Public Library - The Merrimac Public Library is a member of the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium (MVLC), an alliance of over 35 public libraries serving the Greater Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts.

Online resources

METHUEN
Methuen Historical Society - Committed to protecting and maintaining the rich historical character of Methuen.

MIDDLETON
Flint Public Library - To inform, enrich, and empower every person in the community by creating and promoting easy access to a vast array of ideas and information, and by supporting an informed citizenry, lifelong learning and love of reading.

Online resources

NAHANT
Nahant Historical Society - The mission of the Nahant Historical Society is to acquire, preserve, and interpret artifacts of Nahant, Massachusetts.

NEWBURY
Swett-Ilsley House (Historic New England) - First property acquired by Historic New England. The original portion, built in 1670 by Stephen Swett, was one room deep, and later additions more than doubled the size of the house.

Dole-Little House (Historic New England) - Dole-Little House was built c. 1715 with materials salvaged from an earlier structure. Its first owner was Richard Dole, a cattleman, who built a two-room, central-chimney house with a small kitchen shed at the rear.

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm (Historic New England) - The 230-acre site includes a 1690 manor house that served as the country seat of wealthy Newburyport merchants and an attached farmhouse that was home to a Lithuanian family.

Baby goat live cam - Kid friendly! (no pun intended)

Coffin House (Historic New England) - Coffin House, occupied by the Coffin family over three centuries, reveals insights into domestic life in rural New England.

Sons and Daughters of the First Settlers of Newbury - Founded in 1927 by Anne Colman Moody, The Sons and Daughters of the First Settlers of Newbury is a genealogical society intent on the preservation of the history of Old Newbury

Articles and essays

NEWBURYPORT
Custom House Maritime Museum - Designed by Robert Mills, architect of the Washington Monument and U.S. Treasury Building, the Custom House was built in 1835 to facilitate growing overseas trade and tax collection of imported goods on the waterfront.

Blog: Ships Log

Museum of Old Newbury - Originally founded as the “Antiquarian and Historical Society of Old Newbury” in 1877, today the museum includes three historic buildings, a restored 19th century garden, and a robust collection of local documents, photographs, and artifacts ranging from furniture to paintings to clothing.

NORTH ANDOVER
North Andover Historical Society - Seek, Save, Share North Andover History

PEABODY
Peabody Historical Society - Preserving Peabody's history

History of Peabody

George Peabody House/Peabody Leather Museum - Birthplace of America's great philanthropist

Oral histories

ROCKPORT
Sandy Bay Historical Society - The community mission of Sandy Bay Historical Society is to collect, display, preserve and share the local history of Rockport, Mass.

ROWLEY
Rowley Historical Society

Phillips Library - The Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) is the Museum’s research library. It includes several hundred thousand printed volumes, a linear mile of manuscript collections, as well as thousands of logbooks, account books, diaries, printed ephemera, maps, photo albums and photographs.

Philcat - library's online catalog
- Lucy Larcom online books
- India related online books
- Slavery/Abolition in Salem online books
- Witchcraft online books
Internet Archive - 175 books, highlights include the American Neptune and Art Work of Essex County
Digital Commonwealth - Frank Cousins and Herman Parker glass plate negatives
Digital Collections - Witchcraft Papers, Ocean Liner Ephemera, and Salem Fire images
Finding Aids for archival collections
Adam Matthew Digital Products - open access through June 30; please contact research@pem.org for the login/password.
- India Raj and Empire (trial period)
- American Indian Histories and Cultures (trial period)
- China, America and the Pacific - including Clipper Ship cards, logbooks, and archival material
- Meiji Japan - Edward Sylvester Morse archival material

SALEM
The House of the Seven Gables - Designated a National Historic Landmark District in 2007, The House of the Seven Gables is best known today as the setting of world-renowned American author Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1851 novel.

Salem Maritime National Historic Site - America's first National Historic Site.

Peabody Essex Museum - The mission of the Peabody Essex Museum is to celebrate outstanding artistic and cultural creativity by collecting, stewarding and interpreting objects of art and culture in ways that increase knowledge, enrich the spirit, engage the mind and stimulate the senses.

History Alive, Inc. - Bringing the history of Salem, MA alive since 1992.

Radio-show style production of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Phillips House (Historic New England) - Built in 1821 by Captain Nathaniel West, the Phillips House is a Federal-style mansion on Chestnut Street in Salem.

Witch House - The Witch House was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin (1640–1718) and is the only structure still standing in Salem with direct ties to the Salem witch trials of 1692.

Pickering House - The Pickering House is not only Salem’s oldest House, but also America’s oldest Home: home to a single family for over three and a half centuries.

Historic Salem, Inc. - Historic Salem’s mission is to ensure that the historic resources of Salem, Massachusetts, are preserved for future generations and that new development complements the historic character of the city.

Salem Historical Society - The Salem Historical Society is an independent organization dedicated to the study, promotion, and preservation of Salem's history for the benefit of the community and its visitors.

Historical online resources: maps, 17th-century New England, useful links

Hamilton Hall - Hamilton Hall was designed in 1805 by Samuel McIntire and has been a vibrant part of the community for over two hundred years.

Salem State University Archives and Special Collections - The Archives and Special Collections Department of the Frederick E. Berry Library serves as a resource for the University and the public by collecting and making available historic materials on a variety of subjects.

SALISBURY
Salisbury Historical Society

SAUGUS
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site - Birthplace of the American iron and steel industry.

Saugus Historical Society - Begun in 1928, the purpose of the Saugus Historical Society is to cultivate an interest in the history of the town and collect and preserve all matter pertaining to the town's history and citizenry.

Boardman House (Historic New England) - Built in 1692 for the family of William Boardman, a joiner, Boardman House survives remarkably intact from its original construction.

SWAMPSCOTT
Swampscott Historical Society - The Swampscott Historical Society preserves the Sir John Humphrey House, shares local history and maintains an archive of local photo's, artifacts, etc.

TOPSFIELD
Topsfield Historical Society - The Topsfield Historical Society is dedicated to the study and preservation of the history of Topsfield Massachusetts.

Topsfield Town Library - The Topsfield Town Library can trace its origins to the first library that the Topsfield Library Society founded in 1794.

WENHAM
Wenham Museum - The mission of the Wenham Museum is to protect, preserve and interpret the artifacts of childhood, domestic life, and the history and culture of Boston’s North Shore.

REGIONAL RESOURCES
Save America's Clocks - Historic clocks in Massachusetts

Essex County Greenbelt Association - Story Maps

ADDITIONAL EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
United States Lighthouse Society - Lesson plans, Slideshows, kids activities - Kid friendly!

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