Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1115953
NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 26 MAY 2019 Donna Roy moved to Essex with her family when she was 11 years old. As an adult, she stayed in town to raise her own three children. Now her grown children have re- turned to start their own families in the place where they were brought up. And Roy wants everyone to discover what her family has known for so long. "I tell anyone shopping for a home, 'is is where you want to be,'" says Roy, who is the manager at e Essex Room, the banquet facility that is part of the iconic seafood restaurant Woodman's. "It has the best of what the surrounding communities have come to offer." Essex is nestled between a pair of neighbors with more name recognition—Ipswich and Gloucester. However, it doesn't have the expansive beaches that are such a draw for those towns, and it is a small community of fewer than 3,700 people. So visitors are sometimes sur- prised to discover the shopping, dining, and natural beauty hidden away in Essex. In fact, Essex has been a tight-knit commu- nity full of the unexpected since its very beginning. It was first settled in 1634 under the name Chebacco as part of the town of Ipswich. e people formed their own parish in 1679; local lore has it that the town's women built the meeting house after Ipswich authorities attempted to ban the construction by ordering that "no man" would be allowed to do so. Essex incorporated as its own town in 1819. And this year the town is celebrating its bicentennial with monthly celebrations. A packed ice cream social kicked off the festivi- ties in February, and a progressive dinner, a food truck festival, and a winter solstice celebration are all on the calendar for later in the year. A parade and fireworks in August will be the centerpiece events. While this is a year of celebration, the sense of community in town is not limited to special D A T E O F S E T T L E M E N T 1634 D A T E O F I N C O R P O R A T I O N 1819 A R E A 14.1 square miles P O P U L A T I O N 3,687 Z I P C O D E 01929 M E D I A N H O U S E H O L D I N C O M E $ 109,327 Schools: Essex Elementary, Manchester-Essex Regional Middle (in Manchester), Manchester-Essex Regional High (in Manchester) New Kids on the Block member Jonathan Knight, musician and actor Evan Dando, colonial political leader John Wise S C H O O L S N O T A B L E R E S I D E N T S THE DETAILS PHOTOGRAPHS, TOP TO BOTTOM BY ELISE SINAGRA, BY FAWN DEVINEY FAC E S + P L AC E S Woodman's is a popular seafood spot. Antiques shops abound in this town.