Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1175260
NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 26 OCTOBER 2019 FAC E S + P L AC E S With its boat-filled harbor, white church spires, and charming tree-lined downtown that is now ablaze in fiery hues of orange, red, and lemon yellow, Manchester- by-the-Sea epitomizes your classic Normal Rockwell town with its Instagram appeal. In addition to being snug and walkable, it has seven beaches along its coast and five towns hugging its border—Beverly, Essex, Gloucester, Hamilton, and Wenham. "There is no other place like Manchester- by-the-Sea because this small coastal town is quintessentially as quaint as it gets," says long- time resident Holly Fabyan, a vice president at the local real estate firm J. Barrett & Company. "In addition to scenic water views, the town has ample conservation land for hiking and biking, fabulous downtown shopping and eat- ing, and all sorts of art festivals, concerts, and annual traditions, such as Easter egg hunts, July 4th and Veterans Day parades, and Santa's ride through town on a fire truck." Originally named Jeffrey's Creek, the picturesque community that celebrates its 375th anniversary in 2020 first belonged to the Algonquin Indians, who sold it to early settlers drawn to the area's sheltered harbor, fishing opportunities, and land for planting. In 1645 the town officially changed its name to Manchester and became populated with dozens of merchant sea captains who traded with Europe and the Far East. From the 1820s to the Civil War, Manchester excelled in furniture making, due to the quality of the region's timber. When the Union Navy blocked civil ports, however, the town's 160 cabinetmakers all went out of business. But Manchester still had cool ocean breezes and water views not found in sweltering cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and New York. Soon, wealthy urbanites began building lavish summer "cottages" along the coast. Actor Junius Brutus Booth (the older brother of the man who shot and killed President Lincoln) even built Masconomo House, a 106-room hotel overlooking Singing D A T E O F S E T T L E M E N T 1629 D A T E O F I N C O R P O R A T I O N 1645 A R E A 18.3 square miles P O P U L A T I O N 5,429 Z I P C O D E 01944 M E D I A N H O U S E H O L D I N C O M E $ 105,500 THE DETAILS FAC E S + P L AC E S Beach complete with tennis courts, bowling allies, billiard rooms, and a grand dining room seating 300 guests. By the early 1900s, celebrities and dignitar- ies were flocking to Manchester, including President Taft (and later Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt), inventor Alexander Graham Bell, and 11 foreign ambassadors, who moved their embassies to Manchester in the summer of 1904. Over the next several decades, Manchester became less of a sum- mer town and more populated with families eager to live year-round on this picturesque Black Arrow is right downtown. Above, the coastal town is full of history.