Being from New England, especially being from the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts. However, I tend to forget the abundance of history in the area. I often think that Western Europe has a monopoly on world history. Due to its history it spans centuries. However, I forget the whole story of New England. Also, I tend to neglect the historic North Shore region of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts is known as the de facto capital of New England. However, the city of Boston is the official capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In addition, Boston was the county seat of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. In any case, most county commissioners' offices were abolished in 1998, 1998, and 2000 in Massachusetts.
Only a few counties still have a Commonwealth commissioner board, such as Plymouth County. Furthermore, the county attorney's office, the sheriff's department, deed commissioners and the county tax office remain. It's just not a commission they report to. Either way, they report to the governor's office on Beacon Hill instead.
During the day, the Suffolk County Commission gave executive authority to the Boston City Council. However, the only other three cities in the county are Revere, Chelsea and the city of Winthrop. In addition, the latter has actually been a city since 2004.
Chelsea was ruled as a strong mayor and city council form for local government throughout most of history. Though, for a brief period in the early 20s th century, the city was run by a city council and a leader. The time period was after the first major Chelsea fire.
However, it will then permanently switch back to a city council and leadership form for local authority. That was after the city came out of reception in 1996.
The History of Boston, Massachusetts
Revere is run by a strong mayor and city council form for local governments, as is Boston. However, the Boston City Council has recently issued a proposal to change the city charter again. The last change was in the early 1980s. The potential future change will give more power to the legislative branch. It would then remove it from the executive branch.
When people generally think of New England or Massachusetts, Boston is usually the first municipality that comes to mind. However, much has happened in the surrounding regions or suburbs.
Originally, the suburban towns and cities of Boston were small farming communities or thriving mill towns. Furthermore, in after World War II, highways were built for many years, which were during the urban emigration. In addition, the surrounding regions opened up with massive development and urban sprawl. Rt 128 became a high-tech corridor and Rt. 495 became a defense industry corridor. The surrounding counties became more populous, such as Essex (north of Boston), Middlesex (west of Boston) and Norfolk (south of Boston).
North Coast
Essex County, and the region, is known for being very historic. Salem is best known as the historic city of Salem, especially the downtown areas, Pickering Wharf, Salem Willows and Winter Island. Meanwhile, Cape Ann, made up of Gloucester, Rockport and Essex, is historic. In addition, Ipswich is known for the birth and perfection of fried clams. Saugus is also known as Iron Town, due to Saugus Iron Works.
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, I tend to overlook the history of New England and Massachusetts. However, I especially overlook the history of the North Shore of Massachusetts. The region is my hometown of Revere's direct neighbor. Although the big recession years of the 2010s and the early 2020s pandemic have changed my view of the historical value of the North Shore. I would like to share the historical value of the North Shore with my readers, which is a rough diamond.
North Shore region of Massachusetts
I will begin the article with a general description of Greater Boston's North Shore. North of Boston reported that the North Shore region is approximately 30 minutes from Boston and Suffolk County, or the junction. The area ranges from small inns to large hotels, which also include more than 5,000 rooms or rooms. In addition, the area includes lighthouses, museums, historic homes and beaches along the Atlantic coast of the United States.
Essex County, Massachusetts is the radius that goes from Boston, or Hub, and Southern New Hampshire. Another name for the region is the North Shore of Massachusetts.
Lawrence County is a former mill town that was an early industrial center in New England. Ipswich is known for its Ipswich-fried clam. In addition, Salem is known for the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. All three cities are known cities and towns located on the North Shore.
Another North Shore community is Marblehead, the world's Yachting Capital. In addition, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy were born in the concentration.
Within Essex County
NewEnglandTravelPlanner reported that some of the highlights in the region include
Manchester By the Sea, Rockport, Gloucester, Ipswich, Essex, Marblehead and Historic Salem, Massachusetts. In addition, Manchester By the Sea is a charming and historic beach community. Rockport is a concert city and a well-known artist colony. Ipswich is known for being the birthplace, which perfected the fried clam. Essex is known for its 35 antique shops and its former colonial trade with Africa and Asia. Marblehead is known for its yachts that dock at the historic harbor. Finally, the art of witchcraft draws flocks of tourists to the witch city on Halloween.
Salem Willows golden age
Salem Willows Arcade reported that Salem Willows is 35 acres with a pristine and historic waterfront park. In addition, the park itself is named after white willow trees. The trees were planted in richness in the radius. They were planted in 1801. Patients from a nearby smallpox hospital could then visit a shady walk.
However, in 20 th century, the area became glamorous and sparkling. Many Boston residents then flocked to the area to escape the congested area in the summer heat. Newly built trams took the urban population to the Essex County area. Revere Beach was a similar concept, which is part of nearby Suffolk County.
The neighborhood is associated with the jazz age. The jazz age happened in the first half of the 20s th century. A young Duke Ellington once performed at the Charleshurst Ball Room in 1923. However, the area's fame in the era would be cemented. Louis Armstrong and Count Basie also performed at the venue. The former site is now Willows Casino Arcade.
In the year 2021, Salem Willows Park is still a perfect summer getaway for families, locals and tourists seeking to escape the hustle and bustle of the day. In addition to its history, Salem Willows offers tourists the chance to experience many picnic spots, views of the North Shore coast and the historic Salem harbor, tennis or basketball courts, a public jetty where boats can temporarily dock, and a bandshell which is a performance area. In addition, the city of Salem owns and operates the historic 35-acre waterfront.
Nostalgic memories of the North Shore and Salem Willows
In the summer of 2007, just before I was in my first semester of college at North Shore Community College in Lynn, I first discovered Salem Willows. At the time, Salem Willows, or just Willows, was hosting the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival on their bandshell. Also, a ferry would sail from the pier and travel to the Boston Harbor Islands for at least one night during the summer.
I clearly remember walking the Willows board one night during the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival. Hobbs's Ice Cream Parlor is located at the end of the strip, which originally opened at the end of 19. th century. However, it is not the oldest ice cream parlor in Massachusetts. Richardsons has been around since 17 th century when the New England Dominion was an administrative union of British colonies under the royal crown.
When Salem Willows sand Essex County was in vogue
In its heyday, Willows was a pristine and fashionable part of the city of Salem and Essex County, Massachusetts. The boardwalk was a prestigious restaurant chain in the region, much like Hanover Street, Newbury Street or Tremont are in the Hub region of Massachusetts, or Suffolk County, today.
However, the area in the 1980s lost its glamor, prestige and allure. Crime rose, property values fell, and the area became dangerous or unsafe, much like the neighboring towns of Lynn and Methuen, the Lawrence and Haverhill area of the Bay State and county counties.
Either way, much like Revere Beach in Suffolk County, or Coney Island in Brooklyn. The area was rediscovered by the younger generations after the millennial renaissance. Life would then be financially rejuvenated in Salem Willows. The new borrowers could not afford the high hotel room prices in Cape Cod and the islands. Meanwhile, a similar trend occurred in other parts of the county and the region in the Commonwealth, such as Gloucester in Cape Ann.
The diamond in the rough
As I said at the beginning of the article, I'm from the Greater Boston area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Therefore, I tend to forget the history of the capital region. In addition, Greater Boston spans from Rhode Island to Southern New Hampshire, and Suffolk County to Worcester County, Massachusetts.
Also, I realize that Suffolk County does not have a monopoly on early American history. Nor does it have a monopoly over all periods of New England's history. Some of the historic sites and events that I did not mention in the article were in the regions around Boston, or the Greater Boston suburbs. For example, the Battle of Chelsea Creek (the first marine victory in the American Revolutionary War) took place in the adjusted town of Revere.
In addition, the first public beach in the United States is located in the waterfront suburb of Revere, located in the northern region of Suffolk County. Also, Lynn is the largest city in Essex County. In addition, it is known for its former textile district in the center which was largely engulfed in flames in 1982.
A similar district with scrap yards also became known as the Rag Shop District. However, it went up in flames twice in the early 20s th century and again in the early 1970s. I did not have time to explain these places and events further in the article. However, I will describe them further in future articles.
Evolution of Essex County and the North Shore region of Massachusetts
The county in the community I focused on most was Essex County. Cape Ann, Historic Salem, Saugus and Ipswich are a few very historic communities in the North Shore region. In addition, Salem Willows is a special historic neighborhood in a special historic town and county or region of Massachusetts.
I have never realized how lucky I am to live in a direct radius from a historical concentration. The North Shore is a region, county, and collection of many historic communities that form a very wide and wide range and corridor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The History of Boston, Massachusetts
Boston disrupts Essex County, and the North Shore disrupts Suffolk County. In the early 1960s, during the urban exodus, many Bostonians migrated to the north and south coasts of Massachusetts. In addition, the emigration was a result of the car, and the emergence of the highways.
Before the emigration, the north and south coasts were mostly small farming communities. However, there was a civilization, and a history of human settlement, in the North Shore before the early 1960s. Essentially, the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, the Saugus Iron Works and the invention and perfection of the Ipswich-fried clam were created and groundbreaking in the historic North Shore, generations before the mid-20s. The bottom line is that communities north of Boston, and south of southern New Hampshire, are diamonds.