Spirit Day features events at Abbot Hall & 4 more historic sites

(Photo courtesy of Lisa Indelicato.)

Abbot Hall is one of the five historic locations to be showcased during the celebration of Marblehead Spirit Day 2018 on Saturday, September 15, a day-long free event with special presentations by speakers and a wide range of activities from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Selectwoman Judy Jacobi will guide and showcase Abbot Hall’s renowned architecture, the famous “Spirit of ’76” painting in the Selectmen’s Office, and many important Marblehead historical artifacts. Jacobi was the fifth woman in the history of the town to be elected to serve. She co-chaired the 350th Celebration of the Town’s Incorporation in 1999, chaired the oversight committee of the 2012 Old Town House restoration and on the oversight committee for the 2014 renovation of the Abbot Hall Clock Tower. She is also president of the Old Marblehead Improvement Association and works with other members who live in the Historic District to keep the appreciation of Marblehead history and traditions alive.

Joining Jacobi will be Kathy Leonardson who views Marblehead’s Open Town Meeting as a living legacy and the purest form of democracy. She has served on the Marblehead School Committee, Marblehead’s 2450th Anniversary Committee, and on the Town Finance Committee.

Marblehead Historical Commission Chairman Chris Johnston and the Commission’s Associate Commissioner Pat Franklin will be the presenters in the Maritime Museum. The museum celebrates Marblehead’s naval history including its significance as the “Birthplace of the American Navy” and the “Birthplace of Marine Corps Aviation.” The Museum is based on the extensive collection of Dr. Raymond Cole which includes more of painter and illustrator Samuel H. Bryant’s maritime watercolors than any other museum.

Captain Ray Bates, a well-known Marblehead fisherman, scuba diver and author, will also be Abbot Hall. Bates has been diving since he was 16 years old collecting noteworthy artifacts from over 25 shipwrecks off of Marblehead, Salem and Swampscott.

There will also be an opportunity to learn about Marblehead’s unique history through focusing on the people who lived in the houses around Abbot Hall over the past 250 years. Maeve Rice grew up near Abbot Hall and will walk you through fascinating stories from wealthy ship captains to slaves escaping to freedom through the underground railroad who were hidden in Marblehead homes and then rowed out to boats waiting to take them to Nova Scotia. Rice gives 8th graders this same talk during Headers in History 8th grade tours. Rice is also on the Board of Directors of the Marblehead Museum.

In addition, plans are underway for an all day Children’s Festival in a tent on Abbot Hall’s West Lawn as well as for children’s activities at each site throughout the day.

A variety of speakers and activities will be featured at four more locations: Marblehead Museum and The Jeremiah Lee Mansion, The Old Town House and the G.A.R./Civil War Museum, Tucker’s Wharf, and Fort Sewall with Glover’s Marblehead Regiment and crew members from USS Constitution during the day.

Start at any of the five featured locations to receive a free nametag, guidebook and map. The presentations will begin every hour on the hour, but everyone is invited to tour the locations at their own pace.

There will be a lunch break between noon and 1 p.m. with ample time to visit local eateries and businesses. Or plan to bring a picnic to enjoy at any of the sites.

Now in its second year, Town Historian Don Doliber and educational historic tour director Libby Moore have developed this event to give all generations and their friends a chance to share the splendor of Marblehead.

The historic sites and activities are free and open to the public. Free parking will be available at Marblehead High School, 2 Humphrey Street, with free bus transportation to and from Marblehead’s downtown historic area.

For more information about this event, contact Libby Moore at 781-631-631-6733 or Don Doliber at 781-631-6938.