THE NAHANT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Nahant has been a summer resort since long before the white man reached our New England shores. The local Indians would spend theur winter inland at Saugus, but when the weather grew warm, the sun shone and the sea sparkled, they would move to the 1.06 square mile peninsula of Nahant to spend a happy simmer playing on the beaches and harvesting the bounty of the oceans. The white mab used Nahant as pasture land for cattle and as a picnic found for centuries, but it was almost empty of permanent residents until the early part of the 1700’s. At that time, several Quaker families, principally farmers and fisherman, lived there and opened their homes to visitors for meals and accomodations The Whitmey Homestead, c. 1717 was the earliest of these houses, and is still in existance, the oldest building in Nahant. Beginning in 1815, the rich merchants of Boston, discovered its nearness to Boston (buy sea) and ist summer charms, and built summer residences there. A large and internationally known hotel was constructed at East Point in 1823 and attracted many prominent and fashionable figures of that era. The Civil War put an end to the great hotel and Nahant ‘s period of early fame. Then, until the depression of the 1930’s, it was a resort for conservative Boston families and for other folk who arrived by steamboat, horse-drawn “barge” or trolley for a relaxing visit to the sea-side. The Maolis Gardens, one of the first amusement parks in the country, brought many to Nahant through the 1850-90 years. The Bass Point area was renown for seafood restaurants and a “Mid-Way”. In 1853, Nahant was separated from Lynn and incorporated as a town, the smallest in the Commonwealth.

Nahant has many continuing reminders of its exposed location in the ocean just north of Boston. Many of the great summer houses remain as a testimony to its popularity as a resort. The picturesque town wharf harks back to the steam-boat era. The Coast Guard station on Short Beach was the launching place of surf boats to rescue ship-wrecked mariners. (The lighthouse which once crowned Egg Rock has been removed) In World War II, Baileys Hill and East Point were transformed into an immense gun battery to defend Boston. After the war, both areas had Nike missile sites.

Nahant also has maby distinguished public buildings. There are two churches: a Roman Catholic church on Nahant Road and the Protestant Village Church on Cliff Street, which combines the summer “Boston” church of 1868 with a chapel which recalls the contribution of the permanent residents. The mortuary chapel in the cemetery was designed by Ralph Adams Cram and built during the 1920’s as a memorial to the Johnson family, one of the most distinguished and prolific of the permanent families of Nahant. The Nahant Public Library, which was dedicated in 1895, contains the 1819 collection of books, given to the town by early summer visitors. The Town Hall, another handsome building, dates from 1912.

Nahant, the first fashionalbel summer resort north of Boston, celebrated its one hundred and twenty fifth year of its existance as a separate town in 1978. Twelve hundred houses hold the four thousand present day residents, all whom enjoy living in this lovely little town in the midst of the sea.

The Nahant Historical Society, established in 1975 as part of the Bicentennial celebration, is headquartered at the former Fredric Tudor homestead, now the Nahant Country Club-and is open to the public twice weekly during the summer month in addition to regular meetings.