Lawrence and Salem are both the county seat for Essex County
Rockport is in Essex County
Essex County(339) ► ADJACENT TO ESSEX COUNTY Middlesex County(381) ► Suffolk County(531) ► Hillsborough County, New Hampshire(71) ► Rockingham County, New Hampshire(141) ►
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Named from a bear caught by the tide and killed in 1700. Commercial and shipbuilding center of Rockport for 160 years. First dock built here 1743. Sandy Bay Pier Company organized 1809. Site of Stone Fort and Sea Fencibles Barrack during War of 1812. — — Map (db m48007) HM
Answering a sudden alarm to meet at the house of Lieutenant Benjamin Tarr, grandson of Richard Tarr the first settler, sixty-six men from this village under Captain John Rowe, marched to Charlestown and fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. — — Map (db m73109) HM
This Cannon from The
U.S.S. Constitution
"Old Ironsides" Was
Presented to the Sandy
Bay Historical Society
By Descendants of The
First Settler, Richard
Tarr, and Dedicated
August 20, 1931 — — Map (db m36255) HM
The Project
This is the bell from the steeple of the First Congregational Church of Rockport. It is the bell that is rung hourly by the Town Clock, still owned by the Town of Rockport. It is also rung by means of a rope and bell wheel on . . . — — Map (db m115529) HM
Here stood the cabin of Richard Tarr founder of the Tarr Family on Cape Ann. He came to Marblehead in 1680, then settled in Sacco, Maine. Driven thence by Indians, he became the first settler of Sandy Bay (Rockport) in 1690. — — Map (db m48008) HM
Here stood the first framed house in Sandy Bay (Rockport) built in 1700 by the second settler John Pool. He built the first sawmill, bridge and vessel in this settlement, and furnished the lumber used in building Long Wharf, Boston, in 1710. — — Map (db m48842) HM
Original plot given by the first settler, Richard Tarr, who was buried here in 1732. Here lie most of the early settlers and many of the officers and soldiers of the French and Indian, Revolutionary and 1812 Wars. — — Map (db m48841) HM
Site of fort erected by public subscription as a protection againat British warships during the War of 1812, captured in a sneak attack and dismantled by frigate Nymphe. Ammunition gone, all nine seafencibles taken prisoner, the townsmen hurled . . . — — Map (db m36300) HM
These Our Dead In Honored Glory Rest
World War I
1917 1918
James E. Bryan R.C.A.
John A. Carlson U.S.A.
Dwight P. Dutton U.S.M.C.
Edward R. Everett U.S.A.
Harold T. Grover U.S.A.
Edward Peterson U.S.A.
World War II
1941 . . . — — Map (db m36282) HM
Due east from here on July 16 1605 the Sieur De Monts sent Samuel De Champlain ashore to parley with some Indians. They danced for him and traced an outline map of Massachusetts Bay. These French explorers named this promontory, The Cape of Islands. — — Map (db m74709) HM
Straitsmouth Island was first sighted in 1614 by Captain John Smith. He also spotted nearby Thacher and Milk Islands and named all three the Turks' Heads.
Lighting the Way
Built in 1834, the island's first lighthouse was 19 feet . . . — — Map (db m115515) HM
To the glory of God and in honor of the first settlers of Sandy Bay
The First Parish in Rockport was constituted in 1755. The corner stone of this meeting house laid in 1803. The tower was shattered by a British bombardment in 1814. . . . — — Map (db m73110) HM
Town Wharves
First timber wharf built in 1743 to shelter fishing boats. In 1793 62 vessels of 5 to 10 tons were sighted in Rockport Harbor. From incorporation of Sandy Bay Pier Co. in 1811 wharves were rebuilt and extended of durable granite blocks . . . — — Map (db m36262) HM
