HISTORICAL REFERENCES: MASSACHUSETTS. 709 



XAHANT. 



NAM ANT IX 1033. The f .[lowing description of the hum on which Nahaut stands was written ill 1(533: 



" ' Vjion the South side of the Saiidy Reach, the Sea bi atcth, which is a true prognostication to presage storuies and 

 fnule weather, and the breaking up of the Frost. For when the stortue hath been, or is likely to be, it will roare like 

 Thunder, being beard sixe milts ; and after storoies casts up great stores of great. Clammes, which the Indians, taking 

 out (if their sbcls, carry home in baskets. On the North side of this Hay is two great Marshes, which are made two 

 by a pleasant River, which runties between them. Northward up this river goes great store of Alewives, of which 

 they make good Red Herrings; insomuch that they have been at charges to make them a wayre, and a Herring house 

 to dry these Herrings in ; the last year were dried some 4 or 5 Last [150 barrels] for an experiment, which proved 

 very guild ; this is like to prove a gieat iurichment to the laud, being a staple commodity in other Countries, for there 

 be such innumerable companies iu every river, that I have seen ten thousand taken in two hours, by two men, with- 

 out any weire at all saving a few stones to stop their passage up the river. There likewise come store of Basse, which 

 the English aud Indians catch with hooko aud line, some fifty or three score at a tide. At the mouth of this river 

 ruunes up a great Creeke into that great Marsh, which is called Rumuey Marsh, which is four miles long and two miles 

 broad, halfe of it being Marsh ground, andhalfe upland grasses, without tree or bush ; this Marsh is crossed with divers 

 creekes, wherein lye great store of Geese and Duckes. There be convenient Ponds, for the planting of Duck coyes. 

 Here is likewise belonging to this place divers fresh Meddowes, which afford good grasse, and foure spacious Ponds, 

 like little Lakes, wherein is good store of fresh Fish, within a mile of the Towiie ; out of which runnes a curious fresh 

 Broocke, that is seldom frozen, by reason of the warmness of the water; upon this stream is built a water Milne, aud 

 up this river come Smelts aud frost fish, much bigger than a Gudgeon."" 



TIMS CLAM INDUSTKY IN T 1712. Beyond the above little is known of the early history of Nahaut. The following 

 item from Lewis & Newhall's History of Lyiiu shows that the waters of Nahaut furnished great quantities of clams: 



" 1712. This year, all foe shells, which came upon the Nahaut beaches, were sold by the town, to Daniel Brown 

 aud William Gray, for thirty shillings. They were not to sell the shells for more than eight shillings a load, contain- 

 ing forty-eight bushels, heaped measure. The people were permitted to dig aud gather the clams as before, but they 

 were required to open them on the beach, and leave the shells. Th;.- house in which I (Newhall) was born, was plas- 

 tered with lime made from these shells." 



NAHANT IN RECENT YEAKS. For many years tins romautic spot has been famous as a seaside resort. Handsome 

 summer houses gradually replaced the fishermen's huts that once dotted the shores, until now there is scarcely a spot 



where the fishermen can congregate. One vessel owned here is employed for a part of each year in the lobster fishery. 



t 



LYNN. 



LYNN FROM 1633 TO 1857. William Wood wrote in Ki33: "The laud aftbrdeth to the inhabitants as many 

 varieties as any place else, aud the sea more ; the Basse continuing from the middle of April to Michaelmas (September 

 29) which stayes not half that time in the Bay (Boston Harbor); besides, here is a great deal of Rock cod aud Macrill, 

 insomuch that shoales of Bass have driven up shoales of Macrill from oue end of the sandy Beach to the other ; which 

 the inhabitants have gathered up in wheelbarrows. The Bay which lyeth before the Towne, at a lowe spriug tyde 

 will be all llatts for two miles together; upon which is great store of Muscle Banckes, aud Clam bauckes, and Lob- 

 sters amongst the rockes and grassie holes." 



In the early part of the year 1031 the resources of Lynn were very limited. We are told by Lewis and Newhall 

 that " provisions were very scarce, and many persons depended for subsistence upon clams, ground-nuts, aud acorns. 1 ' 



In the next year the town authorities passed an order whereby the fish, bass, and nlewives could ascend the Sau- 

 gus River to the Great Pond. This order, dated October 3, aud recorded by Lewis and Newhall, reads: 



" 1G32, October 3: It is ordered, that Saugus plantation shall have liberty to build a ware npou Sangus R\ ver; 

 also, they have promised to make, and continually to keepe, a. goode foote bridge, upon the most convenient place 

 there." 



This weir was chiefly built by Thomas Dexter, for (he purpose of taking bass and alewives, of which many were 

 dried aud smoked for shipping. 



The following additional facts, recorded by Lewis and Newhall, show the condition of the fisheries from 1G33 to 

 1657: 



"At a town meeting on the 12th of July, 1033, Edward Richards testified that Mr. Tomlins 'was not to stop or 

 hinder the a'ewives to go up to the Great Pond.'" 



And in ll'i-iO the following was a condition in a deed of property : "To allow sufficient water in the Ould River 

 for the 1 Alewive to come to the wyres before the Grantor's house." 



A sin ilnr petition to that permitted for the benefit of the people of Saugnswas also granted in favor of the people 

 of Reading in response to their prayer of October 3, 1879, viz: "That the alewives might be permitted to come up 

 to Reading pond, as before; that they might find no obstruction at the iron works, but 'come up freely into our 

 ponds, where they have their natural breeding place,'" which was granted. 



In lGi.ll) immense numbers of great clams were thrown upon the beaches at Lynn by storms. The people were 

 permitted, by a vote of the town, to dig aud gather as many as they wished for their owu use, but no more; and no 



'History of Lynn by Lewis & Nowhall, p. 144. 



