NORTH SHORE MARINE PARK 
(Continued from Page 8) 
ficient capacity to meet navigation 
demands, 
The proposed marine park would 
prove of the same value to Essex 
County that the Charles River Park 
has to Boston and Cambridge. The 
park will be ineluded in’ Salem, 
Beverly, Peabody and Danvers ter- 
ritory, which has a population of 
87,475, and a valuation of $90,468,- 
628. 
Within a radius of six miles of 
the suggested park are located 
Lynn, Wenham, Hamilton, Lynn- 
field, Saugus, Manchester, Essex, 
Topsfield, Middleton and Marble- 
head. The population within the 
six-mile zone is in excess of 200,000 
while the valuation of the cities and 
towns within the specified radius is 
about $210,000,000. 
The population of Essex County 
by the last census was 436,477, and 
the valuation by the last appraisal 
published in the Legislative manual 
was $403,674,107. 
The advantage of the proposed 
park over existing conditions in the 
several waterways are too numer- 
ous for iteration at this time, yet 
with the miles of waterfront, 
thickly dotted with business estab- 
lishments and residences, it is easy 
to conjecture, if only from an eco- 
nomic standpoint, what the benefits 
would be to Essex County. 
Essex Bridge, which connects Sa- 
lem and Beverly, was built in 1788, 
and was regarded in its day as a 
triumph of engineering skill. It 
was opened to public travel Sept. 
24, 1788. It was praised by Brissot 
de Warville, who crossed it when 
just completed, and who returned 
to France to die by the guillotine 
in 1793. 
The structure was inspected by 
George Washington Oct. 29, 1789. 
By the draw in the bridge, which 
was originally lifted by man power, 
was the old seat described by Na- 
thaniel Hawthorne in his story, 
“The Toll-Gatherer’s Day.’’ 
The tollhouse at the Salem end of 
the bridge was a haunt of Haw- 
thorne’s in his evening rambles, and 
there he met the old shipmasters 
that frequented the place. 
It is worthy of passing mention 
that the attention of people 
throughout the country was called 
to an industrial enterprise incepted 
86 years ago with the contemplated 
operations on and near North 
River. 
An attempt was made by seventy 
wealthy citizens, including Hon. B. 
W. Crowninshield, Leverett Salton- 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
25 
stall and Dudley L. Pickman, to 
greatly augment the industries and 
trade of Salem, and with that ob- 
ject in view plans were adopted for 
the construction of a dam across 
the mouth of North River, and in 
connection with it a series of mills 
for manufacturing purposes. 
A plan which involved the expen- 
diture of $500,000 was to secure 
power by tide water power by 
means of a ‘‘full’’ basin and a ‘‘re- 
ceiving’’ basin. By this combina- 
tion, it was anticipated, mills would 
be kept running at all stages of the 
tide, and yet permit mills further 
up the stream, equipped with or- 
dinary tide water machinery to 
keep in regular commission. 
The plan provided that the re- 
ceiving basin should be Collins 
Cove, some distance east of North 
River, and that water should flow 
to the river through a eanal. The 
theory of securing power was en- 
tirely new, yet the plan failed to be 
practically worked, the reason 
claimed by the promoters being 
that owing to the general stagna- 
tion of business, it was not advisa- 
ble to make further venture. 
Thus ended one of the most vis- 
lonary industrial movements in this 
country. The promoters of the 
North River Dam, subsequently 
made investments in mill privileges 
on the Merrimac River, and greatly 
assisted in building up Lowell, 
Lawrence and Manchester, N. H., as 
manufacturing centers. 
From the time that the Puritans 
landed on Massey’s Point, now the 
foot of Skerry street, Salem, the 
people of the North Shore have 
been mindful of the commercial 
importance of the several rivers in- 
eluded in the proposed marine 
ark, 
Shipbuilding, the fishing business 
and coastwise traffic was extensive 
until within the last few years. At 
present the commerce of Danvers 
is considerable. 
Previous to 1788 the only public 
way of travel from Salem to Bev- 
erly was by _ ferryboat. Many 
feared when the present Essex 
bridge was proposed in 1787 that it 
would endanger commerce on the 
several rivers and gave rise to 
strong party feeling and much ex- 
citement. 
The convenience of a draw in 
the structure for vessels to pass 
through was not thought of by 
many, and it was not until much 
discussion on the merits of the 
bridge, that sentiment became of 
sufficient vigor to prompt a major- 
ity of the voters to declare in favor 
of the enterprise. 
So far as known, the building of 
the bridge never caused any injury 
to shipping interests on the several 
rivers included in the proposed ma- 
rine park, and engineers contend 
that no trouble will be experienced 
by the construction of a concrete 
dam with locks. 
For many years following the 
settlement of Salem, North River 
extended to a-point now occupied 
as the site of the B. & M. R.R. de- 
pot in Peabody. A large shipyard 
was located above Grove street, 
near the Salem and Peabody bound- 
ary line. The stream was later 
filled, so that at present only a 
canal exists from the depot in Pea- 
body to North bridge, Salem. 
The original North bridge was 
built in 1742, or 46 years after the 
people of Salem began to agitate 
the need of a bridge over the river 
at this point. The bridge over Por-: 
ter River, on Liberty street, Dan- 
vers, was built in 1788, in order to 
get square with the promoters of 
Essex bridge. 
The Boston & Maine bridge over 
Danvers River, just west of and 
parallel with Essex bridge, was 
built 72 years ago. From the rail- 
road bridge charming vistas of 
water scenes and landscape toward 
West Beverly, the North Salem 
shore, sections of Danvers, inelud- 
ing Hathorne Hill, the site of the 
State Insane Hospital, are obtained. 
The views are greatly admired by 
passengers riding on trains. The 
views oceanward, which inelude 
Beverly Farms, Manchester, Mag- 
nolia, Salem Willows and Marble- 
head, are too familiar for reitera- 
tion.—Edwin C. Foster, in the 
Boston Globe. 
He only is rich who owns the days; 
and no one owns the day who al- 
lows it to be invaded with worry 
and fret and anxiety. 
—Emerson. 
Not what has happened to myself 
today, but what has happened to 
others through me—that should be 
my thought. 
—Frederick Deering Blake. 
Mr. Justrich—That there sculptor 
chap says he’s going to make a bust 
of me. 
Mrs. Justrich—Henry. it’s dread- 
ful the way you talk. Say ‘‘burst’’ 
notes Dust, : 
Teacher—Tommy, what is a co- 
quette ? 
_ Tommy—It’s a thing you: make 
out of what’s left of the stewed 
chicken, 
