10 i, | NORTH SHORE BREEZE and Reminder 
~ 
Fuly 14, 1916. 
Where Shipping Once Flourished. 
town, regarding whose limits there have been more argu- 
ments than would confound the far-famed Philads"phia 
lawyer. Moreover, they still continue, and doubtless 
will as long as the name persists, for be it known, it 1s 
not a complimentary epithet, and thereby hangs a tale— 
the first that we will tell you. 
Sturdy, stout-hearted men were the fisherfolk of 
Marblehead; simple, kindly jsouls, ‘who ‘worked from 
sunup to sundown, with now and then an hour or two 
at the Fountain Inn for a bit of grog and a story. Pirates 
there were in the town, though well concealed, and s1 ug- 
glers, and many a bale and cask came in without weigh- 
ing or sealing. But only by the work of their hands, with 
rod and net, lived the fishermen. But rivalry will always 
be and in communities of few interests jealousies and 
misunderstandings grow apace. Farther up Great Bay, 
which is now Marblehead Harbor, the work of  ship- 
building was competing for first place among the indus- 
tries of the town and there was anything but a kindly 
feeling between these workers and the fisherfolk here 
in the vicinity of Little Harbor. Bickerings became open 
cuarrels and “‘shipyarders” ‘found straying about this 
section were promptly “rocked aroun’ the corner” or 
“squaeled up,” which in either case means stoned, and 
fishermen visiting the “shipyard” were treated in a like 
manner. It was then, so the story goes, when feeling 
ran high, that the name of Barnegat was given to this 
section. It was the name of a small coast town in the 
Isle of Jersey, from which island many of the early 
settlers of Marblehead had come. There wrecks were 
frequent and the inhabitants not averse to profiting there- 
by, and so it suited admirably the intention of the “ship- 
yarders” to fasten upon the fisherfolk the odium of 
thievery. 
Such is the story of the origin of the na ne. Whether 
it be true or not, it still clings to this part of the town 
and directions often include the phrases, “Down barne- 
gat” and “Up the shipyard,” although the shipyard has 
long since ceased to be. 
As to the limits. of Barnegat, that is a matter which 
has never been ‘satisfactorily settled. Residents out- 
side what they consider the odious boundaries say that 
it begins at the church on Washington street, but those 
within that territory claim ithat it is further “down 
town” at the corner of Orne street. Again, this is in- 
dignantly denied and Barnegat is said to be “at the 
foot of the hill,’ meaning here on Fishermen’s Beach. 
It cannot be pushed further unless we pass it on to the 
cove or the nearby islands, so the neighborhood of the 
(Continued to Page 56) 
Old Town House—A Landmark. 
A Bit of Old Marblehead. 
