NORTH SHORE BREEZE and Reminder 13 
to port, claiming that it was through his agency that many 
a sailor was saved from a watery grave. At the further 
end of the point stands a very attractive summer home 
known at the Wharf House. This was used many years 
ago by Mrs. Grace Oliver and is now the home of her 
daughter, Mrs. Chester A. Dane. The name of the house 
is derived from the fact.that it stands on the site of some 
of the old wharves where the ships used to sail to the 
Grand Banks. On the house is a wonderful old figure- 
head placed in the eaves which was used originally on a 
Newburyport ship, while an odd devise from the keel of a 
ship is at the entrance to the port, and an eagle, also »nce 
adorning a ship, is now a prominent feature over the 
door. 
There are other figure-heads on this same point in the 
Peabody garden where a wonderful collection has been 
made of these old-time relics which are now features of 
a rose garden. Some of these have very interesting his- 
tory. The entire point is the home of summer guests, 
while during the winter months it is given over to snow 
and rain, a desolate but wonderfully interesting part of 
the old town of Marblehead which has its place in history. 
At the farther end of the harbor is the home of W. 
Starling Burgess, son of the builder of the first cup de- 
fender. ‘This house occupies the site of one of the most 
historic spots along the shore. Here the first shipyard 
of Marblehead was established and it is no uncommon 
thing, even today, to find old piles showing where the 
wharves once stood. At the rear of the house is an old 
well. ‘Tradition says it was originally used by the old 
fishermen on account of the purity of its water and they 
came here to fill their casks when starting on a long voyage 
around the Horn. 
The historic associations of old Marblehead hold un- 
bounded interest to the lover of the past as does the land- 
locked harbor that directly fronts the town, delighting the 
yachting enthusiast. In the early days clumsy dories and 
ships of fisher-folk were built for use rather than beauty 
and so staunch that they withstood the heavy seas of the 
Grand Banks. In the early days Marblehead was essen- 
tially a fishing hamlet and her people had little thought 
beyond the means of earning a livelihood. As early as 
1636 it was voted that the rights of the fishermen to the 
land of Marblehead should be limited to a house lot and 
garden lot, or ground for the placing of their flakes. 
Isaac Allerton, an active and enterprising merchant 
settled here with five sailing or fishing vessels, and con- 
ducted a thriving business until banished from the place 
by a vote of the General Court in March, 1635. ‘The ad- 
jacent waters at that time were teeming with cod, haddock, 
mackerel, herring, bass, and other varieties of fish, and in 
a letter written in 1629 it was stated that sixteen hundred 
bass were taken at a single draught while the schools of 
mackerel were so numerous as to extort exclamations of 
astonishment from everybody. Statements sent to Eng- 
land attracted the attention of enterprising merchants 
there, and Mathew Cradock, the Governor of the Massa- 
chusetts Company, and others established houses and fish- 
ing stages at Marblehead as early 1633. Annually, they 
sent their vessels and men to catch and cure the fish here 
during the summer months, and return to England 
with their cargoes later in the season. As time went on, 
the fishing business steadily increased, and the master of 
every boat was ordered to brand his name on each barrel 
or cask of mackerel he packed under a penalty of twenty 
shillings. 
At length, the industry began to decline, until at the 
present time it is little more than a memory. Swan-like 
yachts have superseded the dingy dories, and the old 
wharves have been put to new uses. 
The list of Massachusetts racing skippers is a long 
one, and there are many, even among the amateur contin- 
gent, who are of cup defender calibre. There are no bet- 
ter race courses in the world than are to be found in 
Massachusetts Bay off Boston Light, and especially off 
Halfway Rock at Marblehead. Indeed, so favorable is the 
latter spot that it has been suggested as being a suitable 
place for sailing the international races. 
The old town has in many respects retained its early 
aspect. ‘To be sure, the old type of inhabitant is fast 
disappearing, yet the same loyalty and unison that has 
always characterized the people still exists, and the older 
part of the town presents unchanged the same quaint 
houses and crooked streets. 
THE HARBOR, MARBLEHEAD 
