Abbot Hall is a

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

and

historical museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

located at 188 Washington Street,

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends ...

.abbothall.org
/ref> It is open year-round, though with restricted hours in the colder months. Constructed in 1876 and designed in the Romanesque style by Lord & Fuller architects, the Hall is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as a contributing property in the historic district. It is the fourth "town hall" built in Marblehead, having been preceded by the First Meeting House(1638, Old Burial Hill), the Old Meeting House(1696), and the Old Town House (1727). Abbot Hall is named after a barrel maker and trader named Benjamin Abbot. When Benjamin Abbott died in 1872, he donated his fortune to the town of Marblehead. In addition to serving as the seat of Marblehead's town government, Abbot Hall has holdings as a museum. It contains the original c. 1875 painting '' The Spirit of '76'' by American

Archibald MacNeal Willard Archibald MacNeal Willard (August 22, 1836 – October 11, 1918) was an American painter who was born and raised in Bedford, Ohio. He was the son of Samuel Willard, the pastor of Bedford Baptist Church. Willard had an interest in art ever since ...

, which was widely reproduced; the 1684 deed to Marblehead signed by descendants of ''

Wenepoykin Wenepoykin (1616–1684) also known as Winnepurkett, Sagamore George, George No Nose, and George Rumney Marsh was a Native American leader who was the Sachem of the Naumkeag people when English began to settle in the area. Early life Wenepoykin w ...

,'' youngest son of

Nanepashemet Nanepashemet (died 1619) was a sachem and ''bashabe'' or great leader of the Pawtucket Confederation of Abenaki peoples in present-day New England before the landing of the Pilgrims. He was a leader of Native peoples over a large part of what is ...

, chief or

sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...

of the regional Pawtucket confederation of

Abenaki people The Abenaki (Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predom ...

s prior to Pilgrim settlement; a bust of native son and U.S. Vice-President

Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry (; July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat who served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison from 1813 until his death in 18 ...

; a painting of Marbleheaders rowing Washington across the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

during the American Revolution; a painting by primitivist J.O.J. Frost, and a number of other historical artifacts. A plaque on display in the Selectmen's room, discovered in the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...

, proclaims Marblehead as the "Birthplace of the American Navy."

Clock

The clock in the tower of Abbot Hall is a

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

#2S installed in 1877; it is governed by a pendulum escapement, driven by an weight. The clangor escapement is governed by a flutter vane assembly and is powered by a weight. The Bell was cast by Meneely & Kimberly in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

. Every week the maintenance workers ascend the tower to wind the movements. Local authors have featured the clock in numerous stories. "Cranking in Marblehead's Abbot Hall once more"
by William J. Dowd, The Marblehead Reporter

References

{{authority control City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Government buildings completed in 1876 Museums in Essex County, Massachusetts Maritime museums in Massachusetts Marblehead, Massachusetts Clock towers in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Massachusetts

Clock

See also

References