Nahant () is a
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in
Essex County, Massachusetts
Essex County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the total population was 809,829, making it the third-most populous county in the stat ...
, United States. The population was 3,334 at the
2020 census, which makes it the smallest municipality by population in Essex County.
With just of land area, it is also the smallest municipality by area in the state and is primarily a residential community. The town is situated on a peninsula consisting of two near-islands (known as "Little Nahant" and "Big Nahant" respectively) connected to the mainland by a narrow sandy
isthmus
An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...
traversed by a single causeway known as "Nahant Road". Numerous tourist beaches line the shores, with the most popular being the so-called "Long Beach" and "Short Beach" along the eastern side of the causeway.
History
The area around Nahant was inhabited for thousands of years prior to
European colonization of the Americas
During the Age of Discovery, a large scale colonization of the Americas, involving a number of European countries, took place primarily between the late 15th century and the early 19th century. The Norse explored and colonized areas of Europe a ...
, but little is known of this period until European records began to document the area in the early 1600s.
In 1605,
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...
interacted briefly with native people in Nahant and remarked that "all along this coast there is much cleared land sewn with Indian corn."
By the 1630s at the time of English colonization, the seat of "Sagamore James" of the
Naumkeag people, Naumkeag, known in his own tongue as
Montowampate
Montowampate (c. 1609–1633) was the Sachem of the Naumkeag or Pawtucket in the area of present day Saugus, Massachusetts at the time of the Puritan Great Migration. The colonists called him Sagamore James. He was one of three sons of Nanep ...
, was at the outlet of the Saugus River overlooking Nahant,
though the island itself may have been controlled by a sachem Poquanum, known to English settlers as Blacke William or Duke William, who around 1632 gave permission to Thomas Dexter to use the island in exchange for an English suit. The word Nahant may mean "at the point," or "twin islands," or it may refer to an important local person named Nahantum.
The peninsula was first settled by English colonists in 1630, in the second year of the
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
coming: the servants of
Isaac Johnson grazed his cattle on the land, and it was also often used by citizens of
Lynn for grazing
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
,
sheep
Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...
and
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...
s. Although not a separate town until 1853, Nahant was listed as one of thirty "noted Habitations" in New England by William Wood in 1633, and Nahant Poynt appears labeled on a map of the Massachusetts coastline from 1639.
Before 1800 there were only three homes on the island: those built by the Breeds and the Hoods, and the Johnson home built by Jeremiah Gray. The first hotel was built by one of the Johnsons 1802, and in 1817 a
steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...
ran daily between
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
and Nahant. The town was originally part of Lynn; when the
temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...
threatened the summer resort trade in 1853, Nahant incorporated as a separate town. In the late 19th century, it was home to some of the country's first
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
s, as well as a popular summer retreat for the wealthy, including the poet
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...
. The geologist
Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history.
Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...
was a resident and the artist
William Stanley Haseltine produced many versions of his oil painting 'The Rocks at Nahant'. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, East Point was the site of a
coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.
From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...
battery. It is now a town park, and location of the Marine Science Center for
Northeastern University
Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...
.
Development
The old
Nahant Life-Saving Station (NLSS) on Nahant Road and the new War Memorial erected across the street from the NLSS were renovated in 2004.
In 2003, the dilapidated Valley Road School was refurbished and re-commissioned as the Nahant Community Center, which is now home to many local activities and banquets, including the local
Boy Scout
A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...
Troop 50.
On September 25, 2005, the Town of Nahant officially commemorated the completely rebuilt Bailey's Hill Gazebo as the Calantha Sears Gazebo. The original was built for the
bicentennial __NOTOC__
A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to:
Europe
* French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...
in 1976, and over the years had fallen into disrepair. With funding from the Woman's Club of Nahant and collaboration with the town of Nahant, local residents contributed to its reconstruction. Besides the cement base, the only remaining piece of the original is the wooden cylinder in the center of the roof, which still bears the "1976" emblem—repainted by Nahant resident Octavia Randolph.
Geography and transportation
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 93.24%, is water. Nahant is a
tied island
A tied island or land-tied island is a landform consisting of an island that is connected to the mainland or another island only by a tombolo, which is a spit of beach materials connected to land at both ends. St Ninian's Isle in the Shetlan ...
connected to the mainland by a natural
tombolo
A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. It is a deposition landform by which an island becomes attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar. Once attached, the island is then known as a tied island. The word ''t ...
, effectively a peninsula though often referred to as an "island". Nahant is connected by a
causeway
A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...
to the city of
Lynn. The town is surrounded by Nahant Bay to the east, Nahant Harbor to the south, and Lynn Harbor to the west, all of which lead directly into
Broad Sound and Massachusetts Bay. The town is essentially divided into a main portion and Little Nahant, just north of the main portion of town along the eastern side of the causeway. The area along the west side of town, between Black Rock Point and Bass Point, is the most densely settled part of town. There are ten beaches along the coastline, the largest being Nahant Beach and Long Beach, both of which line the eastern side of the causeway road north of Little Nahant. Included in these ten beaches is Short beach, one of the most popular sites in the town during the summer, only accessible through a Nahant beach sticker. The town also has a few small parks and the Kelly Greens Golf Course.
Nahant is just one of four towns out of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts (along with
Rockport,
Provincetown and
Aquinnah
Aquinnah ( ; ) is a New England town, town located on the western end of Martha's Vineyard island, Massachusetts, United States. From 1870 to 1997, the town was incorporated as Gay Head. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 439. Aquinnah ...
) that only touches one other town by land (
Gosnold and
Nantucket
Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...
do not touch any). Only touching a 400-yard portion of Lynn by land, the water rights of the town also touch those of
Revere,
Winthrop and
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, in
Suffolk County. Both by land and by sea, Nahant is the southernmost town in Essex County. The town is centered by land northeast of Boston, south of
Salem, and southwest of
Cape Ann.
The nearest state route is
Route 129, within Lynn. The nearest highways are a highway portion of
U.S. Route 1 in
Saugus and
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
and
Route 128 in
Peabody. The only mass transit within town is
route 439 of the
MBTA bus system, which loops within town before passing back into Lynn, providing access to
Central Square, home to a stop along the
Newburyport/Rockport Line of the
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track on 12 lines to 142 stations. It ...
, providing service between the North Shore and Boston's
North Station. Some 439 buses extend their service to
Wonderland, providing a connection to the
MBTA Blue Line. The nearest airport to town is Boston's
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...
.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 3,632 people, 1,629 households, and 970 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,704 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.11%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.39%
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.08%
Native American, 1.07%
Asian, 0.06%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.47% from
other races, and 0.83% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 1.07% of the population.
There were 1,629 households, out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.85.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 18.6% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $64,052, and the median income for a family was $76,926. Males had a median income of $52,045 versus $46,522 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $41,807. About 1.4% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 2.0% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Students attend grades preschool through sixth at Johnson Elementary School in Nahant. For grades seven through twelve, students attend schools in nearby
Swampscott. Circa 2016, there were 136 students at the Swampscott schools, including
Swampscott High School.
Arts and culture
* The peninsula is the subject of
Lydia Sigourney's poem
Nahant published in Scenes in my Native Land, 1845, together with illustrative text.
* The
Henry Cabot Lodge House, a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
at 5 Cliff Street in Nahant
*
Greenlawn Cemetery, a historic cemetery
* Nahant Historical Society Museum, located in the Nahant Community Center
* Northeastern University Marine Science Center, located at East Point, also home to Nahant's observatory. Martin Scorsese filmed the lighthouse scenes for the movie
''Shutter Island'' here in the summer of 2008.
* The World War II Bunkers. Located inside Trimountain and East Point, they were initially designed to defend
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, located adjacent to Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the Northeastern United States.
History 17th century
Since its dis ...
and the surrounding waters from a possible attack during the war. During the Cold War, the installation at East Point housed
Nike missiles intended to stop a nuclear attack on Boston.
Annual events
* The annual Fourth of July fireworks
* Started in 1996, the annual Nahant
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
Parade is one of the biggest celebrations the town of Nahant puts on.
* The Memorial Day Parade is a day of homecoming for former Nahant residents who gather each year to watch the festivities, which includes the playing of Taps at the cemetery, and cannon fire at Tudor Wharf.
In popular culture
* Nahant appears in the 2015 post-apocalyptic RPG ''
Fallout 4''.
* Nahant was the basis for the fictional town of Lovecraft, Massachusetts, featured in the Eisner comic series ''
Locke & Key'' by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King. Some fictional locations in the book were based on landmarks in Nahant.
* The narrator of ''Sarah's Key'', a novel by Tatiana de Rosnay, was Miss Nahant in her youth.
* Nahant is the main setting in the novel ''An Ocean Full of Angels: The Autobiography of 'Isa Ben Adam'' by Peter Kreeft.
* Nahant, and Nahant Beach, are mentioned several times in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "The Village Uncle."
Notable people
*
Cleveland Amory (1917–1998), author and animal rights activist
*
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (1902–1985), politician, born in Nahant
*
Barbra Fuller (1921–2024), actress, born in Nahant
[DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960'', pg. 100, McFarland & Company, Inc. .]
*
Jason Mantzoukas (born 1972), actor, born in
Lynn and raised in Nahant
*
Glenn Sherlock (born 1960), baseball player and coach
*
Frederic Tudor
Frederic Tudor (September 4, 1783 – February 6, 1864) was an American businessman and merchant. Known as Boston's "Ice King", he was the founder of the Tudor Ice Company and a pioneer of the international ice trade in the early 19th century. H ...
(1783–1864) and family - their summer home is now the Nahant Country Club
Image gallery
Image:1825 NahantHotel byPenniman BostonMonthlyMagazine.jpg, Nahant Hotel, from '' Boston Monthly Magazine'', 1825. Engraving by J.R. Penniman
Image:Maolis Garden at Nahant, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views 2.jpg, Maolis Garden, 19th century
Image:Rock temple, Maolis Garden, Nahant, Mass, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg, Maolis rock temple, 19th century
Image:Group of people on the porch of a house emblazzed with the words "Our House", from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg, "Our House", 19th century
Image:Nahant view from airplane.jpg, Aerial view of Nahant, as seen from an airplane
Image:40 steps edited.jpg, Forty Steps
References
External links
Town of Nahant official websiteMarine Science Center for Northeastern UniversityNahant Historical Society
{{Authority control
1630 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Populated coastal places in Massachusetts
Populated places established in 1630
Tombolos
Massachusetts placenames of Native American origin