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WINTER ISLAND HISTORIC & ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISTRICT
SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS
was accepted on AprU 14, 1994 for inclusion in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register is the nation's official list of buildings, districts, sites, structures,
and objects which retain their historical character and are important to our local, state, or national history.
The National Register was established under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
and is administered in the Commonwealth by the Massachusetts Historical Commission.
Michael Joseph K /nnolly ud h B. McDonough
Secretary of State State istoric Preservation Officer t
Chairman,Massachusetts Historical Commission cutive Director,Massachusetts Historical Commission
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Massachusetts Historical Commission
A Division of the Office of the Massachusetts Secretary of State
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NPs:For'&900 OMB.No. 10024-0018
d.: (Oct. 1990)
a
lgnited States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Registration Form
This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in How to Complete the
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or
by entering the information requested. If an item does not apply to the property being documented, enter"N/A" for"not applicable." For functions,
architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional
entries and narrative items on continuation sheets(NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items.
1. Name of Property
-historic name Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
other names/site number
2. Location
street & number Winter Island M not for publication
city or town Salem M Vicinity
state Massachusetts code MA county Essex code 009 zip" code 01970
3. State/Federal Agency Certification
As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this bnomination
❑ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of
Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property
11 meets ❑ does not meet the National Register criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant
❑ nationally ❑ statewide M locally. (❑ See continuation sheet for additional comments.)
Si ture of certifying official/Title Judit B. ..McDonoug t E ecutive Director
kla sachusetts Historical Commission, State Historic Preservation Officer
State of Federal agency and bureau
In my opinion, the property ❑ meets ❑ does not meet the National Register criteria. (❑ See continuation sheet for additional
comments.)
Signature of certifying official/Title Date
State or Federal agency and bureau
4. National Park Service Certification
I hereby certify that the property is: - Signature of the Keeper Date of Action
❑ entered in the National Register.
❑ See continuation sheet.
❑ determined eligible for the
National Register
❑ See continuation sheet.
❑ determined not eligible for the
National Register.
❑ removed from the National
Register.
❑ other, (explain:)
Winter Island Hist. & Arch. Dist. Bacpx Call ty, MA _
Name of Property County and State J,
5. Classification
Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property
(Check as many boxes as apply) (Check only one box) (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.)
ER private ❑ buifding(s) Contributing Noncontributing
119 public-local Cd district 12 10 buildings
❑ public-State ❑ site
❑ public-Federal ❑ structure 7 sites
❑ object 3 3 structures
objects
22 13 Total
Name of related multiple property listing. Number of contributing resources previously listed
(Enter "NIA" if property is not part of a multiple property listing.) in the National Register
N/A 1 (Fort Pickering: NR 1973)
6. Function or Use
Historic Functions Current Functions
(Enter categories from instructions) (Enter categories from instructions)
DEFENSE: coast guard facility, fortification DOMESTIC: institutional housing,
TRANSPORTATION: lighthouse, wharf single dwelling
DOMESTIC: camp, institutional housing, TRANSPORTATION: lighthouse
single dwelling LANDSCAPE: city park
INDUSTRY: processing site
7. Description
Architectural Classification Materials
(Enter categories from instructions) (Enter categories from instructions)
LATE VICTORIAN: Second Empire, Queen Anne, foundation Stone Concrete Block
Shingle Style walls Wood Brick Concrete Block,
LATE 19th & 20th CENTURY REVIVALS: Aluminum
Classical Revival
LATE 19th & EARLY 20th CENTURY AMERICAN roof Slate Asphalt
MOVEMENTS: Craftsman other
MODERN MOVEMENT: Art Deco
Narrative Description
(Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.)
Winter' island. Hist. & Arch. Dist. Essex County, MA
Name o1 Property County and State -
.S. Statement of Significance
Applicable National Register Criteria 'Areas of Significance
(Mark"x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property (Enter categories from instructions)
for National Register listing.) ARCHAEOLOGY: PREHISTORIC & HISTORIC
® A Property is associated with events that have made COMMERCE
a significant contribution to the broad patterns of MILITARY
our history. COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
❑ B Property is associated with the lives of persons EDUCATION
significant in our past.
SOCIAL HISTORY
IM C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics
of a type, period, or method of construction or
represents the work of a master, or possesses
high artistic values, or represents a significant and
distinguishable entity whose components lack Period of Significance
individual distinction. 3000 BP to 1943
M D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield,
information important in prehistory or history.
Criteria Considerations Significant Dates
(Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.) N/A
Property is:
❑ A owned by a religious institution or used for
religious purposes.
Significant Person
❑ B removed from its original location. (Complete it Criterion B is marked above)
N/A
❑ C a birthplace or grave.
Cultural Affiliation
❑ D a cemetery. N/A
❑ E a reconstructed building, object, or structure.
❑ F a commemorative property.
❑ G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance Architect/Builder
within the past 50 years. N/A
Narrative Statement of Significance
(Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.)
9 Major Bibliographical References
Bibilography
(Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.)
Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data:
❑ preliminary determination of individual listing (36 k] State Historic Preservation Office
CFR 67) has been requested ❑ Other State agency
* previously listed in the National Register* ❑ Federal agency
❑ previously determined eligible by the National Rl Local government
Register ❑ University
❑ designated a National Historic Landmark ❑ Other
❑ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey Name of repository:
# Massachusetts Historical Commission
❑ recorded by Historic American Engineering Salem Planning Department
Record #
*Fort Pickering: NR 1973
,I
Winter Island Hist. & Arch. Dist: Essex County, MA
Name of Property County and State-
10.
tate-10 Geographical Data
Acreage of Property about 45 acres
UTM References
(Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet.)
1 11, 91 1314, 612, 01 0 14171019161414 3 LIL91 13 14 1617, 010 14 17 11 10 12 10 10 1
Zone Easing Northing Zone Easting Northing
2 11, 91 13141 6141 01 0 1417110121410 4 11 f9 1 1314161710101 141710191716101
5 1 9 3 4 6 4 6 0 4 7 0 9 6 0 0 ❑ See continuation sheet
Verbal Boundary Description
(Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.)
Boundary Justification
(Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.)
11. Form Prepared By
Claire Dempsey, William Stokinger and Mary Beaudry-aaith Betsy Friedberg, NR Director
name/title and Leonard Loparto Staff Archaeologist MHC
organization
Massachusetts Historical Commission date March 1994 '
street & number 80 Boylston Street telephone (617) 727-8470
Boston 02116
city or town state MA zip code
Additional Documentation
Submit the following items with the completed form:
Continuation Sheets
Maps
A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location.
A Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources.
Photographs
Representative black and white photographs of the property.
Additional items
(Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items)
Property Owner
(Complete this item at the request of SHPO or FPO.)
name multiple
street & number telephone
city or town _. state zip code
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate
properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain
a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 of seq.).
Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated 10 average 18.1 hours per response including time for reviewing
instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect
of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127: and the Office of
Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Projects(1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503.
NPS F. 0-900. WO APp VW a IW18
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United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number 7 Page 1 Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
7. DESCRIPTION
The Winter Island Historic and Archaeological-District is composed-of the entire island of
about forty-five acres located in the City of Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts. The City
of Salem sits along the Commonwealth's northern Atlantic shore, just below the eastern
projection of Cape Ann. Its eastern border is formed by Salem Harbor and Marblehead, its
northern border by Beverly Harbor and the Essex Branch River, with Peabody to the west and
Swampscott to the south. Salem lies in a portion of Massachusetts coastline exhibiting
characteristic sequence of peninsulas and necks divided by river mouths and creeks. Three
rivers flow through the City, North, South, and Forest. The North and South rivers form a
large peninsula, and from this two necks project northward. Winter Island is situated adjacent
to the largest and easternmost of these, known as Salem Neck, and the remainder of Salem's
harbor islands are further off shore.
Winter Island is about half a mile long from north to south, and somewhat irregular in shape,
widest at the southern end where three points project into Salem Harbor. Its western shore
along Cat Cove is its smoothest, while the eastern shore is marked by a point at the north end
into Juniper Cove and a curving beach shore leading to the wider south end (See Figure #1).
The Island is now connected to the Neck by a causeway, but the short distance between them
was probably always above the low waterline. As late as 1864, a pond was located toward
the northern end of the island, in the vicinity of the Plummer School, but it was soon filled
(See Figure #2). Winter Island's shores are rocky and many are eroding; rock outcroppings
are common. Its soils fall into three categories, related to the historic activities here. The
Chatfield-Hollis-Rock Outcrop designation describes soils formed in glacial till, ranging from
well-drained, moderately deep soils on the rolling hills of the island's interior, to the
excessively drained shallow soils of its perimeter and around the exposed ledges. Udorthents,
soil that has been excavated and redeposited, and Urban Land, flat areas of disturbed soils,
are located here as well. The island's southern end is cleared and planted in grasses and
shade trees today, and much covered by asphalt associated with its present use as Winter
Island Park; this area is likely to have been landscaped during the Coast Guard occupation of
the area. The large central portion, the Plummer School parcel, is covered with grass and
scrub, with a denser stand of sumac at the northwest; formerly this area was plowed for the
school's gardens. The northernmost end of the island, that subdivided into small residential
lots for the Lowell Cottages, is covered by grass and shade trees. The elevation of the island
rises to form small hills on the island, that in the north reaching to about twenty-seven feet,
and three to the south on the east and west sides, reaching between twenty-seven and thirty-
three feet (Missio et al. 1992: 31).
(continued)
NPS Form 10.9�•T"
OMB Approval Ab.IWI 14 �
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i
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island historic and Archaeological District
Section number Page 2 Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
Human occupation of Winter Island dates to the period as long as 8,000 years ago and
continues today. During this extensive occupation, distinctive cultural manipulation of the
land and construction of structures and buildings on the land produced six sets of resource
categories. Prehistoric and Contact period occupation of the Island for habitation and marine-
based subsistence activities produced archaeological deposits reported for five sites and
confirmed from excavation at three of them. These include the Juniper Cove Site (Sketch
Map #7), the Plummer Farm School Site (Map #8), the Soccer Field 1 Site (Map #9), the
Coast Guard Station Site (Map #11), and the Fort Pickering Burial Site (Map #18). Similar
resource strategies continued with European colonization as the area was occupied by English
and New English fisherman and merchants in the 17th and 18th centuries. As their settled
occupation focused on the Salem harbor to the south, this area was designated for culturally
peripheral activities, beginning with its designation as a fish drying area and continuing with
such activities as the longstanding defense of the harbors, the storage of volatile gun powder,
the rehabilitation of volatile young boys, and finally in the late 19th and 20th century as a
park and respite from the city. The fishing and trading activities have left their mark at the
Derby-Powderhouse Wharf Site (Map #10), and these activities produced probable
archaeological sites elsewhere on the Island. Four building complexes dating to the 19th and
early 20th century are also found on the island: the NR-listed Fort Pickering (Map #18) and
its associated Lighthouse, first built in 1871 (Map #20), with the archaeological sites of both
Barracks (Map #19) and Lightkeeper's Complex (map #21), dating to 1863 and 1878
respectively; the Plummer School for Boys, first built in 1870 and its associated sites of
outbuildings (Map #6); the Lowell Cottages on the north end of the Island (Map #s 1-5),
dating to the late 19th century; and the Coast Guard Air and Sea Rescue Station (Map #s 1I-
17), first built in 1934. The Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District includes 12
contributing buildings, 3 contributing structures, and 7 contributing sites; as well as 10
noncontributing buildings and 3 noncontributing structures.
Prehistoric Archeological Sties
Winter Island has been identified as a location of surviving archaeological sites relating to the
occupation of the area from the Middle Archaic period of New England prehistory, or about
6,000 to 8,000 years ago. At present there are five known sites on the island, three of which
were confirmed in 1991. The first recorded site in the area was discovered in 1863, a burial
uncovered during expansion construction at Fort Pickering (Map #18). The next located site
was discovered by the avocational collector William Eldridge in 1978, whose finds from the
Plummer School (Map #8) are within the holdings of the Peabody Museum in Salem. During
the late 1970s the Peabody Museum of Salem conducted limited field testing on the island,
confirming the existence of prehistoric sites. Erosion of the shoreline at both the Plummer
(continued)
I
m410-930-a QNB pppp W 1Q1{AD18'
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number 7 Page 3 Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
School property and the Winter Island Park led to the discovery of the third (Juniper Cover,
Map #7) and fourth (Coast Guard Station, Map #11) sites during this survey. More extensive
testing in 1991 for an environmental review project, undertaken by the Boston University
Office of Public Archaeology (OPA), has added to the specificity and extent of knowledge --
about archaeological sites on the island. The two Plummer Home sites were confirmed, and a
third previously unknown site was discovered on the Plummer School property during the
survey (Soccer Field 1 Site, Map #39). The easy confirmation of earlier reported sites during
the environmental review process suggests that similar surveys of other portions of the Island
would confirm reported sites and likely discover others as well. (See Shaw in Mrozowski
1988 and Missio et al. 1992.)
The three recently confirmed sites are all located on the central or Plummer Home portion of
the Island, where little development and longstanding open land has served to preserve the
integrity of the archaeological sites. These sites were located during the 1991 intensive
archaeological survey of the 14 acre Plummer School by the OPA as part of a larger survey
of four proposed sites for the South Essex Sewerage District planned secondary sewerage
treatment plant and solids disposal facilities. The team of archaeologists began with the
identification of seven archaeologically sensitive areas (See Figure #2). Testing consisted of
the systematic siting and subsequent excavation of shovel test pits at ten-meter intervals,
along parallel transects ten meters apart, and occasionally supplemented by judgmental pits.
Excavation revealed the stratigraphy of the Plummer School area to follow the general pattern
known throughout New England. At the surface, top soil and the plow zone, or the A
horizon, are located to a depth of from 22 to 38 centimeters. Below these the B horizon of
this area extends to 46 to 53 centimeters below the surface. Excavation into the glacial C
horizon reached depths of 57 to 68 centimeters. A large number of artifacts, both prehistoric
and historic, were located within the areas A horizon. In addition to artifacts discovered
within the plow zone, that is within a strata that has experienced some disturbance since its
deposition, the testing of these sites revealed artifacts within the B horizon, indicating the
likely presence of undisturbed features as well. Sites located during this testing program
include the Juniper Cove site on the northeastern shore of the Island, the Plummer Farm
School site on the northwestern shore, and Soccer Field 1 site on the east shore further to the
south and probably crossing the property line into the Winter Island park parcel. No site has
been dated earlier than the Middle Archaic period and some artifacts suggest occupation
continued through the Contact period. Testing also revealed isolated artifacts which, while by
themselves not significant, testify to the sensitivity of the general area and by contrast
demonstrate the importance of the higher artifact concentrations of the sites. (See Mission et
al. 1992: 37-52 for this and below.)
(continued)
NPS Fa 10.900-¢ OMB Approval No.10Q 19
19x61 „
United States Department of the Interior r
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number 7 Page a Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
The Juniper Cove Site (Map #7) measures about 200 by 300 feet at its presently defined
extent and is located at the easternmost part of the island. The site was first identified during
surface collecting of an area uncovered due to shore erosion, which revealed a feature of
-. high-density debitage with a number of tool fragments-including a Neville-like point, a Small
Stemmed point, and a variety of edge tools, a pounding stone, small sherds of ceramics, and
glass beads. The survival of the site was confirmed during excavation within Area One,
defined as a broad open area adjacent to the eroding banks. Artifacts were collected from the
surface, including primarily felsite flakes, and a total of 47 test pits were added along eight
parallel transects oriented to the north and south; three additional pits were placed along the
edge of the bank. All but two of the pits yielded prehistoric artifacts, and the artifacts were
found along the bank in a dense concentration. This site appears to have also extended into
adjacent portions of Areas Two and Three, surveyed using a similar testing strategy along
nearby terraces. Diagnostic artifacts located at this time included a Small Triangle projectile
point, dating to the late Archaic and the Early Woodland period. A sample profile for Area
One includes three primary levels: dark brown fine sandy loam to a depth of about 22
centimeters, dark yellow-brown sandy loam and gravel to a depth of about 46 centimeters,
and a light yellow-brown fine sandy loam and gravel below. Most of the artifacts were
recovered from the first level or the A horizon, but an important proportion, 25%, including
the diagnostic Small Triangle, were located in the B horizon. This large survival from the
undisturbed second level argues strongly that this site retains integrity, and that further
excavation could reveal important archaeological remains and features.
The Plummer Farm School Site (Map #8) is located on the opposite western side of the
island, and was first identified by an avocational collector. Also located directly on the
water, there was no evidence of artifacts revealed in erosion along Smith's Pool. This site
measures about 300 by 700 feet on either side of Winter Island Road. This site was
confirmed during examination of sensitivity Area Five, identified due to earlier finds, and
Area Seven to determine the extent of the site identified in Area Five. Eight test pits in Area
Five revealed prehistoric artifacts, including a ceramic fragment and felsite and quartz flakes.
Of the sixty-four test pits dug in Area Seven in a dozen parallel transects, seven included
prehistoric artifacts, primarily felsite flakes, and six of these are located on the opposite side
of Winter Island Road from the finds in Area Five. A sample profile from Area Seven
includes a very dark brown medium-to-coarse silty sand in level one to a depth of about 36
centimeters, a dark yellowish-brown coarse silty sand in level two to a depth of 50
centimeters, followed by a dark brown coarse sand and decayed rocks in level three. The
majority of the artifacts excavated in this area were located within level one, and in
association with a heavy concentration of historic period artifacts. The B horizon here also
included a number of flakes, indicating high integrity of this site as well. The artifacts
(continued)
NPS
F.tasoo-a WS APPS rNo.roz ,8
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United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Salem (Essex County)
Section number 7 Page 5 Massachusetts
located, in particular a ceramic fragment, suggest a Late Woodland period of occupancy for
this site.
The Soccer Field '1 site was discovered during the 1991 archaeological survey during testing
with archaeological sensitivity Area Six, located on the east side of the Island, south of the
Juniper Cover site and along the parcel of the Winter Island Park property line. The site
bounds include all of Area Six, measuring about 350 by 150 meters. Twenty pits were
excavated in three parallel transects. Three of these included prehistoric artifacts, with a
concentration on the water side of the area. Artifacts included primarily felsite flakes as well
as a quartzite notched projectile point, dating the deposition to the Late Archaic period.
These artifacts were found within the level one plowzone, a dark brown medium silty sand
extending to a depth of about 32 centimeters, and in association with historic artifacts. The
discovery here again of flakes in the B horizon, here a level of mottled brown and dark
brown medium silty sand, confirms the integrity of the site.
In addition to these sites, reported sites on the park parcel of the island include the burial
uncovered at Fort Pickering (Map #18) during its Civil War expansion. A period description
of the excavation claims the site included "stone chisel, ten stone arrow heads, a thin oval
stone with two holes in it," as well as a portion of a steatite vessel and red ocher (Putnam
1865: 246-247). Surface collecting during 1980 by the staff of the Peabody Museum
confirmed the survival of some portion of this site. It is now believed to date from the Late
Archaic or Early Woodland period. Another shoreline site, the Coast Guard Station Site in
this case on the southwestern shore of the island, was discovered by the Peabody Museum
survey in 1980, when surface collecting discovered felsite flakes. These sites, and the likely
extension of the Soccer Field 1 site into the Park parcel, confirm the high potential for
archaeological sites throughout the island.
Historic Archaeological Potential
At least four separate activities from the colonial and early national periods have been
identified in the primary and secondary literature for this area, including fishing with
associated stages and wharves, shipbuilding, tavern-keeping, and fortifications. During the
entire 17th century and well into the 18th century, the area was designated for the "making"
or drying of fish caught off shore for re-transportation, probably to the West Indies, the so-
called Wine Islands, and the Mediterranean. Fishing stages would then have covered the
shore and land of the island, composed of wood scantling as drying racks, with sharpened
ends stuck into the earth. Habitations of any permanent nature were theoretically prohibited,
but even assuming some were constructed their likely construction would emphasize economy
(continued)
NPSFo I0M-a OMB Appwal Mo.bozo-Dore - .
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number Page 6 Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
and expediency. Still, the undeveloped nature of this area suggests that archaeological
remains of these activities may survive. Evidence of structural remains, including foundations
and portholes, would be useful to more fully date and describe these ephemeral features of
the archaeological record. Remains of occupation-related activities might also survive,
including tools and other equipment related to the drying of fish. Possible food-preparation
and consumption remains, water-supply and drainage features, as well as disposal areas
including trash pits and privies might also survive from this early historic period.
Although fishing activities from Winter Island are said to have fallen off during the second
quarter of the 18th century when the off-shore fisheries and the concentration of the fishing
industry accelerated, there is some evidence that wharfing activities then increased. The
cluster of wharves on the western or Cat Cove side of the island probably dates to this period,
and though they had disappeared by the early 19th century, they may be recoverable
archaeologically. The strongest evidence of this activity, however, may be at the site
described below, the wharf built by prominent merchant Richard Derby. Shipbuilding was
said to have occurred along this western shore as well during the 17th century, but the best
reported site of this activity dates to the construction of the Essex here in 1799. The site of
the construction of the large ship is reputed to be on the south shore of the Island, where
tools, ramps, and support structures, and construction-related debris may have survived
subsequent shoreline erosion. Eventually serving this area and for some time the settlement
at large was a reputed tavern, probably the structure with the highest impact prior to the
rebuilding of the fort. Its reputed location is at the northern end of the island, where the
subdivision is located, and evidence of its foundation, associated outbuildings, and privy or
well, might be recoverable in the open yards that remain. Intensive examination of sites of
similar early settlement and peripheral activity suggests they represent some of the most
difficult resources to locate and identify archaeologically. The high integrity for
archaeological remains already demonstrated for Winter Island heightens the importance of
the potential for recovery of these sites and features. (See Phillips 1937, Pinkham 1982,
Streeter 1898, and Welch 1898.)
The Derby-Powderhouse Wharf Site (Map #10) is located on the southwest shore of the
island extending into Cat Cove. While the development of the site for wharfage and
warehouse use dates to the 18th century and the lease of the property from the town by the
prominent merchant Richard Derby, the structural remains more likely date to its 19th-century
use for the storage of powder. Currently the remnants of the stone wharf are visible only at
low tide, and the powderhouse on the shore above is a ruin of a partial foundation and very
low walls. Nineteenth-century photographs of the powderhouse show a simple brick gabled
rectangle on a stone foundation set into a bank, with a wide door on the long wall facing the
(continued)
I
NFG Fonn 10.900.a "
OMB Apo ft.102.-0019
W�91
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Salem (Essex County)
Section number Page Massachusetts
water and a low frame ell in the rear (See Figure #4). Map evidence suggests that the wharf
was a shallow rectangle, and the south line and the top surface nearest the shore remain crisp
though the others have suffered serious erosion into the sea.
Fort Pickering and Fort Pickering Light
Nearly as early as the establishment of fishing stations was the siting on the eastern shore of
the island of a fort to assist in the defense of Salem Harbor. Although some confusion
remains about the earliest building of fortifications here, and the presence of other forts and
breastworks on the Neck, it is well established that this area was fortified since the 17th
century and throughout the colonial period, when it was known as Fort William and briefly as
Fort Anne. Renamed Fort Pickering (Map #18), the fort was remodelled along the latest
engineering lines during both phases of the construction of the First System of Federal fort
construction and again during the Civil War when the entire size was doubled. The eastern
part of the fort is the remnant of the First System fort, when the fort was a simple water
battery that took its shape from that of the point on which it stood. The fort was greatly
increased in size in 1863, when the western portion of the fort, the wet ditches, and the stone
apron were added, and the blockhouses and magazines rebuilt and expanded. During this
period when the fort was being remodelled, it was the only structure on the Island beside the
Powderhouse and Wharf (See Figure #2). The fort was rearmed during the Spanish-American
War but was then abandoned. The Fort was listing in the National Register of Historic Places
in 1973.
In addition to the earthworks, the fort included a barracks and several other small buildings
along the shore to the south of the fort. Apparently sold off in 1870, they were sited in an
reversed ell-shaped configuration, now covered in asphalt (Pickering Barracks Site, Map #19).
The barracks was a long low ell-shaped building, measuring about 25 feet in width and with
arms about 73 feet on the south and 63 feet on the cast. The other smaller buildings were
arrayed out from the two right angled arms of this structure. The small stable was located to
the south of the barracks and the officers quarters, measuring about 25 by 30 feet,to the west.
Arranged along the east were the 25 by 37 foot storehouse, the smaller prison, and the
guardhouse. These frame buildings are pictured, with militia tents, in Civil War era
photographs at the Essex Institute. Evidence in the records of the Plummer Home suggests
that the entire contents of the fort, including these small buildings, were auctioned off to the
highest bidder, including the barracks to the Home, in 1870. Archaeological remains from
this site might include foundations or postholes of the above-named buildings, as well as
some unlabelled elements on drawings that appear to be a privy and a well. Occupation-
related features, associated with these buildings and structures, and with the tents that were
(continued)
r•
raeoo.a awe AcG.oal Mo.roza-Dora •_
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Salem (Essex County)
Section number Page $ Massachusetts
erected on the surrounding ground, might be recovered in the form of trash pits and sheet
refuse.
Shortly after the war, improvements to Salem Harbor led to the construction of three new
lighthouses, including one just off shore from the fort. Fort Pickering Lighthouse (Map #20,
Photo #3) is characteristic of cast-iron construction popularized for lighthouse design during
the late 19th century. The lighthouse is located off the eastern side of Winter Island and Fort
Pickering at 42 31' 065' N, 70 52' 01' W, and sits above low water mark, but is surrounded
by water at high tide. The light could be reached at high tide by a narrow footbridge that has
recently been washed away. The lighthouse sits on a concrete base, and the 32-foot shaft
above is brick with an exterior sleeve of iron, typically composed of inch-thick rings. The
10-sided lantern is painted on four landward sides and is surrounded by an iron balustrade or
catwalk. Although a light was located here since 1871, this structure is believed to date
between 1887 and 1894. The sixth-order light is a fixed white light marker; in 1919 it was
converted from oil to electricity. The lamp within it at that time was described as a duplex
300mm lens with a 36-watt, 1115-volt S-19 lamp. Although the light was often tended from
the Plummer School, a lightkeeper's house and associated outbuildings were added on shore
from the light in 1878. Formerly sited inland from the eastern central shore (Lightkeeper's
Complex Site, Map #21), the house took the common frame, cross-gable form, of 1 1/2
stories in height, measuring 16 by 32 feet in the main block, with a 6 by 12 foot frontispiece
and a 16-by-16-foot rear shed-roofed ell; it contained six rooms. A carriage house stood to
the south and a shed/oil house to the west. During the Coast Guard's occupation of the
island, the Lightkeepers House served as the officers' club and was well maintained. The
lighthouse and the associated keepers buildings deteriorated after they were abandoned by the
Coast Guard in 1969, and the house and outbuildings were demolished with the World War
II-era structures at the station in 1977 by Y the Arm reserve. This recent demolition date
suggests that construction features of the buildings, notably their foundations, and perhaps
occupation-related material may also survive archaeologically. In 1982 the light station was
rescued through the efforts of the Friends of Pickering Light, who collected funds and with
volunteer labor set a new concrete base. In 1983 the station was re-lit and the next year was
listed as a privately maintained aid to navigation; now painted black and white, it was once
red. (See Fort Pickering Lighthouse Research Files, at Winter Island Park.)
Plummer Home Farm School .:
The twenty-one acre parcel of the Plummer Farm School within the central portion of the
island has experienced the smallest amount of historic-period development. Acquired from
the City in 1870 to house the reformatory school for young boys, the school continues in a
(continued)
II
NPS Fq 10.900. - OMB Approval No.IW18
@'99)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Salem (Essex County)
Section number 7 Page 9 Massachusetts ,
related function today as a residential treatment tacility tor mildly disturbed boys. I ne
present configuration of the building represents at least three phases of building and
remodeling. The frame building is rectangular in footprint on a fieldstone foundation and
three stories in height under a mansard roof, measuring ten irregular bays along the side -
elevations and three wide bays across the front (Photo #4). Although no views of the original
building survive, the original configuration is believed to have consisted of the front portion
under a gable roof and a portion of the rear ell. In 1874 the ell was expanded and the
mansard roof was added (See Figure #5). The entry on the facade of the building was
originally covered by a Tuscan-columned portico; a square bay window supported by square
paneled posts was added above it in 1897. The windows on the facade are capped six-over-
six double-hung sash, with a central double window of four-over-four sash in the center. The
mansard roof is fitted with pedimented dormers, each with a double window of two-over-two
double-hung sash. A wide cornice marks the junction of wall and roof, and the corners are
ornamented with paneled pilasters. In 1898 the ell was extended to continue the line of the
eastern side from front to back. A secondary entry, covered by a square post-supported porch
with balustrade, was located about halfway down this new wall, within bay six.
Some information about the historic plan is available from publications and records of the
school and can be seen in part at the school today. The front portion of the building reflects
the internal division into a front portion configured like a center hall, double-pile-plan house,
and the rear portion reflecting the service and additional spaces required of a large
institutional building. The basement story housed the heating plant for the building,
storerooms, and in the front the showers, lavatory, and toilets for the boys. On the first floor,
the front portion of the building reflects period residential planning themes, with a central
stair hall with turned heavy newel post and balusters, a large room on the east side and the
schoolroom on the west. On the second story, the front portion of the building housed the
apartment of the school superintendent, now including kitchen, living room, dining room, and
four bedrooms. In the rear, where now the boys have shared bedrooms, were shops and work
areas during the historic period. On the third attic story, the large open boys dormitory
occupied the front portion, with unfinished storage in the rear. With the expansion of the ell
in 1874, the workroom was enlarged; with the next addition to the rear, the dining room and
the schoolroom above were expanded. Modern alterations have changed the function of the
rooms more than their configuration, with the exception of the construction of smaller
bedrooms on the second story. Windows have been replaced on the eastern, water-facing
side, where large plate-glass picture windows have been installed to improve the views of the
rooms to the harbor; a deck was added adjacent to the secondary entry as well. .
(continued)
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No.182b 18 J
United States Department of the Interior ,
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Salem (Essex County)
Section number 7 Page 10 Massachusetts
Behind the school was an array of outbuildings, re-configured as time passed, and serving as
barn, stable, carpenter shop, and the pumphouse, for the school. The school's records suggest
that one of-these had been the barracks from Fort Pickering._Most were aligned across the _
back of the main school building, in a staggered row perpendicular to the school building
alignment. Only the rebuilt shed over the pump, now serving as a gazebo, survives today.
Recent archaeological testing has confirmed the existence of structural and occupational
remains, and located the several outbuildings, identified as the Plummer Home site. The
establishment of the Farm School here is partially responsible for the survival and integrity of
the extensive archaeological remains on the island. For some time the entire Island was
shared by the school with the fort and the light station, and not until the turn of the century
and the development of cottages on the northern end of the island and the Coast Guard
Station on the south was the school joined by many other occupants. Surrounding the school
today are open fields, used from 1870 until the 1950s as fields and gardens that gave the
school its name. While plowing and otherwise tending the market garden crops of the school
has undoubtedly caused some disturbance, other activities were of relatively low impact on
the land, and subsequent utility installation was minimal compared to the subdivision to the
north and the Coast Guard installation to the south. The pattern of land use on this large part
of Winter Island has served to preserve the integrity of known and potential archaeological
sites there.
The Lowell Cottages
At the north end of the island, closest to Salem Neck, is a small group of residences dating to
the end of the 19th century, related to the resort development nearby at Salem Willows and
known as the Lowell Cottages. This portion of the island was long associated with the so-
called Dustin-Allen-Derby Farm, a property whose bulk was located on the southeast shore of
Salem Neck where the farmhouse survives today. With the growth of the resort at Juniper
Point, this area was eventually sub-divided for sale in similar sized lots. Appearing first on
the Richard's Atlas of 1897, the land had been purchased the year before, and divided into
lots around a central cul-de-sac the year before. There were eight houses constructed a
decade later when the subdivision plan for four large eastern lots around the cul-de-sac and
thirty-two smaller lots along the straight portion of the road and the three short spurs to the
northern shore was executed. Two houses were subsequently moved or demolished, and two
more added on the east side of the cul-de-sac during the next decade. Construction on the
west end of the road dates to the post-World-War-II period, though it never reached the
density envisioned in the subdivision plan. The two houses believed to have been demolished
were located in the vicinity of modern houses, in one case on the lot next to the Abbott
House facing the water, structural remains may be recoverable archaeologically.
(continued)
I
NPS Fym Wawa OMB qo ..IN.1020.0018
1 (8 887
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Salem (Essex County)
Section number Page it Massachusetts
Five of the historic houses in this area retain their integrity. Earliest in form is Thompson
House, 25 Winter Island Road (Map #2), the picturesque version of the 2 1/2-story gablefront,
- with projecting bays and porches, and ornamental shingles as its wall-covering.--Colonial—
Revival forms are found here as well. The Abbott House, 29 Winter Island Road (Map #3)
appears as a wide gable-block with center entry on the front, but with a rear gambrel roof-
form; it was originally oriented perpendicular to its present position parallel to the island's
northern shore, but the new front room and entry were added in the 1930s. Across the cul-
de-sac is the center-entry gambrel block of the Swan House, 20 Winter Island Road (Map
#1). Later forms included variations on the foursquare, including summer houses of the
1920s, survive at 30 and 35 Winter Island Road (Map #s 4 and 5), and in much-altered form
at the Kimball House. The later houses added here are commonly modern capes and ranches
and include four at the west end of Winter Island Road (Map A, B, C, D).
The Coast Guard Air and Sea Rescue Station
Winter Island's role in the safety and defense of Salem Harbor continued with the
establishment of the Coast Guard Air and Sea Rescue Station here in 1934. Construction of
buildings related to this installation at the south end of the island proceeded in three waves,
during 1934, during expansion for World War H in 1942 and 1943, and with a small number
of buildings over the next two decades before the station was closed. The buildings
constructed for this Coast Guard Station in the 1930s survive: the large Hangar, the large
Administration Building and Barracks, and three smaller buildings including the radio station,
the five-stall garage, and a small brick battery shop. Remnants of the expansion of the station
associated with World War II, eight buildings, are rare, most having been constructed of
frame on low concrete foundations or slabs and destroyed by the Army Reserve after
deterioration during the 1970s. The most permanent of these later resources was--and
remains--the armaments storage "igloos" located on the northeast side of the island.
The large Sea Plane Hangar (Map #14; Photo #2), built in 1934, is the most distinctive of the
Island's structures from this period. Its facade faces the south end of the island and the
landing area and piers that served it and were served by it. The main block of the hangar
measures 95 by 100 feet, with a former addition measuring 15 by 95 feet along the east end,
an irregular addition along the rear, and a metal lean-to measuring 20 by 30 feet. The walls
of the hangar are yellow brick,and its arched parapet roofline is framed by an entry tower at
each end and treated with corbelling and detailing in the Art Deco style. The roof behind the
parapet is round and the superstructure formed of steel framing. Extending into the water in
front of the hangar on the south side of the island was formerly located a wooden pier
measuring 50 by 100 feet with a long mooring extending an additional 250 feet; it was
(continued)
NPSF.10-900-e OMB Approval No.1020.0019
Reel
t
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number 7 Pa12 Salem (Essex County)
9e Massachusetts
demolished, with the eastern addition, in 1977. Concrete paving for plane landings extended
to the east of the hangar and to a concrete Ramp (Map #15) measuring 50 by 318 feet; these
date to the World War H expansion-of the station in 1942. -
The large brick Administration Building (Map #13, Photo #1), also dating to 1934, was
formerly an imposing Federal Revival design but is now found as a hollow shell. Its primary
block measures 40 by 93 feet, is 2 1/2 stories in height over a raised basement and under a
slate hip roof, with a shallow, ten-foot vestibule across the center of the nine-bay facade, and
a deeper 22 by 23 foot ell in the rear. The first floor of the building was divided by a center
hall and an irregular cross passage to separate the kitchen and mess on the north side of the
building ,from the offices, probably seven, on the south side. On the second floor, the front
central portion behind the upper section of the frontispiece housed the apartment of the
commanding officer, with two large barracks occupying the remainder of the floor. Three
smaller brick buildings survive from this period. On the high bluff overlooking the southwest
shore is the single-story, 16 by 24-foot, gable roofed Radio Receiving and Transmission
Building (1934, Map #12). Next north of the hangar is a five-stall Garage (1934, Map #16),
now housing a sailing club, while to the east is the small 10-by-12-foot Battery Shop (1938,
Map #17), now the office of the park manager. Tennis courts were constructed on the
northwest part of the parcel in 1937.
During World War II a number of temporary frame and metal buildings were added to the
existing Coast Guard facilities in 1942 and 1943. A single-story barracks was located to the
northeast of the brick administration building measuring 50 by 112 feet with a 16-by-32-foot
ell. Two buildings were located to the east of this, including a large single-story, wood-frame
administration building measuring 90 by 30 feet with a 16-foot square ell, and a single-story
and wood-frame former infirmary, later photo lab and training area, measuring 25 by 80 feet
with a 12 by 16 foot ell. Two small buildings were located to the north of the garage, each
measuring 20 by 40 feet, one an armory and later a training building, the other a carpenters'
shop. A gatehouse measured 9 by 13 feet and a small pyrotechnics magazine measured 7 by
8 feet. Post-war construction included a prefabricated metal line shack measuring 20 by 64
feet (1953), a prefabricated metal generator building measuring 12 by 16 feet (1957), and a
large quonset but measuring 40 by 100 feet with a 14-by-16-foot leanto (1946). These
buildings, including a long shed on the hangar and the Lightkeepers House, were demolished
by the Army Reserve in 1977. They can be seen on the aerialphotographof 1965. Only the
concrete ammunition storage Igloos (Map #22) survive from this building campaign (1943),
units measuring 6 by 8 by 5 feet each, with ten arranged in an irregular pentagon on the
northeast portion of the parcel.
(continued)
NPS F.10-900.a OMB MProVal No.lO2G-Wle -
W-e�
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island historic and Archaeological District
Salem (Essex County),
Section number $ Page is, 1 Massachusetts
After the Coast Guard left Winter Island in 1969, many of the buildings and structures in this
area suffered from vandalism and were allowed to deteriorate. Since 1980 when the island
was made a city park and the Winter Island Park Commission was established, a small--
number of modern buildings have been added to provide amenities for day visits and campers
to the island. The largest of these are the restroom facility and the restaurant, both constructed
of cinder blocks. Others include a small frame gatehouse and a pergola, with tables and
benches. The buildings are now better protected from vandalism and other threats, while the
grounds are cleared and maintained. Additional roadways and paved areas have been added
to the park, but in general alterations to the landscape have been minimal. Today Winter
Island provides an important area of open public waterfront land to the citizens of Salem.
(end)
8. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
The Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District is a group of archaeological sites,
structures, and buildings located on a small island in Salem Harbor representing an extensive
period of human occupation, beginning in the Middle Archaic period 8,000 years ago and
continuing today. Activities associated with that human occupation are related to a number of
important themes in North American, Massachusetts, and Salem prehistory and history, chief
among them being the exploitation of the marine ecology, the development of a historic
maritime economy, and the changing cultural uses assigned to coastal areas. These activities
have produced a range of archaeological sites from prehistoric and historic periods and this
region, in particular: the Juniper Cove site, the Plummer Farm site, and the Soccer Field 1
site, as well as reported sites at Fort Pickering, Pickering Barracks, Lightkeeper's Complex,
Derby-Powderhouse Wharf, and the Coast Guard Station. They have also left behind a
number of structures and buildings associated with those activities, the Plummer School for
Boys, the Lowell Cottages, and the Coast Guard Air and Sea Rescue Station. Research on
the sites, structures, and buildings of Winter Island have yielded, and are likely to continue to
yield, important information about these themes and their associated resources. The majority
of the broadly various resources here, including buildings, structures, and archaeological sites,
all retain integrity of location, materials, design, workmanship, feeling, setting and
association. The Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District meets criteria A, C, and
D of the National Register of Historic Places at the local level.
(continued)
NPS F.10-90" OMB App ve W IW2< 18 1. 4
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Salem (Essex County)
Section number $ Page 2 Massachusetts
Sites and structures that survive on Winter Island are related to one another and to identifiable
themes in North American prehistory and history through two broad factors based in its
location. Primary is its absolute location: an island in-Salem-Harbor, small=in-size-,-low and
relatively flat in elevation, sandy and rocky shores surrounding a small upland interior,
convenient to the mainland but surrounded by the sea. Secondary is its relative location: an
environmental and cultural contrast to inland and upland areas during the prehistoric periods,
later during the historic periods a nearly undeveloped seaside area in contrast to the more
densely settled areas of the inner harbor.
The physical environment determined by its proximity to the harbor, the rivers that flow into
it, and the Atlantic Ocean beyond created a distinctive ecology at Winter Island. The
exploitation of the marine resources within the ecology presents a theme stretching throughout
the human occupation of the Island.
Fishing and shellfish collecting were always convenient from this location at the opening of
the harbor and surrounded by shallow flats. Marine birds and animals frequenting these
habitats added considerably to the subsistence base materials available at locations like this
one. Winter Island's projection into the harbor and its role dividing the two harbors of
Beverly and Salem made it useful for transportation and for defense as well. Throughout
most of the period of significance, water transportation was the easiest way to move through
the region. Coastal travel and trade facilitated communication within and between groups of
Native American, English, and American occupants of the region. The waters of the harbor
and the ocean also formed a barrier between groups during periods of conflict, making
defense an important consideration here, to protect the borders and the transportation routes,
and nearby settlements as well.
Secondary is its location relative, to inland river and lake sites during the prehistoric periods,
and to concentrations of settlement at the harbor to the south during the historic periods.
During the prehistoric periods, Native Americans are posited to have spent the year in a
seasonal movement from site to site, taking advantage of the changing availability of
resources at different locations, and developing a settlement system to use them most
advantageously. It has long been assumed that stays at coastal locations were both seasonal
and temporary. During the historic period, coastal areas also saw differential use, with necks
and peninsulas dedicated often to activities defined as culturally peripheral. During the early
American period these activities were often exclusionary in nature, but by the middle of the
19th century, the salutary effects of the seaside made them desirable and used for seclusion
and respite as well as exclusion within the context of European land use.
(continued)
NPS Fo 10-9014. OMB Approval No.1040.0018
-1_
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Salem (Essex County)
Section number $ Page s Massachusetts
These two key factors of location are in turn related to the over-arching theme within cultural
history of core-peripheral relationships. Cores are geographic areas characterized as bases or
permanent habitations, comparatively dense settlements,--focuses--for.group--definition through ----- —
the control of resources and/or territory, and commonly the seat of power within the culture.
At a distance from them, cores rely on peripheries, where habitation is more commonly
transient or dispersed, an expanse controlled for the exploitation of resources or for the
exclusion or seclusion of portions of the population, commonly removed from the exercise of
power. How were cores located and defined? How were peripheries utilized and controlled?
And how were these definitions and functions altered during the long period of human history
represented at sites like Winter Island in Salem?
Prehistoric Winter Island
Winter Island is located in the City of Salem in Essex County, Massachusetts, its harbor
formed by a series of peninsulas and necks dividing the mouths of the Danvers, North, and
South rivers, and tucked into the angle of the greater Atlantic coast as it turns from a north-
south orientation to an east-west one extending out toward Cape Ann. The coves and necks
characterizing this environment made it a hospitable and fruitful one for Native Americans as
early as 10,000 years ago, and in increasing numbers until the early 17th century. At that
time, known as the Paleo-Indian period, the coast of Essex County was likely to have been
located as much as a mile east of the present shore, and as the glacial retreat inundated that
shore sites are likely to have been lost. The tundra environment thought to characterize the
period supported a low-density population of hunter-gathers. Coastal areas were likely
utilized for the fish, marine animals, and birds. As sea levels rose and the ecology shifted to
one of mixed forest cover, and later deciduous forest, primarily oak, population density
increased, accompanied by increased complexity of social systems through the Archaic
periods. The efflorescence of the Late Archaic period culture is seen in the increased
elaboration of burial practices, more specialized and distinctive artifact manufacture, and
evidence of greater contact though trade among differing groups. Also during this period the
seasonal round of movement from site to site was established, of summer on the coast, fall on
rivers and lakes, winter inland in small bands, and spring at the fish runs. Of particular
interest for Winter Island was the stabilization of sea levels and the establishment of the shore
line that characterized the remainder of the prehistoric and the early years of the historic
period. The development of estuaries as a part of this new ecosystem brought an important
expansion in the habitats for shellfish, bringing increased reliance on these sites for food and
materials by the end of the Late Archaic. Some of the most dramatic changes to prehistoric
lifeways have been posited for the Woodland periods, when the domestication of plants and
animals are thought to have been accompanied by a more settled life. The signal
(continued)
OMB Approval No.102 f-0
NPS Form IM1BWa . ,
(gBS)
t
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Salem (Essex County)
Section number $ Page ` Massachusetts
developments of horticulture and agriculture, as well as ceramics, have long been the
indications of the onset of this period, but accummulating evidence suggests that these
changes were-slow-and gradual in-their adoption within-New England, even through the Late
Woodland period. (See Shaw in Mrozowski 1988.)
Contact between Europeans and north shore Native Americans may date to as early as the
voyages of Verrazano in 1524, but certainly to visits and descriptions supplied by Champlain
in 1605 and Smith in 1614, when the Salem area was named Naumkeag. Seasonal visits by
European fishermen brought about an enormous epidemic between 1616 and 1619, when as
much as 80% of the population may have been lost. The Native Americans of this period
were Algonquins of the Massachusetts tribe. The area from Naumkeag south to the Shawmut
peninsula (later Boston) is believed to have been under the control of the sachem
Nanapashamet, but after his death in 1619 the large expanse was divided among his sons.
The Salem area rose in importance when it became the home of his widow Squa Sachem and
her second husband, as well as of his son Sagamore George, the last survivor and ultimate
heir of this group. Early historic sources claim that the natives of this area lived in the
characteristic dome-shaped dwellings we call wigwams, and moved regularly due to their
system of fallow field agriculture. A village in the Salem area may have been located on the
northwest bank of the North River. Although Sagamore George was eventually sent to
Natick, presumably because of involvement in King Philips War, and his daughters withdrew
inland, the area is believed to have been a gathering place for some time thereafter. (See
Shaw in Mrozowski 1988.)
The relatively undisturbed nature of this area and the recent experience of archaeological
testing for resources here suggest that this large area of open land includes a number of
significant archaeological sites. The entire Salem Neck and Winter Island area has been
shown to yield sites dating as early as the Middle Archaic period 6,000 to 8,000 years ago
and extending through the Woodland periods into the Contact period. Site types expected to
be located on the island include both habitation and task-activity types, and shell middens.
Sites such as these may yield information about prehistoric use of coastal zones during this
long period, allowing for development of theories about change through time. The seasonal
versus more permanent occupation of ecological zones has been of particular interest to
scholars of New England prehistory in recent years. Whether the sites were permanent or
temporary, the seasonal use of particular site types as well as the various maritime resources
exploited at them is of scholarly interest. The multi-period nature of these sites allows for an
examination of these themes over an extensive period, allowing the consideration of change
over time, as subsistence and cultural systems change. This is of particular interest during the
Late Woodland and Contact periods, a time under scrutiny by archaeologists interested in the
(continued)
NpS,fortn Io-sao-a o,Ue a+wo.al w.oma-aoie
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Salem (Essex County)
Section number a Page 5 Massachusetts
timing of the adoption of corn horticulture, its influence on other subsistence systems, and the
effect on the entire subsistence system of contact with European fishermen and settlers.
One of the most intriguing questions that may be asked of the Winter Island archaeological
data is what evidence it provides on the emerging debate about the settlement pattern of
coastal New England. Prehistorians have long assumed that the archaeological remains at
coastal sites indicate the gradual accummulation over time by their seasonal occupation for
brief periods by people returning annually to exploit the local resources. A growing number
of sites however, are contributing to a body of revisionist studies that suggest otherwise.
They show that shellfishing was commonly undertaken not during the summer, as predicted,
but during late winter and early spring, a period posited for hunting and anadramous fishing,
as well as later during the late summer. In addition, later sites from coastal locations include
large burials and multi-season resource use, the suggestion has been made that occupation
there was permanent, at least during the Late Woodland period. Competing models contrast
the regular movement from place to place, foraging, with a pattern of more permanent base
camps, from which small task-defined bands move temporarily, collecting. Examination of
the Winter Island sites with careful attention to the analysis of indices of seasonality, wide
area excavation to identify features as evidence of special use areas and of site plans, could
contribute useful data to the resolution of this debate. (See McManaman and Bradley 1988
and Binford 1980.)
Related to the seasonal movement issue is the question of the timing of specific resource use
and exploitation within the annual cycle. Regardless of whether a settlement is occupied
year-round or seasonally, there will always be evidence of seasonality of human activities.
The round of resource exploitative activities is affected by a number of factors arising within
the natural environment, among them plant and animal growth patterns and cycles, the
migratory patterns of animals, the climate, and variations in accessibility. Evidence of season
within the archaeological remains or within the larger deposition can indicate the season of
deposition and use. Pollen, plant macrofossils, thin sections of shell and teeth, presences of
the bones of migratory birds, build-up of egg-laying deposits in certain birds' bones, these
and other factors of the archaeological record can contribute to a determination of season.
The surer assigning of activities to specific seasons can contribute to a better understanding of
changing patterns of subsistence, both in the area of seasonal specialization and in the area of
relative seasonal effort and dependence. With the development of horticulture, for example,
the seasonal activity of tending and harvesting corn, beans, and squash could take away time
from the coincidental activity of shellfish collecting. Within temporary settlements, these
activities should be identifiable by season; within permanent settlements, the evidence of
activities of several and overlapping seasons should be recoverable.
(continued)
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United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Salem (Essex County)
Section number 8 Page 6 Massachusetts
Further excavation at Winter Island, and analysis focusing on these floral and faunal remains,
could contribute to the testing and refining of these theories of seasonality. In excavations
already concluded, floral and faunal remains have been recovered at-each of the sites, -
confirming that the appropriate materials have survived. At the Juniper Cove site, small
quantities of oyster and mussel shells, bird and mammal bones, as well as seeds have been
located; at the Plummer Farm school site limited numbers of oyster, snail, and clam,
including quahog,-,shell, mammal bone, and seeds have been located, and at the Soccer Field I
a few fragments of oyster and snail shell and mammal bone have been located. Further
excavation over wider areas would be likely to reveal not only additional materials, but
materials within features that would allow more refined analysis. Flotation of the excavated
soil should assure the recovery of additional diagnostic artifacts including, seeds, pollen, and
other plant remains, and otoliths and scales of fish, all useful to the reconstruction of diet and
seasonality. The careful examination of any shell middens that may be discovered will yield
a wealth of information, as hinge inventories will help assessments of the size of the midden
and the amount of food provided, and thin section analysis of shell growth rings will confirm
age and season of the shell species. (See Sanger 1982 and Snow 1980.)
Because the known sites appear to have components stretching from the Middle Archaic
through to the Contact period, many of these issues can be examined, not just within specific
periods and systems but over time as well. It is likely that both the issue of permanent versus
temporary settlement and the issue of the seasonality of resource exploitation will change
during this long period. Indeed it may be that the shift to permanent coast settlements and to
earlier and longer shellfish exploitation are characteristics only of the Late Woodland period.
A variety of explanations may be put forward for this change, but the interest in these issues
intensifies for the later part of the Woodland period, when settled life based in corn
horticulture is presumed to have become predominant. However, just as the issue of
seasonality is being challenged, so too the assumption of the development of agriculture has
been questioned. Since it has been suggested that shellfish collecting is work assigned to
women, as is the tending and collecting of corn, the increased dependence on the latter
certainly influenced the former and may indeed have postponed its adoption.
Finally, because these sites were long occupied, they might also reveal the long-term impacts
on the environment of the subsistence and related activities of the Native Americans over
time. Long assumed to have-acted more in sympathy with nature than their European.
followers, the Native populations are now known to have engaged in a number of activities
that influenced the natural environment. Clearing the land for habitation and horticulture,
planting of certain plants and the associated elimination of others, and the manipulation of
watercourses and coastal areas for the collection of marine resources, all of these brought
(continued)
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NFS,wm to-900-a O 8 AP q' M rot 18
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number 8 Page 7 Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
with them changes to the local environment and ultimately the larger ecology as well. The
theme would be particularly important to pursue through the Contact period and into the early
-- - colonial period, since the Europeans are presumed to have brought with them a dramatically
different set of attitudes towards these issues. The contrast expected predicts that the English
were responsible for many changes in the natural environment. Further, the model predicts a
shift from multiple to single-species cultivation and use, a shift commonly attributed to the
field of agricultural history but a useful model to apply to the exploitation of marine resources
as well. Continuing the application of techniques for measuring sensitive environmental
indicators including pollen, shell size, etc., could contribute to the understanding of the
changing ecology of the prehistoric world and provide significant contributions to our
understanding of the dramatic changes that accompanied colonization as well. (See Cronon
1983.)
Winter Island in the Colonial and Early National Periods
The arrival of northern European fishermen had decimated the prehistoric population, and
English visits became permanent settlements as early as 1626 with the arrival of Roger
Conant and the establishment of a community at Naumkeag, the "fishing place." By the next
decade these early arrivals were joined by settlers accompanying Massachusetts Bay Governor
Endcott, and for two more decades settlers arrived in large numbers to help establish a
thriving community of farmers, fishermen, and merchants on the peninsula between the North
and South rivers that was called Salem. By contrast to the development of dense settlement
around Salem Harbor to the south, this area was relatively undeveloped and suitable to
peripheral or fringe activities. At first the Island was used for activities unwanted within
densely settled areas, at a distance from habitation because of the need for additional space,
such as pasturage; others were noxious or dangerous: preparation of shellfish, drying of fin
fish, executions, dynamite and gunpowder storage. By the 19th century the area was favored
for activities that benefited both from its distance from the city center and its proximity to the
sea. These included the establishment of a reform school for boys, the Plummer Home, and
the use of the Island and the adjacent Neck for summer tourists at the end of the 19th
century. (See Welch 1898, Streeter 1898, Phillips 1937, and Vickers 1981.)
In 1636 the town of Salem followed a pattern that would become common in Essex County
during the 17th century,designating the Winter Island.area for the fishermen, and granting
1/2-acre lots to those who were married, or soon would be, to use this area for fishing stages
and flakes. Fishermen were marginal figures within the Puritan culture of the Massachusetts
Bay colony, masterless men following a distinctive way of life, peripheral to the Puritan
farmers of the core, according to Vickers. Grants of land were enough "to induce fishing
(continued)
NPS Porn 10-900-a OMB Apprave/Ab.IMto
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number B Page $ Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
families to settle without causing them to stray from their calling" (1981: 55). Tied to the
merchants who owned the shallops through extensive extensions of credit, the fishermen of
—•the 17th century-caught cod on nearby banks-during the early spring and late summer, which- -
the merchants in turn sold for shipment to Europe and the West Indies. The shoremen served
as middlemen between these two groups, hiring crews, provisioning, arranging for the fish to
be cleaned, split, slated, and dried. Some sources claim the area was also one used for
shipbuilding during the 17th century. Archaeological sites from Winter Island, as the focus of
the fishing community in Salem, could provide useful data about this important but peripheral
community, adding to our knowledge of their daily lives with better information about
housing, subsistence, and consumption patterns within a community dominated by male
transients.
At the end of the 17th century, the fishing industry began to change. Large vessels, ketches,
and schooners, made longer trips to farther banks, partially curing the fish they caught. With
the contraction of credit and the expansion of the population of fishermen, this livelihood
became a temporary one, from which mature men moved on to other trades, in Salem
commonly to become artisans. The common land status of the island was confirmed during
the conflict between commoners and proprietors in 1714, but not before a conflict over access
to land highlighted the narrowing opportunities for many of the town's citizens. By 1684 the
town permitted ten merchants, as shoremen were beginning to style themselves, to build
wharves there. Fish Street and wharves nearby were noted on the Island's western shore
along Winter Harbor, currently known as Cat Cove, for shipbuilding during the 17th century.
The fishing industry was set back by the many years of war at the turn of the century and, in
spite of successive inducements to invest in Salem, became concentrated in nearby Gloucester
and Marblehead. Examination of sites from both the 17th and the 18th century from Winter
Island would provide useful comparative information, allowing an assessment of these
changes to the structure of the fishing industry and the influence of the maritime economy on
the texture of individual lives.
As the Salem commercial economy rose in importance, merchants sought areas for expansion
beyond the harbor front area. Richard Derby requested and received permission to construct a
wharf and warehouse on Winter Island. The property was leased, not sold, to Derby, at a
shilling per year for 1,000 years. He subsequently constructed a wharf and warehouse by
1775. Derby's biographer does not find the property to have been much used by him, noting
that his energies focused on Union Wharf nearer to his home and fellow merchants (Phillips
1929). At the division of Derby's estate his son Elias Hasket Derby received the Winter
Island property. E. H. Derby's attentions turned to Long Wharf, now known as Derby Wharf
(NR: 1976), and at his death in 1799 the Winter Island Wharf was valued at only $300. The
(continued)
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NPS fanl tasooa• OMB APM�✓�No.roza-ao�e
�1
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number $ Page 9 Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
property was transferred out of the family to Oliver Whipple of Lowell in 1837, who paid the
remainder of the Derby lease for $152 to the City and several hundred more to the Derby
family. The lot transferred measured thirty feet across the north and west bounds and fifty _
feet along the south. Whipple had a powder manufactory in Lowell and used the
powderhouse as a storage area during trans-shipment to ships for foreign trade. Probably
during his ownership, the wharf was rebuilt, and the warehouse replaced with the
powderhouse that stood well into the 20th century. The property was held by a long list of
powdermaking concerns until it was taken over for use by the U.S. during the Second World
War. Archaeological research at this site would assist in documenting its date of construction
and alterations, and determine whether any Derby-associated remains can add to our
knowledge of this key figure in colonial Salem.
Fort Pickering and Fort Pickering Lighthouse
The fortification of Winter Island as part of the defense of Salem Harbor dates to the earliest
years of English settlement. While the first fort in the town may have been closer to the
focus of settlement, it appears that by the middle of the 17th century some effort to construct
earthworks was made and armaments procured with which to arm the fort. In 1672, when the
General Court voted to raise money to protect key harbors, Salem was listed with Boston,
Charlestown, and Marblehead. Significant repair and reworking took place during the general
improvement of fortifications during the Revolution, and as well during both phases of the
development of the First System of coastal fortifications, and again during the Second
System. Throughout this period, the renamed Fort Pickering played a key role in the federal
fortification of this important harbor, equal in importance to Eastern Point on Cape Ann in
Gloucester and Fort Sewell in Marblehead (Thompson 1985).
During the campaign to arm the coast during the Civil War, Fort Pickering was expanded
considerably. Expenditures and building in Essex County was extensive, including repairs to
the federal forts at Salem, Marblehead, and Gloucester, to Massachusetts milita forts including
Fort Lee and Naugus Head in Marblehead, in addition to the construction of Forts Conant
(Gloucester), Glover (Marblehead), and Nichols (Salisbury Point opposite Plum Island at the
mouth of the Merrimac River), and a battery at Eastern Point (Gloucester). In addition to
adding approximately half of the earthworks visible today, a group of buildings was
constructed along the eastern shore of the Island but to the south outside of the fort.
Including two small and two larger buildings, these were used as barracks, officers' quarters,
storehouse, prison, stables, and guardhouses when the fort was active. After the war these
buildings, and other fittings of the fort, were auctioned off and removed, the barracks
apparently sold to the Plummer Home. During periodic encampments during the 1850s the
(continued)
NPS Form 10.900a OMB Mww'd No.toZs.0019
R-91
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number ' 8 Page to Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
land surrounding these buildings was covered with the small tents used by the footsoldiers,
and visits to the island during these events were a popular source of entertainment. Much of
this area remains unbuilt upon,and the area where-these buildings were located is now a —
parking lot for the Winter Island Park. Archaeological remains associated with these
buildings and encampments could yield information about military life during the middle
years of the 19th century, both during peacetime and during the war years. Fort Pickering
remained an important fort certainly through the Spanish-American War. In 1922 the U.S.
government ceded the property back to the City of Salem, with a reserve should the fort be
necessary for coastal defense. Fort Pickering was listed on the National Register of Historic
Places in 1973.
Not unrelated to the siting and importance of Fort Pickering was the establishment of Fort
Pickering Light Station on the eastern shore of Winter Island in 1871. Salem's outer harbor
had been served by the twin lights of Baker's Island (NR: 1976) since 1791, but with the
reign of the economical Stephen Pleasonton as auditor of the Treasury in charge of light
stations, little else was done in the Salem area to provide aids to navigation. After the
reorganization of the service in 1852, the newly created Lighthouse Board dramatically
improved the system of coastal aids, with more efficient Fresnel lights, economical cast iron
lighthouses, and more reliable descriptions of the lights and buoys under their charge. Within
this period of improvement, the needs of Salem's inner Harbor became apparent, and finally
in 1870 a plan was devised to add three lights as aids to navigation through the difficult
shoals. In addition to this light on Winter Island, the effort led to the construction of Derby
Light (NR 1976) at the head of Derby Wharf and Fort Pickering's twin range light at Hospital
Point in Beverly (NR: 1987).
With this nomination, including the Fort Pickering Lighthouse, all components of the Salem
Harbor system will be listed to the National Register of Historic Places. Criteria for
nominating lighthouses were outlined in the Lighthouses of Massachusetts Thematic Group
Nomination of 1987, and include five general considerations: architecture and technology,
site, landscape, local importance and recognition, state and federal designation, with fifteen
sub areas of consideration. Fort Pickering Lighthouse meets the following criteria, 2a:
Pickering Light's location on Winter Island supports the consideration of siting in an area
with a long and evolving history; 3a: Pickering Light has aesthetic value sited in the water
adjacent to Fort Pickering and within a City park, the light attracts tourists and photographers;
4a: Pickering Light is an important resource within this nomination; and 5a: Fort Pickering
has been determined eligible for the National Register as part of the Winter Island Historic
and Archaeological District.
(continued)
NPS Form1a90aa OMa APbvwH fOY fS
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number 8 Page 11 Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
The Plummer Farm School for Boys
a- The Plummer Farm School for Boys-is an-example of a.late:19th century correctional facility,
oriented to the population of urban male youth, and sited in an isolated coastal location after
the contemporary model for reform schools. The school's founding dates to a bequest of over
$25,000 from Caroline Plummer in 1855. Miss Plummer (1780-1854) was the second
daughter of Joshua Plummer, a second-generation physician, and Olive Lyman Plummer,
sister of the better-known Boston-area Theodore Lyman, and the last of that family in the
City of Salem (EIHC 4 1862:277). Among her numerous charitable donations was the
establishment of this fund "to be appropriated to the founding of a Farm School of Reform
for Boys...on a plan similar to that of the State Reform School" (Plummer Farm School
1884). Under the leadership of William I. Bowditch, a board of trustees was to be selected
by the mayor and aldermen of the City, and these School trustees spent several years
investing the fund, raising additional money, and choosing an appropriate location for their
school. Following the model of the Thompson's Island school, the trustees tried but were
unsuccessful in their bid for Great Misery Island in Salem Harbor before turning their
attention to nearby Winter Island. The U.S. Army was willing to tum over their rights to the
Island, and the City was willing to cooperate with the school's aims to the point of donating
the land and an $8,000 fund for the building's construction in 1869.
That same year, the trustees appointed a building committee from among their number and
voted to hire an architect to design their new school. They instructed those who chose to
submit proposals "that they be requested to construct, in the second story, as many separate
dormitories as may be convenient, and to throw the third story into a common dormitory, -
with room for an assistant. Proposals were received from architects Lord and Fuller, Mr.
Joseph C. Foster, and Mr. Martin of Boston. While they accepted the plan submitted by
Foster, and agreed to pay him a commission of 4% of the total cost of the building, they
suggested alterations of their own to the design. They accepted proposals from builders as
well, eventually hiring Goldthwaite and Day as carpenters ($5,950), J.H. and J.M. Parsons as
masons ($1,846), D.B. Lord as plumber ($449), and E.B. Ames as painters ($471.48). As
early as 1873, the trustees began:to consider expansion of the school, and the building
committee suggested that this could be accomplished with $2,000 toward an enlargement of
the upper story with the construction of a mansard roof and a lengthening of the rear ell to
add to the workroom. In 1897 the bay window was added to the facade, expanding the office
space in the superintendent's apartment, and the next year the expansion of the ell added
space to the dining room on the first floor and the schoolroom on the second. Through most
of its history, the school has accommodated about thirty boys.
(continued)
NPS F.10-90" - OMB MPro&W IW4-0616 '
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number 8 Page i2 Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
In their search for a superintendent, the trustees went to the Reform School in Westborough
and hired C.A. Johnson, who served in that position until 1907. His wife served as matron
until her death, and other staff-included the assistant who acted as manager of the farm, a - - -
cook and housekeeper, and teachers. Boys came to the school as young as seven and as old
as seventeen. They were commonly sent to the school from the district court, in response to
misbehaviors including truancy, disobedience, stubbornness, and petty larceny. In addition,
parents could apply to the school for the admission of their sons with disciplinary problems
before they came to the attention of the court, provided they were willing to pay for the
school's room and board. The school's trustees were required to provide useful employment
for the boys while they were at the school as well as appropriate placements for them when
they left. During the schools earliest years, the boys were taught reading, writing, arithmetic,
geography, and the use of carpenter's tools (Plummer School By Laws, 1891). During the
months of May through November, the boys worked at market gardening at the school's farm;
from November through May the younger boys worked at caning chairs, the older ones in the
carpentry shop (Plummer School Annual Report 1887). The trustees and superintendent
demonstrated the key importance of the location of the Plummer School: "Our location has
proved most suitable, being one and five-eighths from the center of the city and connected
with the main land by a good road direct to the city, giving us the advantage of being on an
island where the boys do not come in contact with the traveling community. It also has
provided a healthy location..." (Plummer Farm School 1884:21).
While the school was founded for "the instruction, employment, and reformation of juvenile
offenders of the City of Salem," the policy of the school and its staff sought to downplay the
youths as criminals and emphasized the salutary effects they predicted in the protective and
educational environment of the school. The trustees sought "to prevent criminality rather than
punish it," and by offering an alternative to the jail or the house of correction, could avoid the
"contamination" the boys would find there. Firmly believing in the importance of the
environment of the child "during the early years of life...(when) character is shaped," the
school embraced the aphorism "he who saves a child, saves a man, aye saves many men." To
accomplish these lofty goals the school established a full and strict schedule, beginning with
early rising and ending with early bed, with the fifteen hours in between divided between six
at labor, four at school, and the remaining five divided between devotional exercises,
recreation, and incidentals. The staff experienced nearly as strict a regime, with smoking
prohibited at the school and drinking alcohol prohibited anywhere. Visitors were allowed at
the school only on Wednesday afternoons between three and six o'clock, parents could only
visit their children once during a month. Archaeological evidence would be particularly
useful in checking the ideal of strict discipline with the actuality of daily life at the school,
through the examination of refuse from the site.
(continued)
nf-f iaaoo-e ome a�.o.�rw.r�smis
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number $ Page 13 Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
After Johnson left, his successor Whetmore claimed the school was in need of "radical
change...to bring the standard of the institution up to a proper level." Thereafter the school
was subject to remodeling, particularly in the lavatories and the dormitory, as well as
redecorating and refurnishing of the dining room, and reorganizing some of its work
activities. Though gardening remained constant through most the school's history, some
alterations to other activities are noted. The chairs were initially provided by a manufacturer
in Ashbumham, but after 1903 when this establishment burned, the school turned from
factory work to the repair of locals' furniture (Annual Report 1903, 1910). After 1910 the
school added a set of fourteen Sloyd benches, a system of manual training developed in
Sweden, that emphasizes the use of several woodworking and carving tools to fashion a series
of objects based on a set of models, training the trustees believed made the student "better
qualified for almost any occupation in which he might engage" (Annual Report 1910). In
1912 the trustees began preparations for a printing department for the school, which printed,
among other things, the school's newspaper and annual report through the 1910s. These
activities continued through the period of significance and into the 1950s. With the
establishment of the Division of Youth Services in the Commonwealth, private schools such
as Plummer lost students. After a period of low enrollements and informal treatment and
rehabilitation, the school and its programs were reorganized as a residential treatment center
for mildly disturbed boys.
The Lowell Cottages
The northernmost portion of Winter Island was long held as part of a colonial period farm
whose house and outbuildings were located just across the causeway on Salem Neck. This
farm is mentioned in deeds as early as the end of the 17th century.
Prominent owners of the farm, and the two and three quarter acres on Winter Island, include
Richard Derby, who sold it in 1793 to John Allen, and Jonathan Dustin, who bought it in
1816. Even after Dustin's death the property was held by his heirs, and probably beginning
in the 1850s and 1860s, the farmland was leased to summer tenting parties. By 1872 the.
parcels were sold to the Gardner brothers who divided it into lots and upon alienation
executed deeds with restrictions about the siting and design of buildings in the area. During
the next two decades the land to the north of this residential development on Salem Neck was
developed for a range or entertainment and commercial developments that increased the
recreational offerings and popularity of the Salem Willows Park.
(continued)
OMB A➢Pr WW.1020.00/8
NPS Porn 10.900.e OMB
IB-BW
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number 8 Page is Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
The area on the north end of Winter Island was a comparatively late development within this
summer seaside resort. George O. Osborn and his son George S. had purchased this part of
the farm in 1876, and held the property, apparently undeveloped, for twenty years. At that
time, the son sold the land to Henry F. Abbott and Daniel Swan both of Lowell; they
promptly sold a third share to Elizabeth Coburne. They soon platted a portion of the land,
the area on the northeast, laid out a road to it culminating in a cul-de-sac, with lots in a range
of sizes surrounding it. They then sold lots to one another, so that each got two lots, two
remained unsold, and the western part of the parcel remained open. By 1911 the western part
of the parcel had been platted into many small lots, and some land there was sold, apparently
to friends and relatives. Here as on the Neck, the parcels appear to have been held both
individually and speculatively, and not all were developed during the period of significance.
As at the Willows, residents include both Salem residents and a concentration of summer
residents from the Merrimac Valley city of Lowell, and these gave the area its name. Known
residents include Henry F. Abbott, Alonzo A. Coburn, and Daniel Swan among the earliest
summer residents here, all listed in the directories as resident in Lowell. By 1911 the
directory lists O.J. Ives, Lowell's supervisor of traffic; Mrs. Emma Abbott of Lowell; Charles
Jefferson of Danvers; Robert Mahoney, a Salem lawyer; Frederick Munroe, a Boston
engineer; Alvah Thompson, an engineer; and Harlan Kelsey, a Salem landscape architect.
These residents appear to be representative of the middle class of that industrial city and
others, including Salem as well. During the years after the end of the period of significance,
some of the houses here have been converted to year-round use, while four modern dwellings
have been added.
The Coast Guard Air and Rescue Station
After the decommissioning of Fort Pickering and its reversion with reserve to the City of
Salem, the Island's defensive and military activities were focused at the Coast Guard Air and
Rescue Station whose buildings were located to the south and the west of the earthworks of
the Fort. Though the era of the earthwork fort had passed, the importance of Winter Island to
the safety and defense of Salem Harbor remained. Just a dozen years after Fort Pickering's
demise, the south end of the Island was designated as a Coast Guard Air Station. The Coast
Guard has its roots in the revenue cutter service, established in 1790 by the first U.S.
Congress, the nation's first and for a time its only military arm. The revenue cutters were
established to protect the collection of customs and to prevent smuggling; that task continues
today. In 1915 the revenue service was merged with the U.S. lifesaving service.to form the
Coast Guard. The Guard is a branch of the military under the jurisdiction of the Department
of the Treasury during peacetime, under the Navy during war.
(continued)
NPSF .10-WO. OMB Approval No.1W2 78
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number 8 Page i5 Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
The Salem Air Station began with the establishment in 1926 of the nation's first continuously
operating Air Station at Ten Pound Island in Gloucester, when the rise in commercial and
military air power suggested its utility in the assistance of sea rescues. Just under ten years
later, when the facility outgrew that site, the station was moved to Winter Island. The small
station was constructed and its staff of 35 men relied on Fokker "Flying Life Boats," Douglas
Dolphin amphibians, and later PBY Catalinas, Kingfishers, and Martin PBMs. These planes
performed a range of tasks, from patrolling regattas and searching for wreckage to rescue
missions and searches for missing craft. During the Second World War the staffing at the
station expanded enormously to over 400 and to accommodate the larger numbers and the
expanded fleet of fifteen planes, a large number of buildings were constructed. The station
then expanded its duties to include the escort of freighters and troop ships and searches for
German submarines. In 1944 the station became an Air and Sea Rescue Task Unit. By 1969,
with the Coast Guard consolidation, this facility was closed and its functions transferred to
the new Otis Air Force Base.
Salem is fortunate to have maintained throughout its history a large proportion of open
publicly held land, in the past as common fields, pasturage, and for public institutions, as
public parks more recently. Today much of this open land is located on Winter Island and
nearby on Salem Neck. Though for much of the 1970s the Coast Guard Station and the
Plummer School languished, within the last decade Winter Island has experienced a
renaissance that has done much to bring recognition to the important resources there. Visitors
drawn to the park learn about the large number of historic sites here through a program of
brochures and signage. With the establishment and success of Winter Island Park, residents
of and visitors to Salem are reminded of the proximity of the harbor and ocean and of the
importance of those resources to the prehistory and history of Salem.
(end)
NPS F.I 040 aae apro..r Ho.iosa-ame '
Reel -
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number 9 Page 1 Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
9. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES
Beaudry, Mary. Personal Communication.
Binford, Lewis R. "Willow Smoke and Dogs Tails: Hunter-Gather Settlement Systems and
Archaeological Site Formation." American Antiguity 45(1980), pp. 4-21.
Brengle, Kim Withers. National Register Nomination for the Salem Willows Historic
District, July 1992.
Cronon, William. Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New
England. New York: Hill and Wang, 1983.
Essex Institute Photographs Collection.
Holland, F. Ross, Jr. Great American Lighthouses. A National Trust Guide, The
Preservation Press, 1989.
McManaman, Francis P., and James W. Bradley. "The Indian Neck Ossuary." Scientific
America 258 (1988), pp. 98-105.
Missio, Nicole et al. 'Results of an Intensive Archaeological Survey of Four Proposed Sites
for Secondary Sewerage Treatment Plant...." Boston University Office of Public
Archaeology Report of Investigation No. 102, April 1992.
Moore, Gary. Personal communication and research files of the Winter Island Park.
Mrozowski, Stephen et al. "Salem Massachusetts: An Archaeological Survey of the City."
For the City of Salem 1988.
National Park Service, North Atlantic Region. "Winter Island: An Analysis of Resource
Significance and Management Options." 1984.
Phillips, James Duncan. Salem in the Eighteenth Century. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1937.
(continued)
NPs Fq 10-9Wa OMB APP VWW 1Wa 19
'United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Section number 9 Page z Salem (Essex County)
Massachusetts
Pinkham, Harold A., Jr. "Winter Island Salem: Its Use and Abuse," EIHC 118 (1982),
pp. 189-199.
Plummer Farm School, Annual Reports, multiple years.
-------, Trustees Meetings Minutes, on file at the school.
Salem Evening News 13 August 1991, "A Watchful Eye on the Coast."
Salem Annual Reports, multiple years.
Salem Planning Department, "The Winter Island Report," typescript of 1973.
Sanger, David. "Chaning Views of Aboriginal Seasonality and Settlement in the Gulf of
Maine." Canadian Journal of Anthropology 2 (1982), pp. 195-203.
Snow, Dean R. The Archaeology of New England. New York: Academic Press, 1980.
Streeter, G. L. "The Story of Winter Island and Salem Neck." Essex Institute Historical
Collections 33: 105-128 (1898).
Thompson, Kenneth, Jr. "Federal Fort Construction in Essex County, 1794-1809." Essex
Institute Historical Collections 121: 245-56 (1985).
Vickers, Daniel J. "Maritime Labor in Colonial Massachusetts..." Ph.D. Dissertation,
Princeton University, 1981.
Welch, William Lewis "Salem Neck and Winter Island." Essex Institute Historical
Collections 33: 81-104 (1898).
Zimmerman et al., The Lighthouses of Massachusetts Thematic Group Nomination, 1986.
(continued)
NPS F.10-900 OMB APp WN-1020.0018
1a•eu7
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District
Salem (Essex County)
Section number 9, 10 Page !, 1 Massachusetts
Figures Attached
#1 Aerial View of Winter Island, 1965.
Salem Planning Department.
#2 Sketch of Winter Island, Salem Harbor, Mass. (1864).
U.S. Army Records at the National Archives, Record Group 77, Offices of the Chief
Engineers. Fortifications File: Drawer 18 Sheet 28.
#3 Topographical Plan of the Winter Island/Plummer Home Site...
Office of Public Archaeology, Boston, MA
#4 Photograph of Derby-Powderhouse Wharf (undated).
Collections of the Essex Institute.
#5 Photograph of the Plummer School, between 1874 and 1897.
Collections of the Essex Institute.
(end)
10. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA
Boundary Description
The Winter Island Historic and Archaeological District boundaries are indicated on the
attached Salem Assessors Maps 43 and 44. Boundaries correspond to the island's shoreline,
indicated on the assessors maps as a dotted line.
Boundary Justification
The nominated boundaries includes all the land historically and currently known as Winter
Island; an island of about 45 acres now connected to Salem Neck by a causeway.
(end)
WINTER ISLAND HISTORIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISTRICT
SALEM (ESSEX COUNTY), MASSACHUSETTS
DISTRICT DATA SHEET
Map # MHC# Name Address Date Style Type Status
Lowell Cottages (north end of the island)
A house 5 Winter Island Road 1962 Cape B NC
B house 4 Winter Island Road 1969 Cape B NC
C house 9 Winter Island Road 1953 Ranch B NC
D house 11 Winter Island Road 1950s Ranch B NC
E Prince House altered 12 Winter Island Road 1900s Craftsman B NC
P Kimball House altered 15 Winter Island Road 1900s Queen Anne B NC
G Coburn House altered 19 Winter Island Road 1900s Craftsman B NC
I Swan House 20 Winter Island Road 1900s Craftsman B C
2 G2-3463 Thompson House 25 Winter Island Road 1900s Queen Anne B C
3 G2-3462 Abbott House 29 Winter Island Road 1900s Shingle B C
4 House & Garage 35 Winter Island Road 1920s Craftsman 2B C
5 G2-3461 House 30 Winter Island Road 1920s Craftsman B C
Plummer Home School (center of the island)
6 G2-4436 Plummer Home & Garage 37 Winter Island Road 1869 Second Empire 2B C
7 ES-406 Juniper Cove Site --- Si C
Page 1 of 3
WINTER ISLAND HISTORIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISTRICT
SALEM (ESSEX COUNTY), MASSACHUSETTS
DISTRICT DATA SHEET
Map # MHC# Name Address Date Style Type Status
8 ES-457 Plummer Farm School Site --- Si C
9 Soccer Field I Site --- Si C
Winter Island Park (south end of the island, former Coast Guard Air and Sea Rescue Station)
H Gate House modern --- B NC
I Pergola modern --- St NC
J Restrooms modern --- B NC
K Restaurant --- B NC
L Pier modern --- St NC
10 Derby-Powderhouse Wharf 1837-1855 --- Si C
11 ES-358 Coast Guard Station Site --- --- Si C
12 Radio Shack 1934 --- B C
13 Officers Quarters & Admin Bldg. 1934 Classic. Rev. B C
14 Sea Plane Hanger 1934 Art Deco B C
15 Ramp 1942 --- St NC
16 Garage 1934 --- St C
Page 2 of 3
WINTER ISLAND HISTORIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISTRICT
SALEM (ESSEX COUNTY), MASSACHUSETTS
DISTRICT DATA SHEET
Map # MHC# Name Address Date Style Type Status
17 Battery Shop/Office 1934 --- B C
18 ES-383 Fort Pickering multiple --- St C*
19 Pickering Barracks Site 1863-1870 --- Si C
20 G2-928 Fort Pickering Lighthouse 1887-1894 --- St C
21 Lightkeeper's Complex Site 1878 --- Si C
22 Igloos 1943 --- St C
TOTAL RESOURCES: 22 Contributing, 13 Noncontributing
12 Contributing Buildings 10 Noncontributing Buildings
3 Contributing Structures 3 Noncontrinuting Structures
7 Contributing Sites
* Previously listed: Fort Pickering NR 1973
Page 3 of 3
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WINTER ISLAND PARK
A QUARTER CENTURY REPORT. 1969 - 1994
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WINTER ISLAND PARK
A QUARTER CENTURY REPORT. 1969 - 1994
Winter Island Park . a premier maritime park on the
North Shore of Massachusetts. features sandy Waikiki Beach .
historic Fort Pickering. a walk with nature pathways. picnic
areas with tables and grills. overnight camping. an eatery .
a pier . and an unsurpassed waterside view. A former Air/Sea
Search ana rescue Station of the Unitea States Coast Guard.
the base was closed in 1969. ending a military heritage on
the island dating back to the 1640' s. In 1979. Salem began
a restoration program to establish the outer 20 acre portion
of the island as a maritime oriented recreational area.
focusing on its beautiful natural environs and immediate
access to both historic Salem Harbor and the island laden
waters of Salem Sound beyond. By 1989 . the park reflected a
decaae of work and commitment by the many neighbors and
citizens of Salem who volunteered their time and labor .
combinea with City_ government's infusion of grant monies and
leadership .
The island' s infrastucture has been completely revamped
with new underground utilities. newly paved roadways. and
the construction of a new bath house and greeting center .
Program has expanded to include some 20 tent campsites to
complement the 21 recreational vehicle sites (9 with
electricity and water . plus nearby waste dumping) . Fort
Pickering Light has been saved and made operational . The
former radio shack has been converted into a first rate
Harbormaster facitlity . The motor pool garage is a Sailing
Center for Salem State College . which in turn operates the
Salem Community Sailing Program. Other structures have been
converted into operational support facilities. ie .
aaministrativeisecurity office . and tool shed. The former
sea piane hangar has been made useful as an income producing
boat storage facility , while also serving as a maintenance
and carpentry shop for the park . The Park's newest addition
is the 150 foot long concrete and steel pier . with 7' of
water at mean low tide and 100' of tie up space . The
addition of a restaurant (Winter Island Grill ) in 1982.
provides another important visitor attraction to the park .
WINTER ISLAND PARK: VISITOR USE PATTERNS
Some 20U .000 visits are made to the Island over a
twelve montn perioo. The Park remains open 364 days a year .
witn ; ts open gate nours in the Winter approximating the
eianL nours of sunlight ( S A.M . to 4 P.M . ) . while during the
full campina season inav 1 through October 31 . the open gate
nours are e A.M . to iU P .M . The open gate times will find
staff on duty . ranging from single coverage in the Winter to
as many as seven employees on duty (gatekeepers.
grounasKeepers. Manager . lifeguard and security ) . during the
peak summer months. The present staffing pattern offers the
visitor a safe . clean . ana comfortable day or overnight
experience .
Visitor use patterns over the past two seasons have
solialtiea a very positive trend. Overnight camping has
increasea steadily . wnile use of the park as a site for
reunions. weddings. company . family . and church picnics
continue to increase . Kegionai festivals . such as the
annual ' BAD Regatta Taste of the North Shore" . and the
aaii Plortn" regatta have been successful ways to celebrate
the Park s continuea arowtn in popularity and recognition as
a premier part of Salem' s maritime profile . Such occasional
events are supportea ov the capacity of the Park to
accomodate at any one time some 400 vehicles and 6000
people . People access is augmented by off island parking
(some 450 spaces nearby ) and use of the Salem Trolley ( twice
nourly visits or assignees :jitney service for large events) .
As many as 15.000 guests nave frequented the island over the
course of a day long regional festival .
Camping is the principal income source that supports
the park s annual program. The numbers below describes the
breakout of renters vs. those who travel in a Recreational
Venicie . R.V . registrations asking for electric and water
nooK-up ($IS per night ) outnumber those who ' rough it' at
$15 per night . Tenters , who also pay the $15 per night fee .
closely number the R.V . site visitors. Since there are only
nine sites With utilities (none for tenters) . reservations
are encouragea and widely utilized. Dicounted weekly rates
are available . but a limit of two weeks at a time and 42
days over the course of the season is imposed.
Camper Yeo dotal : lent P.V. P..V . w util .
1 . 192 390 392 410
-t1 sites: 9 R.V . w,, utilities. 12 R.V . . 20 tent )
Vistior Use Patterns: P . # 2
Of interest is the fact that of the 1 . 192 camper
registrations. 192 ( 160) were from other countries.
inciuoing Australia. Austria. Belgium. Brazil . Canada.
Engiana. France . Germany , Ireland. New Zealand. the
Phiiiipines. Scotland. Spain . Switzerland. New South Wales.
and Holland. Canada with 93. and Germany with 52 led our
foreign country guest list . Here in this country . some 43
states were represented with Massachusetts. New York .
Calitornia. Florida. Connecticut . . New Jersey . Pennsylvania.
Maryland. Michigan . Ohio. New Hampshire . and Texas leading
the way .
Day use of the park accounted for some 200 .000 people visits
to the Park over each of the past two years. Based upon
receipts. parking validations. overnight registrations.
Troiley schedules. and overall observation, we have ascribed
the following numbers to activities of the park .
- Paid Parking (non-resident . beach) . . . . . . . . 3.966
- No Fee Parking (res. beach and gen . use) . . . 109.800
- Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.200
- 'rroiley ( touring) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.000
- Offseason . Nov . 1 - April 30 (general use) . 20 .475
- Special Events (Regatta and Fundraiser ) . . . 5.350
- Watercraft and other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.209
Of these visitors. we estimate that over a twelve month
period. two out of three are residents of Salem.
WINTER ISLAND PARK: INCOME ANALYSIS , F.Y. 193
Winter Island ParK . from its financial beginning in
1980 . nas been charged to operate financially self
sufficient . A "Receipts Reserved for Appropriation" account
continues to function . with all fees collected from Island
activities deposited into that account for subsequent
transfer to the General Fund by the City Treasurer .
Appropriations are made each fiscal year to cover
operational costs, with periodic supplemental appropriations
to cover unanticipated but necessary equipment or capital
improvement needs. Since 1980 , the total operational funds
($455.66i ) appropriated from City resources ( tax dollars)
nave been offset by revenue collected ($464.406) and
returnea to the City . Below, is described the F .Y. '93
sources of revenue generated by Commission established Fees:
- Vehicle Parking and Overnight . . . . . . . .$ 4. 175 ( 5%)
- Boat Launch (resident and non res. ) . . .$ 4. 116 ( 5%)
- Scuoa/Wino Surf (res. and non res. ) . . .$ 30 ( - )
- Campers (R.V. and Tent ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 32.851 ( 41%)
- Resident Boat Launcn Sticker . . . . . . . . .$ 200 ( - )
- Non Resident Boat Launch Sticker . . . . .$ 864 ( 1%)
- Resident Dinghy RaCK Rental . . . . . . . . . .$ 3.560 ( 4%)
- Non Resident Dinghy Rack Rental . . . . . .$ 13.605 ( 17%)
- Picnic Group Rentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 2.695 ( 3%)
- Boat Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 5.922 ( 7%)
- Winter Island Grill rent * . . . .. . . . . . . .$ 11 .520 ( 14%)
- Other misc . fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 1 .517 ( 2%)
Total : $ 81 .056 (99%)
Of note is the fact that of the total fees generated.
some 85% is collected from visitors who do not live in
Salem.
* Grill rent reflects late rent collected In F.Y. '93.
Normai annual rent is $ 8. 160 ( 10%) .
WINTER ISLAND PARR: PROSPECTIVE USE IDEAS
Maintaining the present character of the Island is of
paramount importance to the residents of Salem. People use
of the Isiano is near peak auring the months of late June .
July , and August . The natural environs have been strained.
as notea by the reauction in the number of rabbits. ducks.
pneasant . and other biros. Raccoon . possum. and the
occasional snowy owl . fox . red tail hawk , and other exotic
oiras continue to visit the island. but less frequently .
Pests. such as pigeons and rats have declined significantly
due to an aggressive program to prevent easy feeding.
Nearly 650 of the island park remains green . with some seven
of its twenty acres remaining wild. Care has been taken to
minimize people use of the unkept areas. Campsites have
been restricted to areas immediately adjoining paved
roaaways. yet remote enough to be pleasing to the camper .
Of the nine buildings at the Park , three are new
construction ( reception . bath house . restaurant ) . four have
been fully renovated (office . tool shed. Sailing Pavillion .
Harbormaster Office) . one has been partially renovated
(hangar) . and one remains demised (admin/barracks) . Three
other structures are of historic significance and point to
the primary reason Winter Island has been included in the
National Register Of Historic Places. They are Fort
Pickering, Fort Pickering Light House . and the demised Atlas
Powaer House : The last strucure of note is the new 150'
pier with its 7' of water at low tide and 100' of 20 minute
limited transient tie up space .
Ideas for future use consideration that we feel would
be compatible with present use patterns are the following:
- Increase float space at the pier to accomodate up to
20 vessels. 10 transient . 10 extended visits.
Presently , only 5 vessels can tie up at any
one time for a twenty minute time limit . Such ex-
pansion of use would Include a launch service to
moorea vessels. and a fee structure that would
make its munincipal operation a profit center for
the Park / City .
- Construct a new boat launch facility to replace the
demisea sea plane launch ramp (presently waiting
for funding cycle of Public Access Grant ) .
- Convert Fort Pickering Light to solar power/battery .
- Restore Fort Pickering to its Civil War era condition
allowing public access to underground bunkers and
an authentic representation of its military use
since the 1640' s. Fee generating tours included.
- Convert the former Aaminstration/Barracks
ouilaina into a 14 unit Bed and Breakfast Inn .
with a full Gift Shoo and Museum ( Island
History) . a profit center administered by the
City .
- Conversion the Hangar into a municipal function
center with two tiers. capable of accomodating
receptions. dances. business and sales functions.
exibitions. and ail season festivals. with a
capacity to serve from 12 to 1200 people at any
one time . Otherwise . restore the hangar to bet-
ter accomodate its present boat storage / Island
maintenance facility, or tear it down and create
more parking 1 outdoor function space .
Winter Island Park is at a crossroad. Decisions regarding the
above capital improvements are key to its future as a significant
contributor to the revitalization of Salem' s Maritime . With all of
the otner renovations and restorations occurinq along its lengthy
coastiine . Winter island remains of key importance to completing the
picture . Being able to accomodate a wider range of vessels at its
pier . and providing in water and on island overnight accomodations
would contribute significantly to making the Salem Maritime a world
class destination for sailors. In turn . the question of restoring
Fort Pickering begs an answer . as well as addressing the near demised
condition of the Hangar .
The options offered above go a long way to completing the Winter
Island Park restoration effort begun in 1979. Keeping the park and
its program components municipally operated gives Salem a unique
opportunity to retain the wishes of Its neighbors to keep the park
environmentaily friendly in all ways. As has been the case over the
past ten years. tight land and programmatic use management must be
maintained. Continuing the overall profit center concept for use of
the island must also oe sustained. allowing for some cost center
acitivities to be offset by profit centers such as an Inn . gift shop ,
camping, etc . Keeping fees for Salem residents at a minimum is also
urged for future considerations. As has been done over the past ten
years. fees have been reduced and some eliminated for Salem residents
as profit center activities have grown .
As the parks Manager for the past decade . and being actively
involved in its future since 1972. I look forward to the opportunity
to continue the restoration effort of Winter Island Park on a positive
course . The ideas offered above are worthy of complete study and
discussion . Many other ideas nave been offered over the years. and
otners not yet proposed are certainly welcomed. With the combined
support of the Park and Recreation Commission . neighborhood. City
Council and the Mayor . the future of Winter Island as a first rate
maritime attraction is secure .
NEWS ,
LOCAL . TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 1991 7
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Coast Guard members unveil a plaque honoring those who established the Coast Guard air-sea rescue station on Winter Island in Salem,;
where planes were first used to patrol the coast.The plaque is located on Stacy Boulevard In Gloucester. The Salem News',
MIN
a.�� Awatchful eye ® t e c®ast
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A News staff report two-engined amphibians re3
SALEM— few old-timers can THEN AND NOW placed the earlier rescue planes.
Big,Lumbering PBY"Catalinas,'
remember when the still of the darting 'single-engine "Kingfl
night would be shattered by the "s 4 Tip shers," and the smooth Martin'
A sudden roar ofseaplanes from the
r _ PBMs were all a part of the leg-:
Winter Island Coast Guard sta-
endary fleet assigned to the base.
tion racing across Salem Harbor ;
t,,, on a mission of mercy: ' Until war broke out in 1941,they
station's work consisted mainly of
g � During World War II,residents rescue missions at sea, searches
along the shoreline could almost R
tell time as the Coast Guard anti- 6 for overdue vessels or lost fishing'
boats, spotting wreckage, patrol-
submarine patrols moved out ing local regattas and occasional
with precision at dawn and re- . .- assistance flights.
1 turned on the last rays of sunset. i
�, � gj
� � � When World War II began,,
The former Winter Island there were countless treacherous
Coast Guard station, and those r .
�g missions flown from Cape Ann's
�1 x� who worked there for 35 years, (�I 1 fog-locked shores to the sea in or-
were remembered Monday dur- der to escort freighters and troop
ing the dedication of a Coastships, and to watch for German
Guard memorial on Stacy Boule- Barracks at the Coast Guard air-sea rescue station on Winter Island. submarines. The Winter Island
gt - vard Green, not far from the fish- staff swelled to 438 men; 15
erman's memorial, in Gloucester, planes were housed at the station.
g where planes were first used to The Salem complex was armed
patrol the coast. for the first time, watches were
MUNI, Coast Guard co ters flew in for- doubled, guard patrols started
mation over Gloucester Harbor as and fox holes,dug on the grounds.;
"Blackout"and close-order infan
the.plaque, mounted on a blues-
tone rock and surrounded by try drills were regularly con?
flowers planted to resemble an ducted and air patrols were ex'_
t � C S = anchor,was unveiled. tended as far north as Maine and
southward to Nantucket Island.
- From 1935 to 1970, the Coast -
Guard's Winter Island air-sea res- a During the war,most of the sta
cue station, first with its Fokker tion"s efforts were directed to
' anti-submarine patrols. Many
"Flying Life Boats" and its �
B � "Hawks" and later with its Mar- submarines were contacted,some
t° c were attacked while others were
tins and jet copters,covered land
and sea from as far south as Ber-
`" ---- driven from the area,but no sink-
muds to as far north as Manitoba the cit has spent 2 million im-'
rp p y p $ plane hangar on Ten Pound Is- ings were reported.In addition to
AXa $ in Canada. proving the grounds. land was a surplus army tent the anti-submarine patrols, the
IM
e, station conducted 3,476 flights
In 1970, the Winter Island sta- The Salem Air Station was an bought for one dollar. from 1933 to 1944.During that pe-_/
tion was closed and all Coast outgrowth of the original air base The growth of operations and rind,one plane and two men were
r
p' Guard search and related activ- at Ten Pound Island Station in aircraft size forced a move to Sa- lost in the line ofduty.
ites in northern New England Gloucester Harbor, the first con- lem, where a permanent Coast
UOW
were transfered to a new $3 mil- tinuously operating Coast Guard Guard Air Station was opened on In 1944, the Winter Island sta-
lion officially became an Air-Sea
lion facility opened at Otis Air Air Station in the country. The Winter Island in February, 1935,
Base on Cape Cod. The city now station opened in 1926 with the with a staff of 35 men and two Rescue Task Unit. Special rescue
including Gibson GirlY
owns the Winter Island property; idea that airplanes could help Fokker."Flying Life Boats." In equipment, ,
radios, flares, dye markers, mes
while the buildings stand empty, boats in searches. The (Pcost air- the spring, four Douglas Dophin
111 i �� K sage bloc s, emergency kits and
life rafts,were provided.The sta=
a °"•
tlnn'8 fleet grew t0 37 planes`
making the Winter Island statin "�+�
one of the largest on the easter,
seaboard, second only to Eliza-�
beth City.
Over the years, the logs at the -
�� station became larger and larger'
with tales of heroic action. More
than one vessel and its crew had
-XII
a ,.a 0"I� mit . z`, ` g P Y
N — been given u for lost, only to be
found by the persistent men from
Salem.
., Area
police
M v Cast Guarhelicopters
d to search
M=X,g t „ for missing persons or fugitives,
while fire departments received`
help in tracking woods fires. i
The Salem Coast Guard even �
received a commendation from
®�® Russia in 1967 for sending a heli;
copter crew more than 175 miles; i
in thick fog to transport a Russian
- "`, ' •' _ woman and her premature baby,
®� to Boston City Hospital.
L Despite political efforts to save
the Winter Island Coast Guard
operation, the station was closed
®gym The Winter Island Coast Guard air-sea rescue station,1947. in 1970 as part of a Coast Guard
P
consolidation effort.
i
$ THE SALEM,MASS.,EVENING NEWS—TUESDAY,AUGUST 13, 1991
Racism discounted in Temple murders i
PHOENIX (AP) — Investigators are dis- was a hate crime,"he said Monday. - discovered. t
counting racism as a motive in the'slayings of Racially motivated crimes usually involve Agnos said a task force of county, city and
nine people at a Thai Buddhist temple. vandalism or harassment, said Duane Brady, state police and FBI agents would meet
Authorities continued to gather evidence at a spokesman for the Sheriffs Department. Thursday.
the temple where the bodies of six monks and "In a real hate crime type of thing there's ' Technicians continued gathering evidence B
three disciples were found side-by-side and spray paint, there's broken windows. It's at the temple, which is surrounded by cotton A
face-down Saturday, and investigators from really out of this M.O.,"Brady said. fields and desert on the outskirts of the city. 7'
several agencies said they would establish a The victims were killed by at least two as- One technician bagged samples of grass and
task force. Q.
The motive remained under investigation, sailants, authorities said. Among the victims others dusted cars for fingerprints.
authorities said. The monks' belongings were were an elderly woman and two'young men Eleven visiting monks went to the temple to a
;ransacked, but valuables in the W at Promku- who were completing three weeks of religious pray Monday but were turned away by inves- I,
rnaram temple such as gold and jade statues training. ligators, who kept the building sealed. Offi- v
! and a "money tree" with about $20 were un- The county medical examiner said the vie- cials later relented and let them inside
disturbed. tims were shot in the head with a small-tali- briefly.
Local Asian-Americans speculated the her weapon, and that four also had been One of the monks, Phrasunthorn Plamintr, IT
crime was motivated by anti-Asian hate, but wounded first with shotgun blasts. director of the Thai Buddhist Monk Associa-
Shet'ff Tom Agnos, who heads the investiga- Authorities asked the public for help in tion, said 13 monks arrived in Phoenix on 1
tion,I ismissed that theory. finding a truck seen leaving the temple Satur- Sunday and Monday to give worshipers sup-
"Tl;ere has been no indication at all this day about four hours before the bodies were port.
EmhOzzlement trial captivates Greeks S
"ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Forat
the past five months,Greeks have TV viewers watch drama unfold in case ki
tkned off their favorite soap op- '* �. S -
eras and tuned into a real-life involving former Essex County jail prisoner ar
rama: the corruption trial of for- ni
or eou's corruption trial.Premier Andreas Papan- empire and Olympiakos,Greece's Premier Constantine Mitsotakis.
r
mostpopularsoccerteam. They accused Bakoyannis of on
� „, 1
One of the key players is a But the government seemed helping Koskotas rise to promi Ei,L ,
banker who had been jailed in the oblivious to the claims, raising nence. fire
Essex County jail in Salem and suspicions that it was sheltering Koskotas fought extradition 15.
Middleton, Mass. for more than Koskotas. from the United States. But suit plt
denly,in May,he stopped fighting �..�� ` U.-
three years while he waged tr di- In October the it bowed p- .and returned to Greece to testify .. a Bu
successful fight against extradi- pressure from the press and op- against Papandreou. er-
tion back to his homeland. position and ordered an investi- pe
Up to 70 percent of the daytime gation. Central bank auditors
TV
all he had claimed, I ex pe
viewers have chosen the local found ' that $210 million were peeled him to appear with a video
missing. Koskotas fled in Novem- cassette of himself and. Papan- cul
tale of corruption and terrorism '
-�� i over such international hits as the ber and was arrested on Thanks- dreou having a drink and dis-
pe'
soap operas"Santa Barbara”and giving Day when he and his family cussing the embezzlement sche- s set.,
"The Bold and The Beautiful." arrived in a small private jet at an me," said Mimis Thrapsimis, an Th;
"Sometimes business suffers. I airfield in Bedford. engineer. "But we haven't seen
da any evidence to send anyone to wrl
watch the trial every y, said From his cell in Essex County, " tial
Panayotis Mitsotopoulos as he Koskotas claimed that e Koskotas as he arrives at of Papan- Georg
switched off a portable TV set in dreou and senior ministers had Papandreou's party strongly fa- the
y g vors televising the trial. federal court in Boston in 1988.
his liquor store at the end of et blackmailed him into embezzling g aril Peolo var
another day in court. money to help the ruling Panhel- "It shows the complete refuta-
Papandreou and two former lenic Socialist Movement. tion of the indictment and it and puts obstacles to finding
ministers of his 1981-89 socialist After the socialists' lost the shows it to everyone," said party case p g
administration have been on trial June 1989 elections, an unprece- spokesman Nikos Athanassakis. the truth."
since March 11—accused of help- dented alliance between conser- Store owner Panayotis Mitsoto- Both state and private TV are
ing former banker George Kosko- vatives and Communists accused poulos initially thought Papan- televising the trial,which began a
tas embezzle $210 million from Papandreou and former senior dreou was guilty, but said he's summer recess Friday lasting un-
his Bank of Crete. officials in highly publicized par- seen "no real evidence against til Aug.26. Kath
The former officials claim they liamentary debates. him and I'm changing my mind." Alcestis Maragoudaki,program
are victims of a conspiracy by po- One could walk across Athe- Others contend it's premature director for the independent An- MARF
litical enemies, and Papandreou nian neighborhoods and not miss to decide. tenna channel, said from 56 per- Doane B',
i
f th
t 68 to percent oe viewers is boycotting the trial, a word as TV sets blared the de- "It is a big mistake to come to centblehead ,
The tale is a scriptwriter's bate through open windows on any conclusions and decisions. are watching live transmissions. of early C,
dream — with fugitives, corrup- the balmy nights. The trial is not over yet and there "Also,we are first in the ratings Doane,dig
tion in high places and terrorism. On the morning of the last de- are a lot of witnesses to go," said when we show parts of it at
In mid-1988, newspapers began bate, terrorists of the left-wing Nikos Katsaros, a conservative night,"she added. Born in
to clamor that Koskotas,the high- November 17 group-killed Pavlos parliamentary deputy and pros- Scores of witnesses still have to in Marble
flying owner and chairman of the Bakoyannis, spokesman of the ecutor at the trial. testify for the prosecution and the St. Micha'
Sank of Crete, was embezzling conservative New Democracy Katsaros added that "drawing defense, and the trial is expected years she,
Toney to finance a budding news party and.son-in-law of current conclusions now only harms the to last most of this year. Fla.
THE WRIGHT STUFF Philo>rr1
ROME, P
Aquino, 83,
y � ,.. ,g formerly of
A nastota, die
r .
oo
"^"+" 1, t Hospitalafte
V 1 ,, F• A Born In On
nate of Onerl
Morrisville
cI
long time re;
d i before movin
three years a
` F
With her
Ili,
ated Aquino's
nastota for in
i '•dw w`P t W , T y*Ar,° r 3ININ She was a life.
k ,y Aga ha's Chur
` former secret,
3328, McConr
Club and Kanc
Club.
v"n aZ ,akt¢ x s ,� �>d �t ••,. c tnuwr7in$
Hank Ma
NEW YORK (,
A rigger at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy watches as tugboats nudge the S.S.Wright into position for repair work.See story, jeski,a third has
gg py y g g g p p y,page 2. for six teams in
league career,di
cer.He was 74.
Environmental damage of Gulf War `a world disaster' wi na es Boston
CAMBRIDGE(AP)—Scientists and health been easy,they said.War damage has made it "What werequire right now is the continual He also played f
experts from arotitnd the world say they're difficult to reach trouble spots,and the desert monitoring of the situation;" said Farouk El- Yankees, Philad
just beginning to fathom the dimensions of the is still littered with dangerous explosives and Baz,a geologist who specializes in remote sen- Chicago White S
massive air, land And water pollution prob- 'buried ammunition. sing technology that allows him to chart dians and Baltic
lems left by the Persian Gulf War. The oil fires not only have polluted the air changes in the region from photographs. had a career bs.
"It's not a local disaster, it's not even a re- with soot and smoke, but with a fine mist of El-Baz said the loose sand could cause prob-
gional disaster,it's a world disaster,"said Jas- unburned crude that coats clothing, skin, and lems throughout the region. ,
sem Al-Hassan,a professor of biochemistry at food that is sold in outdoor markets. There may be trouble for other countries
Kuwait University. On land, the damaged oil wells have leaked' once the wet season begins. Atmospheric
the environmental large pools of oil into the sand. In the ocean, changes stemmingfrom the war ma divert
falloutnfrom the confli researching began athree--day the oil is still killing marine life, and settling rain that would nrmally fall on parts of East BEAULIEU—of
to the bottom of the Gulf in large tar balls. Africa, where it is needed for agriculture, Fred R. Beaulieu
conference here at the American Academy of
Arts and Sciences Monday. The meeting was Oil isn't the only environmental concern. over the Indian Ocean instead,he'said. St., husband of
arranged by Harvard University's school of The war trenches that still scar the desert "The regional effects can be disastrous,"El- Beaulieu and son t
public health, and is sponsored by the Arab have moved sand that was once held in place Baz Said. and Marie(Grave'
Fund for Economic and Social Development by a hardened crust formed by years of ero- of Alan Beaulieu
and the U.N.Development Program. sion.The loose sand is now blowing across the The environmental changes will effect not and Sandra Lyn:.
desert,and dunes that stood still for years are only the Gulf and East Africa,but also parts of take place wed
Conducting research in the region has not now encroaching on roadways. Iran,Turkey,India and Pakistan,he said. from the C.R. L,
' Home, 28 Elm S
by a funeral Mas
DISRICT COURT ard'a Churchhours are
it.m. hours are t
p.m. Relatives
to attend. In lie
SALEM license,filed without a finding,stop sign viola- missed. contributions
tion, responsible,speeding, responsible, $150 •Paul W. O'Brien, 31, of 64 Eastern Point made to the An
costs. Road, Gloucester — malicious destruction of Fourth Ave.,N
SALEM—Incases heard Monday by Judge DUPUIS—Of S
C David Doyle: •Cheryl A. Jedrey, 42, of 4 Lincoln Road, property over$250,dismissed,$100 costs. puts, age 81,
Dispositions Peabody—operating after suspension,guilty, *Michael McCudden, 21, of 14 Collins St., Yvonne (Trem
•Warren Kelly, 38, of 4 Lakeview Ave., $550 fine, operating unregistered, responsi- Peabody— operating under the influence of dar Crest Rd.
Middleton—operating after suspension of his ble. liquor,dismissed,marked lanes violation,dis- and Georgina
missed, cher of the late.
license, dismissed, operating without a regi
s- •Christine P.Martin,20,of 493 Summer St. Arraignments of Cecilia Shai
tration in possession,dismissed. — forgery, continued without a finding, $125 *Pedro Serrano, 39, of no known address, 8:15 a.m. fron
♦Timothy J. Ryan, 19, of 43 Cherry St., costs,uttering a forged instrument,continued breaking and entering in the nightime with Home, 85 Fede
Danvers — assault and battery, guilty, one without a finding, receiving a stolen credit intent to commit a felony, due back in court St.,Salem to t
year probation, disturbing the peace, guilty, card,continued without a finding. Sept.16. Mass at 9 a.m.
Salem. Relative
$100 fine, malicious destruction of property, a Wayne J. Occhipinti, 34, of 14 Bridges •Linda Lavalle,27,of 6 Cushing St.,'Salem, 11 specdully invii
guilty,one year probation. Place, Brockton — breaking and entering in assault and battery,assault and battery with a hours are Thin
I •Iwan L. Farber, 20, of 45 Orchard Road, the daytime with intent to commit a felony, dangerous weapon a knife, due back in court p.m. Intermeni
Swampscott — operating after suspension of dismissed,larceny of property over$250, dis- Sept. 16. tery,Salem.
S * IY
RECEIVE®
t e V 'j 1 1990
I SALEM PLA%Iq[aaNG DEPT
May 21 , 1990 * ''
'O
�MISSV0
Ms. Jane Guy oh'nanWeaW1 to��
Planning Assistant
Salem Planning Department
One Salem Green
Salem, MA . 01920
Dear Ms. Guy:
MHC staff has reviewed the CLG opinion of Eligibility submitted by you for
Salem Neck. While we concur that many of the properties on Winter Island and
Salem Neck appear to be eligible for listing, we disagree with the boundaries
and justification of the district as proposed.
After reviewing and discussing the information, MHC staff would recommend that
the proposed Salem Neck district be broken down into two smaller districts,
one for Winter Island and the other for Salem Willows, and an individual
nomination for Ft. Lee. Specific comments on each of these follow:
Winter Island District. We would recommend that a Winter Island District be
nominated under rtteria A and D at the local level . Under Criterion A,
Winter Island appears to be significant for its association with the growth
and development of the City of Salem. Located in close proximity to the
city's residential and commercial core, Winter Island has served historically
as a peripheral area where essential support services and institutional
activities have occurred. Over time these have included: economic activities
such as fish processing and shipbuilding, the construction and maintenance of
fortifications and aids to navigation, and social correction and recreational
functions such as Execution Hill , the Plummer Home for Boys, and the J.C.B.
Smith Memorial Pool . Under Criterion D, Winter Island appears to be
significant for both its prehistoric and historic period archaeological
potential ,
Salem Willows District. A Salem Willows District appears to be eligible under
Criteria A and C. Under Criterion A, the Willows is significant as Salem's
primary summer resort and recreational community. Specifically, this includes
the subdivision and development of the Allen Farm and the establishment of the
Salem Willows Park. Under Criterion C, the Willows appears to be significant
for its late 19th and early 20th century architecture. A nomination will
need to address the issue of integrity in greater detail , and also consider
the distribution of contributing versus non-contributing buildings in defining
district boundaries. Archaeological potential , both prehistoric and historic,
should also be addressed although, at this point, there does not appear to be
sufficient justification for significance under Criterion D.
Massachusetts Historical Commission,Valerie A.Talmage,Executive Director, State Historic Preservation Officer
80 Boylston Street,Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 7278470
Office of the Secretary of State, Michael J. Connolly,Secretary
Ft. Lee. As indicated in the MHC's letter of May 17, 1990, we concur with the
L opinion that Fort Lee appears to meet Criteria A, C, and D on the state
level as a well preserved, substantially unaltered 18th century earthwork
fortification.
As a Certified Local Government, the City of Salem may proceed with
nominations for these properties. Please contact us if you have further
questions.
. Sincerely,
James W. Bradle
Preservation P1 ing Division
Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer
Massachusetts Historical Commission
JWB7hl
Community: Salem, MA
CLGC OPINION: ELIGIBILITY FOR NATIONAL REGISTER
Date Received: Date Reviewed:
Type: Individual Distri Attach map indicating boundaries)
Name: Salem Neck District (which includes Inventory Form: r72
Winter Island and several archaeological sites )
Address:
Action: Honor ITC Grant CLGC initiated Other:
INDMDUAL PROPERTIES DISTRICTS
_.Eligible x Eligible
_Eligible, also in district Ineligible
_Eligible only in district _ More information needed
_Ineligible
More information needed
CRITERIA: B
LEVEL: Loca State National
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE by
(Refer to criteria cited above in statement o slgni icance. I more in ormatloln needed, use
space to describe what is needed to finish eligibility opinion.)
Salem Neck, which includes Winter Island, is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places meetinc
Criteria A, C, and D at the local level. As a district, it has significant above and below ground resources includir
nine known archaeological sites, one of which contained uncovered human remains. The Salem Neck meets Criteria A
because it played a key role in Salem's economic development through an historical pattern of events which blend its
beginnings as a fishing community through shipbuilding and military usage and on to summer recreational uses. The
Neck provides a picture of Salem's economic development from the settlement of fishermen who owned, were granted or
leased property. This led to the construction of Salem's first public accomodation which was located on Winter Islar.
to accomodate the growing commerce of fish trade and visiting sea captains. Significant persons in Salem's history
that are associated with the Neck include Richard Derby, John Holgrave and Stephen Sewall. The construction and
launching of the Frigate U.S.S. Essex, which was responsible for capturing the first British naval vessel during the
War of 1812, was a significant event in Salem. The Neck is eligible under Criterion C for its architecturally
distinctive residences and for the structures built for commercial and recreational use by the community. Within the
boundaries of this district is Fort Pickering on Minter Island, a fine example of eighteenth and nineteenth century
military architecture which is individually listed on the National Register and Fort Lee, which has been determined
eligible individually on the National Register under Criteria A, C C D. Under Criterion D, the Neck's archaeological
potential is great, and has already provided artifacts that date back approximately 3000 years. The period of
significance for the Salem Neck district is prehistoric through 0940.
Additional photographs are available on the individual survey forms on file at Massachusetts Historical Commission.
Use reverse if necessary.
MHC STAFF OPINION
Date Received: Date Reviewed:
Opinion: Concur Disagree More information needed
See Reverse for Comments
12/85
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DRAFT
CONTRIBUTING STRUCTURES
Bay View Ave . - 2 , 10 , 16-18 , 30* , 38 , 42* , 44 , 48* , 60 , 72 , 74* ,
78 , 80* , 82 , 84-86 , 88 , 90 , 92* , 96 , 98 , 100* , 102 , 104 , 106* ,
110 , 112* , 116* , 120 , 122* , 126* , 128 , 130* , 136-138* , 140* , 144 ,
148* , 152* , 15* , 43* , 51 , 55 , 77* , 81* , 83 , 87 , 91 , 95 , 99 , 105* ,
107 , 111 , 153 ,
Beach Ave . - 1, 3* , 5-7* , 11 , 13* , 19 , 23 , 25* , 27 , 4* , 6-8* , 10 ,
12* , 14 , 16* , 18 , 20 , 32*
Cheval Ave . - 3 , 5-25 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 8 ,
Columbus Ave . - 2 , 6 , 10* , 14 , 20 , 22 , 26 , 30 , 40 , 44* , 92* , 96* ,
102 , 114 , 116 , 118 , 126 , 13 , 19* , 27* , 31, 35* , 41 , 61* , 65* , 71,
75 , 79 , 97* , 101-103* , 105-107 , 109 , 111 , 117* , 121 , . 125 , 129
Columbus Sy . - 3 , 5 , 7 ,
Cross Ave . - 3
Dustin St . - 1* , 2* , 3-3:
Port Ave . - 141 , 145 , 165 , 177 , 187-189 , 191 , 197-201 , 205-209
High Ave . - 1*
Hosmer Ave . - 1, 3
Island Ave . - 3 , 7
Juniper Ave . - 13-R13 , 15, 19 , 35-39 , 14* , 16-18 , 20 , 36-38
Lowell St . - 1* , 2 , 4 , 4%2, 6*
Star Ave . - 2 , 4 , 6
Sutton Ave . - 2 , 6 , 10 , 14 , 3* , 5 , 7* , 9 , 1112, 15 , 17 , 17%2, 19 ,
21*
Winter Island Rd. - 25* , 29* , 35* , 37* , 20 , 30
Misc . Salem Willows ' gazebos
* - Survey Form on file
DRAFT
NON-CONTRIBUTING STRUCTURES
Bay View Ave . - 6 , 8 , 52 , 17 , 71 , 123
Beach Ave . - 15 , 22 ,
Cheval Ave . - 14
Columbus Ave. - 38 , 112 (marked 114 ) , 114'-x, 21 , 55 , 95 ,
Columbus Square - 2 , 4
Cross Ave . - 1 , 2 , 4
Dustin St . - 4
Fort Ave . - 77 , R77 , 79 , 81 , 129 , 133 , 135 , 137 , 143 , 151-153 ,
155 , 159 , 161 , 167-175 , 183-185 , 195 , 80 , 26-34
Hosmer Ave . - 2
Island Ave . - 1, 8
Juniper Ave . - 23 , 22 , 31
Memorial Dr . - 73 , 75 , 77 , 85 , 76 , 78, 80, 82-90,
Restaurant Row - 0
Star Ave . - 8
Sutton Ave . - 4 , 8 , 12 , 16 , 18 , 22 , 11,
Winter Island Rd. - 1, 3 , 5 , 9 , Rll, 15, 19 , 4 , 12 ,
Salem Willows ' ampitheatre
Salem Willows ' pier
i
I
i
i
WINTER ISLAND
AN ANALYSIS OF . RESOURCE
SIGNIFICANCE AND MANAGEMENT
OPTIONS
.s
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
NORTH ATLANTIC REGION
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
.i:
NOVEMBER 1984
Congressman Nicholas Mavroules , on. behalf of Mayor Anthony Salvos ,
of Salem, Massachusetts , has asked the National Park Service to
determine the significance of Winter Island and offer a full view
of management options . ;with excellent cooperation from both the
congressman ' s and mayor ' s staffs , the North Atlantic Regional
Office has examined the resource significance and explored the
management, options that the City of Salem may use for the
administration, operation and maintenance of Winter Island .
I
I . SUMMARY
SIGNIFICANCE
- I
Fort Pickering, nominated to the National Register of Historic
Sites in 1973 , and located on Winter Island , possesses both strong
local historical associations and a reasonable degree of physical
integrity . Due to reconstruction during the Civil War which required
considerable demolition of the %early. Federal fort , Fort Pickering
essentially dates from the mid-19th- century. Although of interest
as a typical type of 19th century coastal fortification , it does
not possess the national significance required by the National
Park Service ' s management policies to permit its inclusion in
�_. the National Park System. Its historical associations are represented
in other sites already within the system.
MANAGEMENT OPTIONS
Due to .the resource significance of Fort Pickering and Winter
Island , a range of management options are proposed with major
organizational responsibilities directed towards the City of Salem.
The City, through a well represented local coordinating organization ,
may use these proposed options , that is , funds and resources from
either public or private sources , either individually or collect-
ively, to create a management group that will produce a community
endorsed development program that will meet the future needs of
Winter Island as a public park .
1
95 *Beverly
28
*Peabody
128 - Salem
WINTER ISLAND
*Lynn
*Revere
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r VICINITY
NO SCALE N
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II . Existing Conditions
Winter Island, a 38 acre , 1/2 mile long island, is situated on
the western .side of Salem Harbor and two miles from the center
of Salem. The study area, consisting of 20 . 5 acres ,. located on
the south end of the island, is bbrdered by the Plummer Home for
Boys and residential neighborhoods to the north and west . Winter
Island Road , a two lane paved road on a causeway from Salem Neck ,
provides access through property belonging to the Plummer Home
for Boys . Sparsely vegetated with irregular topography, the site
commands excellent views of Salem and Beverly Harbors as well
as the open waters of Massachusetts Bay. Adjacent neighbors include
the New England Power Company generating station , South Essex
t
Waste Water Treatment Plant and the Cat Cove Marine Laboratory
to the west and north of Winter Island , across Cat Cove .
Presently operated as a city park," Winter Island provides both
active and passive activities for land and water recreationists .
Facilities for park users include a seasonally operated information
gatehouse at the area entrance , a concession food building, a
boat ramp, and chemical toilets . Other structures are former
O. S . Coast Guard facilities transferred to the City of Salem in
1972 . The predominant structures , all significantly vandalized,
are the commandant/off ice building, the seaplane hanger , radio
shack and a powder house.
i. On the east end of Winter Island, adjacent to a small but popular
I
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CAT COVE o >
In CUL UMHUS AV
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l� SEWAGE PUMPING r 1 AREAS
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PLUMMER HOME
NEW ENGLAND \\���
POWER CO. �1 FOR BOYS
FORT PICKERING
1� r AREA MAP
LIGHT HOUSE NO SCALE .
GATEHOUSE
BEACH
_- TENNIS MUNITIONS
COURTS-,,j
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FORT
GARAGE \J < PICKERING
COMMANDANT 4 `"S
OFFICE ® ` POND'. ;
= = - a SEAPLANE
HANGAR LIGHTHOUSE
CONCESSION -
RADIO —
^ C21 SHACK
POWDER —
HOUSE
WINTER ISLAND
SEAPLANE RAMP STUDY AREA.
NO SCALE N
beach , is the site of Ft. Pickering and the recently restored
Ft . Pickering Lighthouse . The Ft. Pickering Site, occupying aprox-
imately two acres , has been a fortified site since the mid-17th
century. The present structures have deteriorated to ruins since
the last garrison left after the Spanish American War in 1898 .
The Fort Pickering Site has been on the National Register of Historic
Sites since 1973 .
III . SIGNIFICANCE
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
There have been at least three fortifications erected on the site
of Fort Pickering that relate to the present ruin. These three
fortifications are illustrated in the following drawings . A plan
of Fort William dated September 4 , 1794 , depicts essentially a
scuare fortification with a blockhouse/powder magazine centrally
located on the parade . Modified during the following 20 years
and renamed in 1799 , Fort Pickering by' 1820 was larger than its
predecessor and constructed more to the natural configurations
of the island . During the Civil War, Fort Pickering was almost
wholly reconstructed and assumed its present appearance . The
fort doubled in size at that time but incorporated much of the
earlier fort. The curtain walls that faced the harbor were retained,
and in all probability the foundations of the razed west wall
remain intact below the .present parade.
^ r-
' In design , material , and construction, For Pickering was similar
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FORT WILLIAMS, 1794
WINTER ISLAND
SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS
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FORT PICKERING, 1820
WINTER ISLAND
SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS
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FORT PICKERING, 1863
WINTER ISLAND
SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS
�' - NOTE ORIGINAL 1820 FORT OUTLINE
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to other coastal forts of the period . Designed to discourage f
an attack from the sea ; Fort Pickering was sufficiently successful
i
that , once erected it was never tested.
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ARCHEOLOGICAL RESEARCH POTENT
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Fort Pickering today is essentially an archeological ruin . Stripped
of its earlier detail , isolated from its long removed garrison
structures , allowed to moulder into a mere reminder of its appearance
of a . century ago, .Fort ' Pickering like many other abandoned and
i
razed fortifications , has extensive archeological resources .
Because of the theoretical existence of remnants from the 1860s ,
1820s , and 1790s , as well as earlier , Fort Pickering might be
� . examined to shed light on the following general research topics :
1 . Most archeological research projects involving military sites
have been either at large , constantly garrisoned installations
or at briefly occupied frontier posts . There has been no
research into forts that have been occupied by both militia
units and regular Army garrisons . The differences and
similarities in equipment , uniforms , and other government
issue items could be analyzed through excavated artifacts
and their distributions .
2 . During the Revolutionary War, militia officers were chosen
or elected because of their relative social status and wealth.
By the time .of the Civil War that had changed . Up until the
1860x , officers customarily supplied their own person , quarters ,
_ and mess . Glass and ceramic artifacts could give insight ;,
T
into social and economic status of militia officers and their
relative status in the community.' Regional trade distribution
patterns can also be inferred from those classes of artifacts .
3 . On a larger scale , the place of Salem in national and world
trade . could be inferred from the identification of nonlocal
artifacts .
It is not the intent pf the National Park Service to conduct such
an archeological research project . Neither the existence of the
. research potential nor the possible results of an archeological
exploration affect the significance of the site relative to the
purposes of this study . The potential for research suggests ,
instead , that however Fort Pickering is ultimately developed,
y its below grade resources should be respected . Indeed , the National
omination form could be amended to
Register of Historic Placesn
include a statement about the site ' s research potential .
RESOURCE ;SIGNIFICANCE
For an historic property to be eligible for inclusion in the
National Park System, it must be of exceptional national signifi-
cance and possess a high degree of structural integrity . National
I' significance is ascribed to properties at which events occurred
that have significantly contributed to, are identified prominently
with, or outstandingly .represent the broad cultural, political ,
economic , military, or social history of the nation ; to properties
( associated directly with the lives of persons nationally significant
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in the history of the United States ; or to properties associated
with an important event that outstandingly represents some great
idea or ideal of the American people . National significance may
also be ascribed to structures that embody the distinguishing
j
characteristics of an architectural type specimen ; that are
exceptionally valuable for a study of a period , style , . or method !
of construction ; or that represent the work of a master builder. ,
designer , architect , or engineer .
For structures , integrity is a composite quality derived from
original workmanship , original location , and the elements of
feeling and association . Sites that possess their original
location , and elements of feeling and association are considered
to have integrity, and the site of a structure no longer standing
may possess national significance if the person or event associated
with the structure was transcendent importance in the Nation ' s
history, and the association consequential .
� • The site of Fort Pickering has been occupied by some type of forti-
fication since the mid-17th century . Although in existence since
1
1644 , the present fort ' s character and configuration date from
rehabilitation efforts in 1794 and 1820 , and a more complete
rebuilding in 1863 . Because the reconstruction project during
the Civil War required considerable demolition of the early Federal
J fort , today ' s fort essentially dates from the mid-19th century.
Photographs illustrating views of Fort Pickering between 1866 .
1 and 1925 are included in the Appendix.
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Fort Pickering is significant because it is typical of a number
I
of fortification sites along the Eastern seaboard which experienced
cycles of occupation and abandonment, reconstruction and decay.
The extended period of occupation spanning 300 years on an ,intermittent
basis, further makes the site significant for its aforementioned
archeological potential. It is , as its 1971 National Register
nomination form makes clear , "the oldest remaining fortified site
,
in Salem and one of the oldest yin Massachusetts . "
An examination of the historic record , however , indicates that
while Fort Pickering is of local and perhaps of state significance ,
it does not possess the historical associations sufficient to
` qualify it for inclusion in the National Park System. Fort Pickering
is not associated with nationally significant events or individuals ,
and structurally it is not notable for its architectural values .
The , structural integrity of the fort, while far from being absolute ,
is reasonably high. It possesses its original location and is
characterized by a high sense of feeling and association .. Although
the wooden superstructure of the bomb proofs (an interesting archi-
tectural feature ) has long since been removed, the stone walls
and the powder magazines combine to create a stong military associa-
tion . With little imagination, the 19th-century fort can begin
to take form.
Ancillary historic sites on Winter Island such as the remains
of the "herby" wharf and the site of the construction of the ,
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U. S . S . Essex are of interest , but due to a lack of integrity and
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nationally historic associations do not add enough to raise the
remains to a level of national significance ;
The Coast Guard facilities possess little historical or architect- j
ural significance , but the buildings could be adaptively used.
The hangar particularly offers a number, of possibilities . Listing
on the National Register should be possible at least for the hangar,
as the Miller Field Seaplane Hangar, Staten Island , is a near
twin . ' Preservation tax credits would then be possible .were the
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site to be developed .
In summary, Fort Pickering possesses strong local historical
associations and a reasonable degree of physical integrity. Of
interest as a typical type of 19th-century coastal fortification ,
it does not possess the national significance required by the
Service ' s policies to permit its inclusion in the National Park
System. Its historical associations , furthermore , are represented
in other sites already within the System.
IV. MANAGEMENT OPTIONS
Before management options can be discussed , a statement regarding
the oroblems of Winter Island is required to focus attention
e '
and direction to this review. Simply stated , the facility disrepair,
vandalism, and general appearance of the area illustrates that
//,.. . the administrative , operational , and maintenance requirements
? are not being achieved . Therefore , the purpose of this manaqement
review will be to present a range of management options for the
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` admini=-_ration , operation , and maintenance of Winter Island,
increasing both recreational opportunities and the local capacity
to maintain those opportunities . These management options will .
provide a basis for a management action plan which will identify
resources , responsibilities , and control for administration and
guide the formation of development and implementation plans for
Winter Island. - The ,use of Winter Island as a public park or
for other public uses , established as conditions of conveyance
by the Federal government to the City of Salem in 1922 , continues
to be endorsed by elected officials and interested groups as
community goals .
�. The management options can be illustrated as a continuum of resources ,
responsibilities , and control required for the administration
of Winter Island . The complete administration of Winter Island
by the City of Salem only is at one .end of the continuum and
the complete. administration by a public or private organization
onj& is at the opposite end . The intermediate management options
are combinations of city, public , and private organizations ,
each contributing varying amounts of resources , responsibilities ,
and control to the administration of the area .
Winter Island Management Options
City City/Federal City/State City/Local City/Private Outside
of Groups Public
Salem - or
Private
Organizations
{
3 1
Due to the current increasing demand on shrinking tax dollars ,
resources , and the current conservative fiscal environment surrounding
both public and private organizations , the management options
at opposite ends of the continuum do not appear to be realistic
i
and will not be further discussed .
4 I
The city component in the remaining management options consists
of either a continuation of one of the existing local coordinating
%
organizations-Winter ISland Commission or Winter Island Committee ,
or establishment of a new group . This organization , consisting
of the City of Salem, public and private representation with
I citizen participation , would focus community attention , rally
public support and achieve timely results . Citizen participation
will ensure that the issues , goals , and implementation strategies
ihave neighborhood and community support , avoid delays in
implementation , and possibly reduce costs through volunteerism.
This city component requires the City of Salem to actively pursue
1 a community solution for Winter Island .
r
A. City/Federal Management
ti
If Winter Island had been determined to be nationally significant , -
a variety of actions by the National Park Service could have
been pursued . However , at this point, the basis for active ,
` on-site National Park Service management does not appear possible
under U . S . Department of Interior Managagment Policies for the
=` National Park Service . ' Other actions by the Park Service, i . e . ,
assistance in recreational land planning and interpretative planning
for Fort Pickering, or seasonal on-site interpretation of Fort
Pickering by uniformed personnel, may be possible , subject to
available funding, through cooperative agreements . At this time ,
other federal agency administration of Winter Island does not
seem imminent .
Secondary federal participation through grant and aid programs
is possible , although funds have been reduced in many programs .
The UPARR, established in 1978 and administered by the National
Park Service , specifically encourages distressed jurisdictions
to develop and adopt innovations in planning, programming, managing ,
and delivering recreation services to increase the . number of
recreation opportunities available to urban residents . In accomp-
lishing its objective , the program emphasizes the development
. of linkages among recreation recovery activities at all levels
of government , and through other community resources and revitaliza=
tion activities , including voluntary efforts by neighborhood
residents .
Three types of grants have been used to meet UPARR objectives :
1 . Recovery Action Program Grants - 50% matching grants to urban
communities to develop priorities and strategies directed at
the overall recovery of local recreation systems ;
2 . Rehabilitation Grants - 70% federal matching grants to renovate
� .,, , existing indoor or outdoor recreational facilities in urban areas ;
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3 . Innovation Grants - 70% federal matching grants to local
governments to cover costs of personnel, facilities , equipment ,
supplies , and services to be used to demonstrate innovative and
cost-effective measures to enhance park and recreation systems
in neighborhoods . Funded projects are expected to address common
problems related to program development , facility operations
and delivery of recreation services
Salem has a completed and approved Recovery Action Plan enabling
the city to secure additional funds under the UPARR. Unfortunately ,
there are no funds for rehabilitation or innovation grants .
However , an additional grant , the Recovery Implementation Plan ,
with 50% federal matching funds for planning , is available .
If a Salem grant application were funded , the city and the local
coordinating _organization could fine tune a management mechanism
and begin to form a solid development plan .
An additional source of assistance for small construction projects
may be the Seabee; , a constsruction unit with the U. S . Army 'or
the use of U. S. Coast -Guard for short intermittent periods .
This management option would envision the city identifying a
coordinating organization with citizen participation; pursuing
a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service for limited
services ; applying for available funds ; and preparing a management
action plan for development programs and implementation opportunities .
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B. City/State Management
This management option would utilize resources from state agencies i
and programs . Approaching the Division of Forest and Parks within >-
the Massachusetts Department of Environment Management, the city
k
could solicit interest active on site administration and technical
assistance
Outdoor recreation oporprtunities and historic resource appreciation. ,
both indigenous to Winter Island , are goals that the Division.
r-.
of Forest and Parks actively pursues through land acquisition
and/or management actions . Land acquisition funds specifically
identified for coastal acquisition are available . The Heritage i-
State Park Program, an effort that seeks environmental enhancement
and economic revitalization , is a joint effort between state ,
municipalities and private developers . Established in 1978 , "
€ :
this program has eight existing and six new parks . The program :.
to date does not have a park representing the rich maritime heritage
and zssociated events of .the State . Winter Island could provide
this maritime theme to the heritage park program. Although perhaps
not a popular management alternative for citizens of Salem, the
establishment of a state park at Winter Island would address
many identified problems .
'J
Management actions committing state personnel to on site activities
and/or technical assistance for management planning could be 3
M:.
s.
established through cooperative agreements . y;
its
For the development of recreational facilities , distribution
of funds through two grant-in-aid programs by the Executive
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Office of Environmental Affairs , Division of Conservation Services j
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could be enlisted. The types of grants have been used to meet
the Division ' s major responsibilities are :
1 . Land Water Conservation Fund_ - 50% federal matching funds
` for acquiring and/or developing lands for outdoor recreation .
1 While the National Park Service administers the program, fund
a I
allocation is performed by the Division of Conservation Services .
2. Urban Self Help Program t 90% state matching funds to acquire
and develop lands to be used for park and recreation purposes .
At this time over $731 , 000 has been identified for recreation
i
development at Winter Island . Subject to additional development
plans additional funds could be solicitied .
i
This management option would involve the city identifying a
coordinating organization with citizen participation ; determining
the amount of state involvement advantageous to the community
and pursuing available state park programs ; developing a cooperative C
agreement for technical assistance ; continuing to apply for available
• grants and funds through the state ' s recreational programs ; and
preparing a management action plan for development programs and
implementation opportunities .
' C. City/Local Group Management
Under this option , a variety of local initiatives would be under-
taken to generate interest and assistance in the operation and
maintenance of Winter Island . The major thrust would be to mobilize
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local interest through participation. Neighborhood , civic interest ,
community service and senior citizen groups to name a few, would
be contacted for funds and labor. Using limited amounts of personnel ,
material and equipment from the city, to act as seed money, community
projects could be initiated. A successful example , the Senior
Citizen Maintenance Corp . in Revere , was established to maintain
eight city parks . Using Federal funds from the UPARR program,
twenty five senior citizens were responsible for cutting grass ,
planting , watering and pruning plants , painting , making minor
repairs and undertaking general light maintenance and landscaping .
The program results to the city were decreased maintenance costs ,
reduced vandalism, and an increase in civic pride and use of
the eight city parks .
The relocation of the city parks and recreation department , another
city department or a county office to the former commandant/office
building would both provide a stable ,presence to the area and
reduce vandalism and neglect . The Y.M. C.A. could be approached
for either office space participation or other on-site activities
which may tap some organizational resources . of coures , these
proposals all depend on complete building rehabilitation .
Though not popular, operation and maintenance funds generated
through local sales taxes for recreation purposes only, revenue
bonds , or increasing user fees could be pursued.
t v
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Zn the interest of community relations , donations could be solicited
from such sources as New England Power Company or other businesses
within Salem. Gift catalogs , identifying specific projects and/or
materials could be produced and used as a funding and public
interest tool .
i
Historical societies and special interest groups for volunteer
labor may: be used to leverage additional materials and/or services .
For demolition and/or construction activities , the support of
local labor unions could be utilized .
This management option would envision the city identifying a
coordinating organization with citizen participation increasing
i grassroot support through active participation ; expanding the
constituency and community support ; and preparing a management
action plan for development programs and implementation opportuni-
,.ties .
D. City/Private Management
This option would envision the city, with assistance through
the designated local organization , contracting with either several
small companies or one large company for appropriate activities
on winter Island . This option could shift some operational
maintenance and financial risk and responsibility from the city
to a private company and possibly generate income for the City
' of Salem. This option could also allow a company to take advantage
of tax credits for preservation work as well as the normal business
tax deductions available . Care should be taken by the city so
f
that eccnomic goals in the recreation proposals would not eliminate
some valid or important recreation opportunities due to poor
economic analysis .
Other private sector involvement could provide for financial
ffi
donations , grants , in kind resources and recreational service
coordination.
This managemetn option could , depending upon the scope of operations
. and if successfully executed , eliminate many operational and
maintenance responsibilities at Winter Island for the City of
Salem.
E. City/Federal/State/Local /Private Management
The previous options examined Winter Island management from
selected perspectives . A more effective option may be the selective
combination of the best aspects of the different options into
a consolidated partnership. Using the experience and expertise ,
as--well as funding assistance from federal and state sources ,
the support and participation of local groups within the community
and the advantages and capabilities of private enterprise, this
partnership of interested groups could be focused through a local
coordinating organization and develop a comprehensive management
action plan for Winter Island."
This consolidated partnership combining limited resources and
large tasks would envision the city identifying a coordinating
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organization with citizen participation; solicit UPARR funds ;
I,
pursue heritage state park program and state funding sources ;
expand local and private group support and involvement; and
`i prepare a management. action plan for development programs and
implementation opportunities .
The future of Winter Island will be decided by the elected officials
and residents of Salem. The National Park Service is hopeful
e
that the information presented will assist in determining the
appropriate administration and subsequent recreational development
of Winter Island .
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V. INFORMATION SOURCES
NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
DAVID GILLESPIE, 223-7754
REGION DIRECTOR
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MID ATLANTIC REGIONAL OFFICE
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
LESLIE LUCHONOK 21s-597-6605
GRANTS PROJECT OFFICER
DEPART14EN^1 OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
DIVISION OF FOREST AND PARKS
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
CHRIS GREEN 727-3160
GRANTS AND AID TO CITIES
JOHN FEINGOLD 727-3160
LAND ACQUISITION
BOB FRIEDMAN 727-3174
URBAN SERVICES
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
DIVISION OF CONSERVATION SERVICES
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
JOEL LERNER 727-1552
DIRECTOR
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VIEW OF FORT PICKERING, N�
WINTER ISLAND. j
SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS
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ESSEX INSTITUTE —
188 ESSEX INSTITUTE HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS ' IAMES DUNCAN PHILLIPS LIBRARY
l
notes C,D,E, . . .or the scale Do,Re, Mi. . . 5 The physical position of
the letters was significant:a small"m"printed inside a large"D"meant
"mind," and an `L" printed over an "S" spelled "lovers." Other rebus winter Island, Salem: Its Use and Abuse
conventions included a letter"E"printed in red ink for"ready"and the
letters "EX" covered with speckles for "expect." ' By HAROLD A.PINKHAM,JR.*
The Essex Institute's manuscript rebus is composed of almost zoo
wood and steel engraved pictures, many of which were probably cut
from printed rebuses and primers. When the author could not find an ODAY Winter Island in Salem Harbor;'"for many years the site of a
appropriate picture, she drew in one of her own. A major portion were TO nificantfishingandcommercialcommunityandthefortresswhich
obtained, however, from an unusual source.The mythological and em-
I g y
blematic figures (i.e., the woman with the scythe and sheaves of wheat, a protected it,is a dilapidated,vandalized, and abandoned e esore—a re-
and the winged figure with the anchor in fig. 1) were cut from two ; pudiation of its once-vital function.Nevertheless,for three hundred and
sheets of"mnemonic hieroglyphics" (fig.4). The sheets, each engravedforty years—from settlement in 162,9 to abandonment to 1969—con-
with fifty figures, were a system of mnemonic devices designed in 1812 tending interests somehow managed to recognize the fundamental role
by a Swiss named Feinaigle to improve the memory.6 The system, of the island and to resolve their differences sufficiently to maintain the
which required not only memorizing the loo hieroglyphics but also harbor installation. A brief history of the island offers insight into the
their number and location on the chart, was ludicrously complicated, ability of governmental authorities to decide issues and obtain support
and it is little wonder that the sheets were sacrificed to create a rebus. in the face of great adversity. There appears to be a lesson here for the
Although the manuscript rebus uses many of the standard clues, it is present generation.
fortunately not as inscrutable as the ones published in Our Young Folks. ! The initial phase of this narrative on intergovernmental activities rel-
But readers are warned that unlike that periodical, the Historical Collec- two levels of government—the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay
to Winter Island is comparatively simple because it involves only
tions will not publish the solution to Fanny's rebus in the next issue! i-
Company and Salem—both of which were in their formative years and
11
I consequently uncertain of their relationships to each other. Local and
colony interests in the beginning had one,:)verriding common concern:
? ' the survival of their joint venture in colonization.The General Court in
1629 sent soldiers to fortify the island and shipwrights to construct a
fishing fleet. Between 163 S and 1639 the fishing industry and the com-
munity associated with it grew rapidly. So important had fishing be
that the court ranted to John Holgrave,the leader of the
t, come by 1635 g
fledgling village at the harbor site, power to impress men to land salt in
y. the surrounding area and freed him from other duties in order to super-
s. Americana 4(1977):9. intend the work.'
6.J.R.Murden, Tie Art of Memory (New York:J.T.Murden,1818),pp.19-32,and ,� The following year the town became more directly involved with its
Francis Fauvel-Gouraud,Phreno-Mneruotechny;or, The Art of Memory(New York:Wiley
and Pumam,1845),pp 73-83,provide explanations of Feinaigle's system of mnemonics. "r *Harold A.Pinkham,Jr. is a professor of history at Salem State College.
Several other books on mnemonics were published during this period,and both Murden _'. 1.Winter Island Report, 15 February 1973,Essex Institute Library,pp. 3-4(hereafter
and Fauvel-Gouraud lectured on the subject in New York and Massachusetts.The Essex - cited as the Winter Island Report) and James Duncan Phillips. Salem in tie Seventeenth
Institute has three sets of distributed
at mnemonics printed circa 1830 in its collection,and it - Century (Boston: Houghton MitlliR Co.,1933),P.94•
is possible they were distributed ac lectures. ..
189
i .
::r
ESSEX INSTITUTE —
r
190 ESSEX INSTITUTE HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS JAMES DOCAN PHILLIPS LIBRARY WINTER ISLAND, SALEM 191
subcommunity of fishermen, formally recognizing the importance of Dutch in 1654, for it continued to reinforce the bastion for the next two
the location by granting half-acre lots (Holgrave received three-fourths years,first appointing men to order townspeople to work on the strong-
of an acre) to the settlers along the island's shore. The tenure of the hold for a length of time according to the proportion of their rates and
grants varied—some for life and others for specified terms of years, but then directing that the guns be mounted promptly and that the fort on
none were inheritable. In addition to the land they received, the menV the North Neck be dismantled and its timbers taken to the island de-
were exempted from taxes for seven years and excused from training fenses.5 Thus, ironically,by 1657,when the position was at its strongest,
during the fishing season. To encourage the industry further, conunu_ = the Dutch menace had subsided.The town's residents had contributed a
nity leaders decreed that fish would no longer be used as manure, an j great deal to the colony's defense as well as to their own survival;how-
obvious indication of the growing commercial value of this resource.2 ever, even more would be expected in the future,
Town fathers instructed Holgrave to fence off the causeway leading to Continued difficulties with Holland during the next twenty years
the isle to keep cattle, goats, and dogs away from the rapidly multiply- brought increased demands upon Salem. Because the island now pro
-
ing number of fish-drying frames, or flakes. In an effort to encourage bR' duced more fish than the town could use and sent its surplus to other
the arrival of ships from elsewhere to unload and purchase fish, local ;, towns and abroad,the Commonwealth took cognizance of its value and
authorities in 1637 persuaded Holgrave to erect an inn for the accom- " consequently raised its level of expectations regarding the port's ability
modation and entertainment of visitors. By the end of the first decade, 4 '. to contribute to the colony's defense.Two more wars, one each during
fishing had become very attractive; men from several towns were ^ the next two decades,tested the patience and resiliency of the local gov-
among the twenty-five recipients of lots in 1639? 1W,
ernment. In 1666, a year after the treaty, the court directed that the
Efforts to protect Salem and its valuable fishing from French and t. town take steps to protect the harbor. In response, a committee of
Dutch attack, sporadic during the 1640s,became far more serious in the townsmen, appointed by the Massachusetts authorities to carry out the
following ten-year period. After building a formal earth-wood strut- colony's mandates on preparedness, ordered that the town solicit one
ture around the two existingcannons for the first time in 16 ;D` day's work at the tnilita base from each man over sixteen ears of age
44,the court ;� Y� 17' Y g
allowed the guns to be removed for use against the Turks? As foreign 4, living in the town. That this did not contribute to a general spirit of
threats intensified the following year, town authorities directed that the cooperation between colonial officials and townspeople was demon-
causeway be made more passable. In 1652, when the town had already strafed the following year when the cannons at Town House Square,
allocated a great deal of money to build a "form" in the southeastern i' which protected the center of the town,were forcibly taken to the island
part of Winter Island, the court responded to the plans of Salem officials r ; bastion, accompanied by denunciations from local citizens.6
and contributed one hundred pounds to the endeavor. After the New }'- ' After 1667 colonial officials assumed a more subdued role during the
England Confederationjoinedfhe war against the Dutch in 1653, Salem 4� cr relatively brief respite from hostilities,involving themselves less in town
and other coastal areas became greatly alarmed. The following year, s. " and island affairs. The town, taking advantage of the lull, attempted to
fearful that the enemy would appear in Salem harbor,the town meeting `,• restore vitality to its once-vibrant fishing industry injured by recent
appropriated another one hundred pounds to strengthen the fortifica- ': wars.In 1668 town authorities had the isle fenced in again to protect the
tions. The town apparently had little faith in the peace treaty with the flakes from cattle. Because of the severe scarcity of wood, apparently a
consequence of fence-building and renewed expansion of fish-drying
z. Sidney Perley, The History of Salem, 3 vols. (Salem, Mass.: Sidney Perley, 1924),
2:377-78.
3.Phillips, Salem in the Seventeenth Century,pp.94-95,and the Winter Island Report, v b Perley,History oJSaleny 1:378 and 2:237;and the Report of the Salem City Solicitor,
P 4 John W.Weeks,1927,Essex Institute Library (hereafter cited as the Report of the Salem
4. Perley,History of Saler",2:237;the Winter Island Report,p.9;Phillips,Salem in the Solicitor).
Seventeenth Century,pp.79 and 182;and the National Register of Historic Places Inven- 6. Phillips,Salem in the Seventeenth Century,P.201;Perley,History of Salem,2:237-38;
tory Nomination Form,1973,Essex Institute Library(hereafter cited as National Register and the Winter Island Report,pp.4-9.
Inventory).
^r
l� ,
192 ESSEX INSTITUTE HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS � � WINTER ISLAND, SALEM 193
operations, in 1670 fishermen and shoremen who dried fish were per- The arrival of the merchants signaled a need for greater,cooperation be-
mitted to cut the valuable and scarce wood on the common for the re- ell as between colonial and
- tween fishing and commercial interests as w
pair and construction of flakes?Thus, during the first forty years of set- town governments. Such collaboration would be essential in the French
clement we have seen local and colonial officials form a fundamental war which was to come.
relationship: colonial governments intervening in times of crises and Because the government of Massachusetts was distracted by the clashes
then retreating to leave local men to their own devices. J '. with the Crown during the 168os and consequently was not well pre
-
A transition in intergovernmental relationships occurred between pared for the French war during the following decade,the merchants of
1672 and 1713 with the introduction of private initiative from the bot- ` Salem had to assume much of the responsibility for defense once borne
tom and imperial initiative from the top. Although the previously es- µ by colonial officials. Between 1690 and 1693 they spent approximately
tablished colony-local connection reappeared at the outset of the third500 pounds, providing eleven large artillery pieces and the necessary
war with Holland in 1672, a new dimension to intergovernmental rela- ammunition for the fort,in 16go, building and sending out a shallop
tions—private participation—soon emerged.Immediately after the dec- to protect their vessels, and constructing several blockhouses in 1692.
laration of war, the town was cited by Massachusetts authorities for al- Despite the heavy cost carried by the merchants, much of it unre-
lowing its fortress to fall into disrepair, and in the succeeding year theimbursed, for maintaining the stronghold imposed by royal officials
sidents
major general of the Commonwealth commanded that the stronghold and despite the necessity in 1693 for Salem to impress its re
be repaired immediately and that a platform and large artillery pieces ben in order to meet British demands, the bastion was nevertheless
installed without delay. At the same time, to facilitate travel and com- officially named Fort William in honor of the victorious monarch of
munication between fort and town, the colony directed that the cause- the mother country.It Apparently, royal promises of profitable trans
way and bridge be enlarged further without procrastination.8 Although atlantic trade after the war secured the acquiescence of the merchants,
the third conflict with the Dutch ended in 1674, there was continuedwho seem to have accepted direct intervention from the Crown with
fear that the still-powerful enemy,which had rendered great damage toless reluctance than they had a decade earlier.
the coast of Virginia, would visit Salem. This menace induced private Royal involvement increased somewhat during Queen Anne's War
citizens to contribute to the strengthening of the island military com- (1702-1713). Although town leaders felt compelled to establish a per-
plex.The bulk of the z95 individual contributors,representing 61 fami- manent watch at the fort with the outbreak of hostilities and to con-
lies, were from Salem. However, because donations came from other nect two blockhouses by a zoo-foot embankment, in time the Mas-
parts of Essex County, the base of support for the island had widened, sachusetts and British governments offered some assistance to the town.
and a greater appreciation of the value of the site to the well-being of By 1713, less than a year after the start of war, royal engineers sent by
the region had been realized 9 William III were working on the fortifications.After arguing at succes-
Although the drying and packing of codfish continued as the pre- sive town meetings between 1703 and 1711 that the maintenance of the
dominant element of the town's trade between 1677 and 16go, the men battlements should be at provincial expense, the town's citizens supple-
of the fishingato make room or an intrusion omerchants.industry had kff h
mented the work of the engineers and carried a large share of the cost
In 1684 ten merchants were allowed to build wharves on the island. for the installation. In 1706 the town, responding to an order from the
Thus merchants as well as fishermen took advantage of the ice-free loca- Massachusetts General Court to put the fort "in order for action,"
tion and strengthened the economic position of the town accordingly.10 claimed that it was the Queen's property and that the province should
7. Perley,History of Salem, 1:377. carry the necessary expenses. Local Salem officials, however, then ap-
8.Perley, History of Salem, 2:378 and 388. propriated sixty pounds for strengthening the position. After having
9. Frances Diane Robotti, ed., Chronicles of Old Salem (New York: Bonanza Books, - (hereafter cited as EIHC): the
1948),P. z8. u.Essen Instihrte Historical Collections 33(1897):118 (h
. 'l.a!�� ahem z4.
$e Histo o Salem, 3 3
10.Phillips,Salem in the Seventeenth Cenhry,P.278 and the Winter Island Report,P.q. Winter Island Report,p..9. and Perley,History .�
a;1
�- E';NCAN
IX INSTITUTE
JAMES PHILLIPS LIBRARY
ESSEX JNSTITUTE —
19¢ ESSEX INSTITUTE HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS JAMES DUNCA PHILLIPS LIBRARY WINTER ISLAND, SALEM 19$
their guns removed by royal decree in 1710 for use in campaigns planned tation of the fishing fleet at sea.The internment of visiting West Indian
against the French, angry townsmen in 1711 were willing to bear only fishermen in 17zo because of fear over the spread of smallpox hardly
one-third of the cost ordered by Britain.They cited a decline in fishing encouraged a return trip. Added to these problems, the insistence by a
and heavy losses at sea as reasons for their action.12 vessel's captain that all shoremen drying fish had to deliver their cargoes
From the end of Queen Anne's War to the outset of the Revolution, to the public dock rather than to await the arrival of the vessel at their
trade and commerce cook precedence over the fishing interests on the own pier or dock area meant a loss of time and profit for the industry.
island. As a consequence of the change, the merchant community be- The common lands were regranted essentially to shoremen in 1721,few
came more assertive, and Winter Island became a base for offensive ac- 4, fishermen appearing among the grantees. Between 1721 and 1724 In-
tion rather than remaining the defensive bastion it once was, but by it dians, encouraged by the French, sank and captured Salem fishing ves-
1aincidents -
1 1 a peacetime atmosphere had settle n, a ear to have been the reci i
7 4 p p d upon Salem and the island Bels in large numbers. Thesepp p p
community.The capture of Port Royal and Quebec had read reduced tatin factors in the irreversible decline of the fishing industry.
Y greatly g
the French threat to the town. Once again,in an effort to rejuvenate the By the late 17205 the decline had become steep;only five vessels sailed
fishing industry, the common lands of Winter Island were reserved for from the island's wharves in 1729. At the time when leases were re-
fishermen and shoremen who dried fish.Despite the formal continuance newed in 1728, the settlement, observing that the town's fish rooms
of hostilities and the replacement of twenty guns, men could not be y were only partially filled,had difficulty finding recipients for its once-
induced to man the battlements at a time when the facilityfishing lots. Finally, the entire island was ranted to the five
was in a state
popular s
g
of fine repair. So bent were the townsmen upon peacetime pursuits that surviving fishermen there. Greater portions of the isle were simulta-
they paid little attention to reports of"sea rovers and runaways"raiding neously dedicated to public pasturing as land once used for fish drying
the coastal orts.13 During the n 15 f the next round of French wars in
twenty ears of ea the resumption o
p g ty y peace following the declined. Thus,at p
Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Salem authorities were left to their own 1744, a fundamental priority from the past was absent—the protection
methods for facing Postwar problems. The island once again turned to of the fishing
community tyand fleet was no longer needed for thatpre-
fishing and commerce;however,despite considerable optimism regard- occupation was only a shadow of its former role.
ing the resurgence of fishing, forces beyond the control of the commu- By the early 1740s, the beginning of a fifteen-year period in which
nity would doom the industry by the 1730s. Britain and France engaged in two additional wars, the reason for for-
On a note of optimism in 1714, town officials redistributed the re- tifying the harbor was to defend the growing commercial community
maining common lands for the drying and curing of fish and charged of Salem. So influential were the merchants by 1742 that they secured a
the fishermen and shoremen a modest rent of five shillings. A fee of provincial appropriation Of 300 pounds to build and equip a fort mount-
twenty shillings was levied upon each vessel that dried its catch on the ing sixteen eight-pounders. Before the year had cadet, the initial ap-
flakes.Yet the signs of decline were present even then; a neck of land on propriation had been followed by another 166 pounds.The land acqui-
the eastern part of the island above the fort was granted for the pas- sition and building activities on the island by Richard Derby are sug-
turing of cattle for the first time. Six years later hopes for the successful, gestive of the increasing concern by merchants to expand their opera-
revival of the industry must have begun to fade in the face of fishing tions beyond the town's South River commercial center. In 1748 Derby
crew detentions and inflexible dockage regulations at home and moles- obtained a wharf on the South River from Philip English, acquired the
12. Perley,History o Salem, 395;National Register Inventory;the Win- island's powder house remises in 1755, and procured a l000-year lease
Y ,f 3364.375 and P P '
ter Island Report,p.9;and Phillips, Salem in the Eighteenth Century (Salem:Essex Inai- :; :. at one shilling per year, giving him as much land as he needed to build
lute,1937),P. St.For additional detail on the fort being constructed,see the plan of the
royal engineers as copied from the Public Record Once,London,by the Peabody Mu- 14.Perley, History of Salem, 3:132; the Report of the Salem Solicitor; and Phillips,
scum of Salem. Salem in the Eighteenth Century, pp. 88, u9,and 127.
13. Perley, History of Salem, 3406 and the Report of the Salem Solicitor. �,.�'���; 15.Winter Island Report,P.7 and the Report of the Salem Solicitor.
5
�- ESSEX INSTi fu
196 ESSEX INSTITUTE HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS JAMES DUKCP PHILLIPS LIBRARY WINTER ISLAND, SALEM 197
a wharf and warehouse.16 Thus, while this period of conflict between in 1794. Salem promptly ceded the site to the United States govern-
the British and French threatened the merchant's trade and his town, mcut, the first of several such cessions.18 Apparently frustrated by the
that disadvantage was counterbalanced by higher wartime prices and half-hearted efforts of the federal government in the years immediately
lucrative military contracts. following, Salem merchants, as they had done a century before, took
In 1774 a challenge from a new direction arose within the profitable matters into their own hands. Because the men from Salem had great
and comfortable world of the Salem merchants; the sight of Colonel influence in the Federalist administration, they convinced the national
Hamilton and the Fifty-ninth British Regiment removing the twenty- leaders to renew their efforts at Winter Island and promised to build and
seven cannons from the fort in early March undoubtedly upset the com- equip a new frigate for the federal navy to be constructed under the
munity's merchant leaders. Although guns had been removed during " shelter of the revitalized fortress in Salem harbor. Because the structure
campaigns in the past—to fight against the Turks or to support the called for in the act of 1794—a Wooden and earthen facility similar to
several assaults on Port Royal, Louisbourg, and Quebec—now they that built by the royal engineers in 1705—was erected so slowly, amidst
were being removed to prevent them from falling into the hands of the a rapidly accelerating crisis with France,the Salem merchants felt obliged
townsmen, who had worked so strenuously to place the guns on the to arrange for a higher level of participation in local-national coopera-
parapets in the first place. With the removal of the cannons, the tradi- tion than ever before.The period of cooperation culminated with great
tional role of the island changed fundamentally from a defensive to an fanfare in 1799 with the launching of the frigate Essex in September and
offensive Orientation. When Derby completed the construction of his a the dedication of the newly refurbished fortification, Fort Pickering, in
wharf and warehouse in 1775, the facilities of the island supported the +`: October.19 Indeed; this was the high watermark of local-federal coop-
far-flung privateering activities of Derby and others.17 In the process, a =" eration; Federalist philosophy prevailed at both levels of government,
new union between town, province, and continent was being forged. I a condition never tobe repeated.
Local owners, masters, and seamen, assisted by the Massachusetts legis- Defense preparations under the new administration in the early part
lature and sanctioned by continental letters of marque, now carried the of the next century apparently were allowed to lapse. Money was evi-
dently not going to be allocated by Jeffersonians to a Federalist bastion.
Under the new federal government of 1789, Salem's leaders expe- However, with the arrival of Madison's administration in 1809 and an
rienced a return to the vacillating policies of prerevolutionary days; aj intensifying crisis with the British, national policy began to change. It
royal government had been exchanged for a national one. After firstappears,however,that decrees by the secretary of war in 18o9 and again
weaning Salem officials from their reliance upon state assistance during in 1814 to repair the fort were not taken seriously nor were they accom-
the opening decade of the new government,federal authorities repeated ;. panied by adequate appropriations,for these efforts did not prevent the
the pattern of support, neglect, abandonment, and local reclamation. flight of Salem citizens from the town at the threat of British invasion
Significant federal interventions in 1789,1861, 1898,and 1934 would be later in 1814.20 A new precedent had emerged within the unfolding
succeeded by inattentiveness and withdrawal. Federal overtures came „. system of intergovernmental cooperation and coordination: that of a
early. Because of direct confrontations during the 17905 with Britain
and France—probably the world's two most powerful nations at the
time—the federal government included the island in its plans for na- 18.Study and Report on"sate,n,Musachusetts—Winter Island"by Jane Burnett,Kris
Champagt?e,David Lash,Gary Liss,and Michael Nash of Tufts University,17 May 1973,
tional defense and authorized restoration en
ex ditures for Fort William
P Essex Institute Library,P. 481 National Register Inventory; and EIHC 33(1897). For
additional detail on the fort of 1794.sec S.Rochefontaute's plans for Fort Pickering in the
16. Phillips, Salem in lite Eighteenth Century, P. 141 and 244; Perley,History of SalemEssex Institute Library.
2:310 and 355; and Winter Island Report, P. 7. 19. Winter Island Report; EIHC 33(1897) u9-tzz; and the National Register In-
17. Winter Island Report,p. 12;Report of the Salem Solicitor;and Phillips, Salem in ventory.
the Eighteenth Century, PP. 302-307•- _� .,, 20.Winter Island Report,p. 12.
V�
19$ ESSEX INSTITUTB HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS WINTER ISLAND, SALEM 199
local jurisdiction having to deal with a hostile administration in time of lowing its return to Salem it' 1867, it was once again taken over by
crisis and need. federal troops during the Spanish-American War in 1898. However, as
Following the end of the war with Britain in 1815, fortification ac- in the Civil War,when it became apparent that the enemy fleet was not
tivities of the island formed a pattern during the rest of the century: _ going to raid the coast of the United States, the fort was again aban-
several decades of neglect, followed by as malty years of renewed ac- doned. During the present center}', federal authorities for the first time
tivi After servingas a powder manufacturing and storage area and claimed the island for a purpose
other than that of warding off possible
pastureland betwee1815and 1852, inter Island once again assumed t attackers or invaders 23 wartime,establishing a Coast Guard air-training
station there in 1934• However, in 1969 the familiar pattern of federal
a higher level of military readiness. During the rising issues between
North and South in the 185os, encampments of Massachusetts Volun- disuse and abandonment and local reclamation reappeared, this time
with disastrous consequences.
teer units Fere held on the site.In 1853 and 1855 the area was identified wDuring the national discontinuance and departure and local recovery
as Camp Sutter,in 1856 as Camp Edwards,and in 1858 as Camp Banks.
Thus, in the absence of a national administration favorable to New phases (1969 1973), extraordinary vandalism and destruction occurred
n land or Salem, local leaders managed to attract state interest to and at Winter Island.At present one can only view the site with dismay and
E
participation in the site,and there were great occasions of state and local ' hope that once again local, state, and federal organizations will joint e
cooperation when vast crowds of town and county residents enjoyed ? ' ' maintaV. in the facility.With today's more modem defense methods, the
locally sponsored entertainment and state-sponsored military reviews. Island is no longer needed for security purposes, but there are many
The island experienced an unprecedented infusion of federal influence _` who feel that it should stand as a proud reminder of Salem's historical,
and money during the war years of the next decade.The United States atcheological, and cultural past.
government appropriated funds for the fort's repair,while the state pro- f'
vided supervision and the town, labor. When it became obvious—
shortly after the initial allocation—that the Confederacy was not likely 1,,
to moult an attack or to invade the port of Salem,refurbishing activities ESSEX INSTITUTE —
waned.However,in 1863,when war with England again seemed immi-
nent following the Mason and Slidell affair,Washington made its great JAMES DUNCAN PHILLIPS LIBRARY
est commitment to the town and its fortress. The old installation was
demolished and a new one constructed. Salem once again was required
to cede the island to the government of the United States in 1864. The
bastion was made formidable: bombproofs and magazines installed
brick and granite walls and blockhouses erected, a moat encircling the ;:;
entire area dug, and platforms for heavy guns laid. State military units
manned the complex—first a heavy artillery battery and, after the real-
ization that the British were not going to declare war, contingents of
local militia before they were transferred to the southern war theaters 22 `.
Vacillating federal policies continued during the century following
the Civil War.After the structure lay dormant for thirty-one years fol
21.EIHC 33(1897):126. '
22.Winter Island Report,p.12;EINC 33(1897):1zo;Essex Institute photograph col- 12.
lection,E.I.Ne 160 0; and the National Register Inventory. ..i' 23.EIHC 33(1897):120 and Winter Island Report,P.P,� 7 g rY•
�_ ►�
Winter Island
Winter Island gets
during the Winter. its name from Winter Harbor where ' s i g ves e het keI L/ 1
� " 1
I. Historical Significance 111
g 0S o�
Winter Island was established by Roger Conant, usin— g the Isl3fid much like the
Naumkeag Indians. It became a commercial fishing port in the 1640' s. At
first, fishing was for survival, then grew to be a major commercial activity
at the Port of Salem through the 1720' s. Ships and boats were built on
Winter Island from the 1630' s on. At first "shallops" were crafted for
shoreline fishing, and later up to 100' craft were constructed to support the
ever-growing commercial fishing fleet. At least .ten wharfs jutted out from
the Island into Cat Cove including Derby Wharf (See Attachement A) and Fish
Street Wharf. The Frigate U.S.S. Essex was constructed in 1799 and launched
at Winter Island. The Essex served General George Washington as a most
successful fighting ship. Winter Island has a long history of military uses
dating to the 17th century. Fort Pickering (Fort William-1699, Fort
Ann-1704) , now abandoned but still in existence, was used in the Civil War
and as late as 1898. During the War of Independence, Salem was the only New
England port not captured. The Fort was ceded by the town to the U.S. in
-1794 and is the oldest remaining fortified site in Salem and one of the
oldest in Massachusetts. In 1799, it was renamed for Timothy Pickering of
Salem, who served with President George Washington as Secretary of State.
From 1933 to 1969, the U.S. Coast Guard occupied the outer 20 acres of Winter
Island, first as a coastal defense installation and then as a full Air and
Sea Rescue Station. Five buildings remain from the Coast Guard era,
including the Sea Plane Hangar and the Officers Quarters/Administration
Building. There is also the shell of the powder house (c. 1780) which was
used to store explosives/black powder and later by fishermen as a bait and
storage shack (See Attachment A) . Fort Pickering Light House ( ) , a
typical late 19th-century lighthouse of brick and steel constructi
located off the shores of Winter Island.
A. Winter Island can beassociated- with the following persons
1 . Richard Derby - The Derby family represents one of the most
successful merchants of Salem' s maritime heritage. The Derby' s
leased land on Winter Island and Richard Derby built the "Derby
Wharf" on Winter Island by 1775.
2. John Holgrave - Appeared to have been the leader of the Winter Island
fishing enclave. He was chosen "overseer" of the powder. He was a
deputy of the general court, a freeman (selectman) , assistant to the
magistrate, juryman and conducted the,,,lfifrst public meeting at this
home on Salem Neck;. �o✓'q r{6/r2S�H y� ((,3L
d"A'Dtr
3. Stephen Sewall - Commander of the fort on Winter Island during Queen
Mary' s war. . He was also the clerk of the special. court of Oyer and
Terminer which tried the alleged witches.
4. Joshua Conant - Was a gunner at the fort for six years.
5. Those owning houses on Winter Island, near Cat Cove include Richard
Johnson, Richard Hollingsworth, Thomas Chadwell, John Herbert, Henry
Harwood, Thomas Picton, Samuel Edson,` Henry Sillsby and Mathew Nixon.
B. Winter Island can be associated with the following events and pattern
of events;
1 . Economic Development - Winter Island very early became the center
of the fishing industry and played a key role in Salem' s economic
development. Dried fish were early traded in the West Indies for
sugar, molasses, rum and indigo. The fishermen of Salem were a
distinct subgroup in Salem society. Kept almost isolated for the
most part on or near Winter Island, they because a major settlement
division within the community. Shipwrights were sent to the Island
in 1629 to construct a fishing fleet. - The Salem. Inn (c. 1642) was
Salem' s first public accommodation and was located on Winter
Island, serving .the housing needs of merchants and visiting crews.
In 1714, at the meeting of the commoners, it was voted that Winter
Island be wholly reserved and granted for the use of fishing.
2. Frigate U.S.S. Essex - The Essex was built on Winter Island and
launched in 1799. Not since Elias Hasket Derby' s "Great Ship" had
another vessel built in Salem generated such acute interest through
the entire building process. The Essex was used mostly as an
escort frigate until 1804 when it sailed to reenforce the U.S.
Naval forces. It spent the Winter cruising and prowling the
Mediteranean. When the War of 1812 broke out, the Essex was set on
course toward Bermuda. The most notable of the ten prizes she took
during this cruise was H.M. sloop-of-war Alert, the first British
naval vessel captured during the conflict on August 13. The Essex
and its consort Essex Junior captured fourteen vessels before
mid-September. In March, 1814, the Essex was captured in battle
and on December 18, 1814, her days as a ship of war came to an end
forever. In 1823/1824, she was converted into a prison ship.
II. Archaeological Significance
A. Winter Island - An Analysis of Resource Significance and Management
Options; National Park Service, November 1984 - "Fort Pickering today
is essentially an archeological ruin. Stripped of its earlier detail,
isolated from its long removed garrison structures, allowed to moulder
into a mere reminder of its appearance of a century ago, Fort Pickering
like many other abandoned and razed fortifications, has extensive
archeological resources. Because of the theoretical existence of
remnants from the 1860' s, 1820s, and 1790s, as well as earlier, Fort
Pickering might be examined to shed light on the following general
research topics:
1 . Most archeological research projects involving military sites have
been either at large, constantly garrisoned installations or at
briefly occupied frontier posts. There has been no research into
forts that have been occupied by both militia units and regular
Army garrisons. The differences and similarities in equipment,
uniforms, and other government issue items could be analyzed
through excavated artifacts and their distributions.
2. During the Revolutionary War, militia officers were chosen or
elected because of their relative social status and w "1 h. By the
time of the Civil War that had changed. Up until the 1860s,
officers customarily supplied their own person, quarters, and mess.
Glass and ceramic artifacts could give insight into social and
economic status of militia officers and their relative status in
the community. Regional trade distribution patterns can also be
inferred from those classes of artifacts.
3 . On a larger scale, the place of Salem in national and world trade
could be .inferred from the identification of nonlocal artifacts.
Indeed, the National Register of Historic Places nomination form
could be amended to include a statement about the site' s research
potential."
B. Salem, Massachusetts, An Archaeological Survey of the City (Stephen A.
Mrozowski, Leslie Shaw, Martha Holland, Janet M. Zisk, June, 1988) .
1 . The Salem Prehistoric Site Sample, Salem Neck and the Islands Area
excerpts:
"A burial site on Winter Island is also represented in this sample
(19-ES-383) . Putnam comments on the discovery of a burial in 1865,
when men working on an embankment at Fort Pickering exposed a
grave. Putnam reports that found in the grave were 'a stone
chisel, ten stone arrow heads, a thin oval stone with two holes in
it' (Putnam 1865:246-247) . In addition, a portion of a steatite
vessel and red ochre were found which would suggest a Late Archaic
(6,000 to 3,000 before present) or Early Woodland (3,000 to 1,500
before present) age for this grave.
The sites on Salem Neck and the Islands represent occupation
locations that were no doubt situated to exploit the food resources
of the harbor, including large fish, sea mammals, and sea bird
nesting sites.
The potential for locating additional prehistoric sites in this
zone is great. . .What remains of these sites is always in danger of
destruction. . ."
2. Historic Period Preservation Priority Areas, Winter Island
excerpts:
"Winter Island has experienced a long and continous occupation.
Shaw' s work has confirmed a lengthy prehistoric habitation of the
Island. During the seventeenth century it served as the home for
much of Salem's fishing fleet and a large settlement. Phillips
(1939:283) notes the presence of numerous wharves along the
island' s shoreline. Fort Pickering, which is also located on the
Island, is only the latest in a series of fortifications dating
back to 1644. This concentration of cultural resources combined
with what appears to be relatively good integrity makes Winter
Island an important site. No further construction work should be
carried out on the island until an intensive archaeological survey
has been completed."
ATTACHEMENT A
Derby-PowderHouse Wharf
The area known as Derby-Powderhouse Wharf contained a powder magazine and a
wharf built by Richard Derby in 1775. The land had been leased to Richard
Derby in 1756. Before the civil war, when Salem' s vessels traded directly with
Africa, Zanzibar, etc. , many tons of powder were stored in this "Powder House"
and from there put on board vessels. It came over the road in great covered
wagons. The land was sold to Oliver Whipple in 1837 and the wharf was rebuilt
in 1837-1855. The property at that .time was described as follows: "Beginning
at the northwest corner of the premises at a large flat rock at Palmers Head,
so called on Winter Island, which rock is covered by the tide, at high water,
thence running southeasterly thirty feet to a stake and stones; thence
southerly about sixty-three feet; thence westerly to the north side of a flat
ledge of rocks next Cat Cove, so called, there measuring about fifty feet with
the beach and flats adjoining (585:237) . Whipple used the powder house as a
storage area during trans-shipment from manufactory to ships for foreign trade.
Subsequent occupants of the property include Oriental Powder Co. , Joshua
McArmsby, Laflin and Rand Powder Co. , Inc. , E.I. Du Pont De Mours Powder Co. ,
Atlas Powder Co. and the United States. (Claire Dempsey) The shell of the
powder house still remains.
X•
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Perley, Sidney - 1924, The History of Salem, Massachusetts Vol. I, II, III
Welch, William Lewis - 1897-, A Walk around Salem Neck and Winter Island
National Park Service - 1984, Winter Island, An Analysis of Resource
Significance and Manawment Options
City of Salem - Winter Island, A Marine RecreationJ Park Brochure, printed by
"Mac & Me"
Smith, Philip Chadwick Foster - The Frigate Essex Papers
Mr*wski, Stephen A. , Shaw, Leslie, Holland, Martha, Zisk, Janet M. - 1988,
Salem Massachusetts, An Archaeological Survey of the City
Northfields Preservation - Excerpts from Survey Forms
Dempsey, Claire - Excerpts from Survey Forms and Determinations of Eligibility
J3506
�. Ctv of �alrni, assac4usdts
3 xl Winter Island Commission
Office — City Hall
93 Washington Street
Salem,Mass.01970
"A SUMMARY CHRONICLE OF WINTER ISLAND"
Winter Island, from the settlement of Salem in 1626, to the present, has been a very
special place to her inhabitants. Located in the Salem Neck, or the "Willows" section of
historic Salem, the island was a key port for the earliest settlers of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony and Naumkeag Village. Just as the Naumkeag Indians did before them, the first
colonists turned to the sea for food and livelihood from Winter Island. The island,
surrounded by the waters of the harbor, Cat Cove, Winter Harbor (Juniper Cove), and the
outer sound, was at least partly free from ice pack for most of the winter, and lent
herself to the diverse fishing activities necessary for early survival and later commercial
development of the community.
The island was recognized early on as an important strategic point for defensive
purposes. It was so ordered that part-of the island and_the adjoining Juniper Point be
fortified to protect against marauding French and Dutch territorialists. The fortification
process and military use of various parts of the island continued on an on-and-off again
basis through 1969. The building of this typical earthen bunker fortification was
completed, and Fort Pickering dedicated in 1799. It was one of many such installations
constructed during this period of hostility between the American and French forces, and
later served to defend against the British during the War of 1812. Fort Lee and Fort
Sewall are two other nearby "mainland" examples of the intense effort to establish and
protect territorial mastery over the French and once superior British Navy. Prior to the
fortress becoming Fort Pickering, various froms of the installation were known as Fort
William and Fort Ann, reflecting the colonial link with the throne of England. The present
day remains reflect the rebuilding of the Fort during our own civil war.
Commercial fishing from Winter Island dominates her history, in terms of land use,
dating back to Roger Conant's fish company of 1626, to present day lobstering. Fish
flaking used considerable amount of the. island's twenty (plus) acreas. Salem's first Inn
was located here, c. 1635, to accommodate the growing commerce of fish trade and
visiting sea captains. Boat building soon followed. Craft for local waters, as well
as trans oceanic vessels were constructed. Certainly one of the most important
vessels crafted at Winter Island was the 105 foot Frigate Essex.
Summary Chronicle-Winter Island, cont.
Commissioned in 1799, this warship was an important contributor to the defense of our
shores during the hostilities with England, having the most battle success of any American
warship before or since.
Present day use of Winter Island is mixed. The man made causeway, first brings you to
the Winter Island YaphtYard and the several private homes that dot her northern shore at
Juniper Cove. A predominant occupant of the island comes next. The Plummer Home for
Boys, established in 1855, is a staffed residential facility for up to fifteen.young men.
The Plummer family entrusted the farm to a City of Salem appointed Board of Trustees,
to serve as a home for orphaned boys. The southeastern half of the island was from the
mid 1930's to 1969, a U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue Air Station. The Federal
Government returned that portion of the island to the City of Salem in 1972. In 1980,
acting on an earlier established plan for the area, the city established the Winter Island
Commission to oversee the restoration and renovation effort for a five year period.
Efforts to date have been focused on restoring the island to a useable and safe marine
related recreation area. This goal must be financially supported by the _Commission's
ability to raise money. No city,tax dollars are spent at Winter Island. User fees for
parking, special events, limited private commercial activities, represent the available
income sources`to date. Progress toward assuring a safe and useable land area that
enhances the natural qualities and splendor of the island has been slow, but steady.
Restoration of the Light House at Fort Pickering is a fine example of private efforts to
assist the public sector in preserving the,invaluable qualities of the island. Historic Fort
Pickering is next in line for such concentrated attention.
Visitors are encouraged to linger. The serenity and natural beauty of the island is
complimented when a fuller appreciation of her history is learned. Staff are versed and
prepared to offer the information to all visitors. Contributions are welcome and will be
used exclusively for historic preservation efforts, or for contributor specified projects.
(See manager or staff for details).
Information concerning special uses of .Winter Island for your group is available at the
gate house or from the manager. Enjoy your stay at Winter Island: Look for continued
improvements with each return visit.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND INTEREST!!!!
(617) 744-4580 Gary M-. Moore, Manager
I
l r t
WINTER ISLAND
Earey accounts indicate that .the 6inst European set-ttement at
Saeem ulcus most pnobabty situated on winteA Island and at adjacent
xx
areas on Saeem Neck. (See Map 1) Thele are seveAae important 6aatou
w ich might have accounted bot .the choice o6 winter. Island. 06 these
.s
6aetots, de6enze was peAhaps most important, and winteA Island was
a 6aitty de6enzable piece o6 property, Its teeati.ve isolation pro-
tected it 6tom land attack and cannon, ptopeAty mounted, hetped to
inbure .the security o6 the settlement 6tom sea attack. -
S
Salem's earey colonidts wue, out o6 necessity, 6i.6heAmen and
4
%6hipbuitdeu The Bay Colony's poo& soie and a harsh comate made
harming a dib6icult ptopos.i tion at best. Faced with the immediacy o6
earning a ti.velyhood, the sett eu soon dizcovelced that Satem's ving.in
6o,%mtz and rich 6ishing gtounds were its most .important assets. In
r,
the early 17th century, the North Ateantie around Saeem was ZiteAaUy
teaming with Gish. In addition, dense 6ote6ts extended .to the w'ater's
edge.
The beat Indians weAe mind6ul o6 winter Island tmouAcm a6
we e. Conthary to the popuea& notion o6 the Indian az huyrter, most,
Ma6saehu6ett6 Bay Indians were coa.ata.e d UUrg 6isheAme-n. Arrow
heads and crude atone cutting .impeements. 6ound on the island point
,to the pozsibitity that a sizeable Indian settlement once occupied
the ante in Ate-eoloni.a.e times.
Winte)L Island 6wrtheA constituted a desirable cite bot such a
settlement because o6 its access to a number% o6 wete aheZteAed ana
eab'�Qy de6ended coves; notably (VinteA Ha)tbon A' descu'ption o6 Saeem
e ESSEX INSTITUTE
F._ JAMES DUNCAN PHILLIPS LIBRARY
r -
pubZished .in 1635, .i,denti 6iez W.inteA. HaAbon and SummeA HaAbor (tocated
at the mouth o5 .the North Riveh) as the .two pokes o5 shipping activity
,at the community, depending on the season. This .in4eu .that the .i,6kand
was eafted "WinteA" because .its anchorage remained .ice Sree .in the
�wiJ7ta months.
EaAly .town necM& o5 Salem support the view that WinteA Island
was` the bocak point ob commerce and activity .in 17th eentuAy Satem. In -
1629, the Home Company in London" sent six ship bui2deA6 and two eoopeu
and cZeaneAs ob timbeA. to WinteA I6tand with ondeA6 to build thAee
jishing boats, known as 6haftops. Fishing shallops buitt at WinteA
Iakand weAe beAthed at its wharves. At vakious tunes .in the eaA2y
17th eentu-,y, upwaAds o4 40 ve66ets eoutd be obseA.ved. In addition,
zhe 6 sh landed there weAe salted and &tied on the Istand'6 sunny 6kopes.
By the mid-17th eentucy, a b&"k tAade developed with Etuwpe and
the West Indies, plL ncipa ty BaAbadou. In addition to dki.ed 6-ish; wood,
ji6h oil and animal pelts weAe expoAted 4nom Salem. The Canribean
Iskands exchanged sugaA, cotton and produce, England tAaded 6ivti.shed
goods, white wine could be obtained .in Spain and PoAtugat.
CommeAee developed so tapidty that in 1636, the town .issued
`pekhap6 .its 6iut innkeepeA6 Zicense to an e,6tabti.6hment on WinteA
Idtand. The Eieense dated June 14th, was .issued to a At. John Hokgxave. "
fgtgiruve'6 tavm lateA became known as the Blue Anchors Tavern, an
etitabLiAment which would come to play a prominent role inthe history
...os°the city.
In 1667, a causeway was ordered built which made WinteA I6kand
.'4ece6zabke to the mainkand at high tide. By 1684, commence had become
<ti
,Yea exten64ve that no -.less than ten peuon6 were authorized to build ;
w4icrhves on the .i6tand. ® ESSEX INSTITUTE —
ry JAMES DOWN PHILLIPS LIBRARY
Phi-Up Engtish, (1650-1736) 6i&6t o6 .the gaeat Salem meJcehant-
bh.ipowneas, had his wharves and warehouses at w.intek Istand be6oae 1692.
His writings desenibe WinteA lstand as a tcAe depot boa ewced Gish
a'
which monopot.ized the business to Salem. Dwting 1692 both Philip Engt.ish
and his wL6e weae accused o6 witehcAa6t and condemned .to death.. They
F-. - f
'escaped 6aom Jett, howevea, and 6ted .to New yoak. The eoupte aetutned
to Salem a6.teA .the madness had subsided once to f
. ,: . 1 6tnd .that act' .iheih. r
pUpeAtie6 had eitheA been sold oa des.thoyed.
Though .the .land at WinteA Istand was used boa a wide variety o6
eommeAci.al 6unctions dwting .the 17th. eentwey, owneuhip o6 .the paopetty
ri
wab held by .the .town o6 Salem. Land a,i,ght6 on Gunter Island cueAe teased ( '
;'annuaUy 6aom ,the Boaxd o6 Seteatmen bon cmtain speci.6.ic 6unctions, such
a6 b.i,sh.ing on shipbui2.di.ng. As early as 1636, the 6.i6heAmen on Wintez t
r
Istand wehe heeoaded paying aentae ees 1-
p N� g 6 ban Land use to .the town. The
annual bee usuaety va&ied between one and 6.ive AUtings. The agaezment
stipulated that once .the .tenant ceased .to use .the tared boa .its stated
6unction, (i.e. 6d 6 hehies) , ait a.ightz to .the Land would aeveh t back to
the .town. Housing was one 6uncti.on expae6sty 6oab.idde.n on WinteA Ietand.
Aecoadingty, .the 6dlts.t eotonists who opehated 6.i.shehies on ,the .iztand
Ecved :in a settlement sassed (oateatown at Cat Cove on Salem Neck.
Though .this aAAangemen.t o6 paopeltty ewwe)tship and Land use
aegueation seems a can i.ou.6 one today, i t was paacticed .in s imi lah Dabh ion
necutey all 17th eentuAy Engti6h ze.tteements. Owe modean concept 06
pktvate paopehty iz
was non-extent in the eauty eotonial peai.od. Indeed,
a setteement such as Salem maintained the same Land use pattern a6 a 17th
eentwry.Engti h v.iUage. Such a uittage was chawcteJuzed by a nucieoA
� eti.�turte," weAe a t ,the inhabitants Lived side by side on s.tAeets .in a
compact area. Lands boa tilling and gaaz.ing o�e,4e Located outside .the
ESSEX INSTITUTE —
JNNES DUNCAN PHILLIPS LIBRARY
ariea o6 settlement. The househoZdehs ox commoners each possesbed a
i
uni6oiun parcel o6 land .in .the aAeas o6 common 6ie2ds. The govekning
body had authority to reguZate all land .in accordance with .the common
good. Hou6ehoZdec6 weae obligated to pay .the ,town an annuaP bum o6
s
money Son .the use o6 the land.
In Salem, the North F.ie2d6 and ,the South Field6 eon6tituted
area6 o6 common nand as did much o6 Salem Neck. Undec6tandabZy, .town
ordinances stipulating penm.i.6eabte .Pend use weAe regarded a6 .important.
Many o6 .the early land use ordinances re6leet a eoneecn 6or conservation.
Fox, exampZe, trees were rarely allowed to be cut down on common Zara{,
j
and .one thihd o6 .the wood .that was cut, was ear-marked bot the pooh. j
In 1640 and .in 1701 the Selectmen ordered that 6enee6 be bui.Zt to
separate the pastueage on Winter Ieland 6rom the 6.isheries. Ev.ident2y
Salem's goat expressed a 6ondness 6or dining on dried 6aP.t cod.
Had Salem remained a bmaPZ 6.ishing and agricultural community,
this system o6 Zand attocati,on might have gone unchallenged box many
years. However, by the mid-17th century, the community was expeci.enei.ng
nadi,caZ soci.at and economic change. The success o6 Salem's mecchatit
6Zeet resulted .in rapid urbanization and a s.igru.6.icant sh.ijt .in the
dibtti.bution o6 wea th and politicaZ power.
In a recent article on .income dis.tl ibution and poZitieal stwctuce
-i.ns17.th century Salem, Donald Koch calcutates that white be6ore 1660
the uppet 10% o6 Salem eontAoZZed 21% o6 the wealth, aster 1660 they
cam to
62% ob the wealth. During roughly the same .time period,
the pelt-cent o6 6aAmeu dw.ind2ed as the proportion o5 "urbanized"
ahtisan6 'rose. This shi6t had a political e56ect as weZl. Be6ore 1665
aghariavis outnumbered mehchants two to one on the BoaAd o6 Selectmen,
— ESSEX INSTITUTE —
' h` JAMES DUNCAN PHILLIPS LIBRARY
a6.ter .that date menchant6 "ob .the upper. 10V came to occupy 6uUy 70%
o6 ,the seat6 on the Board 06 Selectmen. � 3
It 16 undwtandabze .that this sh.i6,t in power and wea.Zth caused �
certain s.ticainz .in ,the social 6abric o6 .the town. Salem became organ-
. 1 `
.ized .into .two di6ti.net .inteAe6t groups, the commoners, who savored
retention o6 .the common lands system, and ,the proprietons who pne6euced
` :a sy6.tem o6 deed6 and titter .to land.
The matttec was 6o zati.ent an izzue that .in 1660 .the Selectmen
f
he6u6ed .to deaf with .it. Instead .it wa6 .the General Court o6 .the Colony ;
.that deceaAed in 1660 that all undivided land .in Salem should be .the � r
ptopeAty o6 .the commoners. Then, .in November 06 1714, .the Setectmen
hated .that (vinter Island be re6ecved whotty as common land, with a
portion 6or pas.twcage. Saeem )Le6.i.dent6 were .to pay 5 Ai2.P,ings pec yeah
6or 6.i.6hery P,%iv.ilegeb while non-hezident6 would pay .the SeCeaimen 25 r;
bhi .Zings pec year.
However, by 1729 Wintea. Island's 6isherie6 were deteriorating. 1{ j
In .that yeas, only 6.ive vessels bailed 6rom .its wharves. NonetheZuz {
Salem continued to apply .the common land ptincipat to Winter Island.
In. .1775, Richard Derby buitt a whar6 and warehouse at (O,i ,teh Island. `
He•alrrunged a 1,000 year lease with .the .town o6 Salem at the agreed
6igure 06 one zh.iUing pec yews. Dehby's p2operty accounted bon ,the
only active commerciaQ whcuc6 on Winter. Island da/zing the 18th century.
n
tf
r.
In 1837, Derby's Wi.ntec Island holdings were sold .to a Ut. Oliver
wh�pple o6 LoweU .to be used bon a gun powder works. Whipple paid .the
�! 66 Salem $152.00, which was equivaCent .to the remainder due on
�Doiby'A 1,000 year leaae.
E'.
MIWX 1,
ESSEX INSTITUTL — t
f g r ]AMES DUNCAN PHILLIPS LIBRARY
J:
y
r
a�0tC
r k
e
t III `.
What .i,6 s.igni,6.ieant is that Satem continued to obeenve .the 17th
century common land system with heapeet to w.inteA Istand, tong a6teA ,
khat system had been abandonded et6ewheAe. In his study o6 tand pnae-
1
ti.ce6 in .the 17th centuAy, Phitip Graven bound .that the common tands
system was abandoned at AndoveA in about 1660. Yet Satem continued to ti
honor its common Land commitment to WinteA Tstand tong a6teA .the site
s ::r
had ceased to be a v.iabee component o6 .the community's eommeAciat ti6e.
Indeed, .the city's eunAent e2aim .to w.r_ntm Ward owes ,its e,2g .to .the
9, iI
continuation o6 a 17th eentucy Land use pattern. Thus, w.inteA Iseand
p"enhapz zymbot.izes 17th eentuAy Satem in the same way .that the South
" Y
R.i.veA Wha,%ves Aewwent Satem o6 the 18th eentuAy. .
At the time o6 .the Civit wan, the city o6 Satem "tempokaAity" r '
euAAended heA authority oveA winter Istand to the FedeAat GoveAnment,
From e
aAty eatonint times, a portion o6 w.inten Ietand was used 6or de- ;3( ---
;4
6en6ive purposes. what was Satem'e pAinc. pat 6onti6.ication, Fart
f
Picketing, occupies the Eabtern tip 06 the Tetand. HoweveA; with the I
tnam6e.t o6 deed to the FedeuZ Government, w.inta Tetand came to ;-
Zmve an exetusivety mit,itaAy 6uneti.on.
FORT PICKERING
ExeZuding Ptymouth, FoAt Pieken.ing is pnobabty the otdest 6oAt .in Y
Massachusetts, according to Dn. R.iehaAd Nate, the state. aAehivist. The
site was & A6t 6orti6.ied by Gov. John Endicott .in 1629, and has been t
eueeezz ivety re6oAti.6.ied each time Satem appAoached the Mink o6 uu k rF
beam 1644 unfit 1898.
The 6iut bort on the site was eompteted .in 1643 as a nesutt o6 r
rEx lzl Im ESSEX INSTITUTE —
. 9.;` JAMES DUNCAN PHILLIPS LIBRARY
r .:.
P
THE FRIGATE "ESSEX"
r`
One o6 the most 6amocus ships ob .the AmeA,iean Vavy, ,the Frigate
"E64aexll wa6 built and launched at W.i.nteA Island .in 1791. The ve64ee
was bwitt'aCmobt enntiAe2y at the expense.o6 .the Fedena ,Lst menehant6
06 Salem. Upon .its completion it wa6 donated to the U.S. Navy. Strong $,
3:
anti.-French, anti.-Jacobzin sentiment6 account bon .the geneAosity ex-
i
pkehsed by .the Essex County FedeAa2.L6t6. The suAnounding eommunLtie6
i
ob Danven6, Top66.ie2d, Andover. and BoxboAd eantiri.buted native kandwood6 f,
to the 'endeavor.. The 6rigate, costing $150,000 and weighing 860 tom,
I;
was'the toiege6.t ve64ee even. buitt .in Salem. (See Map 1) I.
It ii pa radoxieat that .the "Essex" wa6 never employed against
the F)tenchi but natheA, coos used agatn6.t .the Wt.Lsh duAing the Wal
ob 1812. The Salem FedvLatL6t6 Aegatded .the English as theit ctose6t
atty during .this period. Many, most notably Col. Timothy Picketing, r
advocated a aepanate New England Conbederation raith ctose poZZticat
tiu to London. DuA,i.ng .the WaiL ab 1812, Saeem Ae6wsed to contribute
eitheA-men: oh money to (va6hington's WNL.
Noiiethe2e64, the "Essex" scored wet .in bathe, taping the 6iut }
naval prize o6 the wan. Indeed, cluing the walL the "Essex" was the
�F
6"tat 6hip .in the AmeAican Navy. She wo,6 aZ6o. the 6iut AmeA,ican ,}
ww6hep to pass around the Cape o6 Good Hope and Cape Horn. Towatcd
the
. "Tend06 the wa& the "Essex" was eaptur.ed by the gtiti6h obs Chile
and lateA sold at a public auction in 1837.
„ Ru EXECUTION HILL
� N
f In a papeA detivened be6ore the Essex In,6titute on Manch 11 1897, s
G L. Stneetec chose to highZLght one o6 the da)Lken chaptvt-s .in the
� 9 �S
„
— ESSEX INSTITUTE —
x
JAMES DUNCAN PHILLIPS LIBRARY
111��r � zy �
�14
- t '
k'";tony'o6 W.inten Island. Between the yeau 1772 and 1821, WCnten Island
was .the 6avoned e.ite bon executions .in Saeem. In .those years 6ocvc
peoplzwere hanged at Execution Nl21 on the highest point o6 the iaPnnd. j
4 ' -Dulung that period executions were among the most popu2aA pubtic
event6 in .the community. As many o6 the eitizenhy attended as coutd.
T.t..is neponted that 12,000 people witnessed t1te execution o6 Bnyan r
Skeehan .in 1772. !
n,
Executions .in Salem wete u.auatty an aU day a66aix The moaning
66-.the execution, .the condemned man was taken to chuAch .in an open caht,
seated upon h.i;s own co64.in. There .the c2engyman lectured on .the pantii.c- '
uPaic 4n 6on which .the cn irni.nat was condemned. The p-ti Bonen was then � r'
reformed .to jait bon tuneh. �I
¢t u
In the a6.tennoon, the chi.m.ina2 was netuAned ,to .the caAt and
I�
pakaded thtough town to Winter IsCand. The ptoeess.ion .inctuded .the +.'t
pj.ou6 c:2etgy, a m.i,P,itany company cued public o56%ciaZ6. Once .they had
t
atR;avu:ved at W.inten Island, death was achieved s.mp2y. The un6o4tu-
nate cAimi.na2 was made .to stand upon h,is co66.in. A noose was a66.ixed
to his neck, and .the cant wws drawn out 6nom undea him.
ie
F# t
ESSEX INSTITUTE —
�s
t �
JAMES DUNCAN PHILLIPS LIBRARY
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~ �11��� ,� `~�1�..•' n.�.e.�."_.''+•"--.r... a Com'^ `y' c +'_ x � iT+.� � - $t4� � � S
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' y � ., 1. ..y •''.--r t, r .�,..�oJ-, ( _ +v »<r� F r. �1 Il l� {l{ '
� "7...Y..�J:xl.{rSl n..+,;•.....+.z 4. .y I ,L �. ti � r. ' � 1 `z.. lltj \ }�y�
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i�1 R�-'�..♦.r.1._•..c:_.�~_.TIY .. ��� n..l .Y�..✓�_.ia�..aYr�ae��� I.-Li.. � ..J�_s���l_._.. ti v-.l.F ae 1..r.4.t.Gr1•�y_
Satem Pta✓in.ing DepaA;bnent
Febaucucy, 1973 .
II. Planning Framework--DEVELOPMENT
A Recent History of Waterfront Development
in Salem: 1915-1972
17
�I
Richard E. Kessler 4-25-72
Brief Impressions From Evening News Paports on Salem Harbor
11 It would seem to me from what I have. read in the seven
year period 1945-1952 that many felt that Salem Harbor was
almost adequate in serving the needs of the community.
(� The primary function of the harbor was to serve industry:
In that role, channels were to be maintained to service the
IPickering-mills area and the Salem Terminal. The opening of
,)
I; Salem Harbor provided the entranceway, dredged channels to �
�i the Terminal and the South River served industry. i
Next in impotance came the commercial uses of the harbor.
'Space was a problem for the fis^ing and lobster boats. Having
� '
bezn . forced from Central Wharf and without any further saitablel
I alternative in Salem, I would i^agine that 'they Left the city. !�
o the whole ` riod it is only for a ver brief
Durino - pe � Y y
;j time that the recreational aspects of . the harbor come into I
Hany -mention. During the term of Mayor Harrington, some effort
i
was made to secure the use of Derby Wharf to accomodate the �
�( commercial fishermen and boating public. With the election of
ii Mayor Collins , the proect dissappeared.
i
iIt would seem to me that Salem was content to have a
( workino- harbor, a port which served industry. Only Palmer Cove
v
i! existed to serve the public on Salem Harbor. It was Marblehead
Harbor that
became the recreational harbor for Salem. Salem I
;t .
'rlillo:Js followed to a far lesser deLre?, Salem was a working cit
i '
18
Salem Planning Department
1-15-73
AN OVERVIEW OF WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT 1952-1972
The summer of 1954 witnessed the completion of two state
authorized dredging projects. The first involved the basin
off Dion's Boatyard while the second affected the channel off
Palmer' s Cove Yacht Club.
1954 also saw the beginning of a six-year federally
funded effort to dredge the harbor' s shipping channel to the
32 ft, depth required by large ocean-going vessels. The
project, which was completed in 1960 at a cost of $1. 4 Million,
provides Salem Terminal with a 300 ,000 sq, ft, service channel.
By the late fifties, public opinion had begun to shift
away from regarding strictly the commercial and shipping
(� aspects of the harbor and toward the possibilities of devel-
oping public boating and recreational uses. In 1958 a citizens
group connected with the Chamber of Commerce proposed .an
. eleven-point waterfront development program, a component of -
which was the creation of additional public docking facilities
at Derby, Pickering and Turner Street Wharves and at Palmer' s
Cove. The report also called for the construction of a 300 '
breakwater fish pier facility, southeasterly from Forest River
with a dredged inner side for boating. .
In the early sixties, City Councillor Richard W. Poitras
spear-headed efforts to dredge and improve the South River
anchorage near the Congress Street Bridge. Concurrently, the
Harbor Development Committee of the Chamber of Commerce pushed
r�
for a channel and marina facilities at Derby k'harf which would
19
cost $1 Million. In 1967, both Senator Brooke and Congress-
man Bates spoke out on the need to rebuild the collapsed por-
tion of Central Wharf, a project costing $250 , 000 . Due to the
unsafe nature of that docking facility, the Navy ordered the
submarine Sea Dog to leave Central Wharf in June of that year.
In 1967, a $40,000 project was initiated for the con-
struction of a public landing at Derby Wharf in conjunction
with the required dredging. Despite the numerous reports and
recommendations, this $40,000 constitutes nearly the full
extent of money spent on waterfront development within the
last fifteen years.
i�
20
„! NEWSPAPER ARTICLES CONCERNIh.^, SALE HA NE',JS FAia.lod, 5 1 �'.
9 re
1-2-45 mayor Coffey sees the future coeo_etion or the Derby Wharf Mari
Park. Federal engineers have already designed plans and funds
will be available following the war.
1-6-56 The Planning Board is making plans to build a war memorial and
and recreational area in the area behind the' Saltonstall School
and the harbor on the mudflats. 23 acres hill . be filled in from
Leach Street to a level equal to the mills.
3-16-45 Plans to dredge a 10 foot channel in the South River are included
in a 57 million projects plan for the post-war period.
8-10-45 Egbart Hans of the Planning Board has told the Kiwanis Club
that Palmers and Collins Coves should have high water 24 hours
a day. He suggests using the dredged materials to fill in the
existing mudflats to provide more housing lots.
12-6-45 The state has received federal funds f,-.r t^e improvement of
a Massachusetts harbors including Salem.
2-1-46 Rep. Edmund Tapot has petiticned the legislative Cormittee on
• Harbors and Rivers for 560,000 to dredge Salem Harbor at Palmer
Cove and include a basin at the Palmer Cove Y.C. Dred; ed materials
would be used by the city in. bulkheads_
---.5-14-46 The state has approved 51.6 million for harbor improvements in -
15 towns including Salem.
12-7-46 A 250,000 dredging operation has begun at Palmer Cove to make
it a yachting and bathing area. A 400 s-- - ' ft. basin and a 'y mile
channel will be dredged to an 8 ft. dept for low tide.
3-19-47 Work is underway at Derby Wharf and vicinity on the maritime site.
10-27-47 Contracts are out for the Salem Navy Armory and slips for a
mine sweeper and the sub "_lying fish" . Work b.egan I2-28-47.
1-31-48 Mayor Harrington wants a wider use of Salem Harbor; although
he feels that the harbor is adequate, he wants it'Ao be a place
where boys can sail their boats.'
3-6-48 Mayor Harrington seeks 'he use of Derby Wharf to serve the
boating and fishing public. He also wants the use of Hawkes
Housa to accomodate boating visitors.
3-10-48 . Naval security requirements bar any public use of Central
Wharf but the city will be allowed to cooperate on the use of
Derby Wharf. The mayor has soughtt'r.a assistance of Cong. B.,te3
in obtaining fiands to use in supplimentiro his recreational 21
program and meeting the space demands of local fishermen. and
lobstermen. Cong. Bates says that he hopes the 'ark Service
will make slips available. Sone years ago the federal govern-
ment undertook a project to refinish Derb; Wharf and then
it took possession of the wharf. The mayor plans to build
landing facilities and docking space. No wharf'project took
place previous to this because the city failed to sponser
one so no funds were made available.
6-17-48 Work has started on the construction of berths at Central
Wharf while the Reserve Center is already completed. Harbor
dredging is soon to begi.n. Central Wharf will have electrical
and water services and also a small storage shed. Local
fishermen and lobstermen are concerned over docking space;
the Navy will provide temporary space at Central (with use of
a shed) but object to the construction of a shed on Derby.
10-23-48 Mayor Harrington plans to restore control of Derby 'wharf to
the city. His primary concern is to find space for the fish-
ermen whe will have to leave Centra'_ Wharf when , the Havy
boats come into, the harbor.
5-25-49 The state is. scouting the Coast Guard Station as a possible
site for the Mass. Maritime Academy. If accepted , it would
include dredgirg' and the construction of a pier.
9-22-49 Mayor Harrington and Cong. Bates hold hearing on finishing
the dredging of Salem Harbor as authorized by acts of 1905s,
1930, and 1945. The project is 51% completed and the hearing
is to consider possible modifications.
9-23-49 President of the Chamber of Commerce, Myron R. Hutchinson
has urged the improvement of a one mile strip along the water
front which .he .calls "vital to the economic life of the city."
He said that industry demands a 10' channel depfr, to Pickeringsi
furthermore he. stated that the 1939 Harbor Study should be
followed : a 30' 6onnJ u',�should be achieved. There should
be no businesses between Pickerings and the Salem Terminal
and a Derby marina should be built to. accom.�late the 40 to
80 Salem Lobstermen., The City Council approved a measure
calling for a ' .mile long channel to a 10 ' dept,.
IJ-2 - 5 or the dr,.dCouncilman Philip Morency calls f o g 22 . _ 4
oirg of the South
River. An Army Engineers study was made but. no reccomerdation
was forwarders to the National Rivers and ;Harbors Commission
for action. the river must be dredged to serve industry.
—51 Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge,Jr. and Cong. Bates,Jr. say that they
will help get funds for dredging the channel to the South o
Riverand dredge turning basins.
2-9-51 Councilman Morency says that there will be an Army resurvey
within one year but first- funds for the survey must be
appropriated . Morency seeks a channel 30P wide and 1¢ ' deep.
The channel cad been regularly dredged since 1905.
6-13-51 55100 was appropriated to study Salem 'rarbor. '
4
- _ t
t
F�
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES CONCERNINC SALEM HARBOR: EVENINC IIE`nS FEB.1952-FEB. = 6
2-6-53 The Palmer Cove Yacht Club has asked the city to delay the
dredging of Palmer Cove because they say that the dredging
could be done under a maintainence act instead of going to
the legislature for a totally neer bili; Palmer Cove was
dredged six years ago but silt has accumulated; the water
level in some places is at three feet.
7-10-53 Issuing his yearly report, Harbormaster John Wiley said that
Salem handled in excess of 340,000,000 with 51,000,000
coming from the money spent by tourists for services_ The
increase in handling is attributed to the transfer of the
Pocahontas Steamship Co. (Pickering owned) to Salem. Imported
into Salem was coal, oil, and petroleum.
4-30-54 Before the e..^d of the sumer, work will be completed on 2
dredging project according to Comim.. Volpe of the DPW and Rep.
Ernest April. The projects are the dredging of a basin off
Dion's . boatyard and a channel off the Palmer Cove Y.C.
Dredging ::i 1L be completed within the week according to Rzp.
( � State Senator Henry Glo✓sky.
.8-9-54 Cong. Bates has announced that the Army Corps of Engineers
has been- alloted funds to survey Salem Harbor. . Work on Salem
Harbor was 35% completed until funds ran out on the authorized
survey-
2 Sen... Saltonstall and others are seeking 3165,000 to finish
the 1945 project.
2-4-56 The Harbormaster report says that over 4 million gallons of
gasoline were unloaded in Salem last year: also over 560,000
tons of coal, and more than 2,000 barrels of kerosene.
Furthermore • the Army Corps is at work on the harbor study.
xmd
r
24
iTEidSrAPE? ARTICLES CC[dC R IMG S_-",L'll HARBOR: THE EVE`iI'IG \"iJS HAR.1956- JAN. 1960
-24-56 City Council.- President; William ;loran , has asked area Congress:-en
for help in getting. Salem Harbor dredged to a 32 ' depth so
that ocean-going vessels coald serve Saler.
5-8-56 Cong. Bates says that an Army Corps report in Boston has
accepted a report _`or a ul .l million harbor development program.
The harbor channel will be dredged to 32' deep and 300' wide
going mile from deep •rater to 1500' off Salem Terminal . The
project will include removal of ilann mock.. also 5-18-56
r
5-22-56 Costs forthe project are estimated at Y1 ,085 million in
Federal funds . Local interests will pay x330, 000 for dredging,
;A15,000 for lowering a submerged sewer pipe , and w10 ,000
for wharf and berth i-iprovements . To date , Y836,000 has
already been spent by NE Power and Pocahontas Stea:;lsh7.33 on
wharf improvements. Project support comes from area businesses
and the Boston, Salem, Lowell , Laurence , and Gloucester
Chambers of Com-fierce. Cong. Bates has filed for N1 .1 million.
5-26-56 6-9 6-20 6-26 6-27 7-24 7-27 These follow the harbor
bill through Congress . Flaced In the Omnibus Bill , it was
vetoed by President Eisenhower, -v:ho , throug;h an aide , said.
that he favored the Sale-it project but called the whole bill
"pork-barrel legislation."
1 57 2-5 2-.15 3-'7 7-17 --9-26 .2-i4-58 2-28 .3-16 These follow
the second Omnibus Bill and its vet o.
1-4-58 Salem Chamber of Commerce President , Dominic I•Ieo , Jr. says
that Salem may become -the port of a Nass.-aova Scotia boatline .
2-15-58 The new Harbormaster, Frank Zdanowicz , grants more public
landings in Salem and a dredging of the harbor.
3-8-58 A citizens group, the Harbor Development Committee (Chamber
of Commerce) , seeks to develop improved port facilities 1.1
Salem. In a study of harbor potential , they proped an 11-point
program which includes: dredging of the South River to Congress
Street for public boating, a public landing and a float at
the outer edge of Derby 7,1harf , the inner. side of Derby :wharf
be dredged with slips constructed, a 300' breakwater-fishing
pier southeasterly from Forest River with a dredged inner side
for boat protection from storms , eletric navigational aide
--on Derby and Pickering Rharfs , a public landing at Turner St.
with dock space , enlarging Falmer Cove to accomodate more boats,
and a state pier at the end of Derby Wharf .
3-25-58 Private interests may open Miller ?;harf (off Turner St. ) to
the public.
-58 The Harbor Development Coin>nit'ee ha.s met with Sen. Tucker:;=.n
VI to discuss the possibilities for const.ructin a state pier
in Salem for public and con-iercial uses .
4-18-58 4-2P. 4-29 5-246-2 6-19 6-30 7-3 8-27 9_12 Progresscn
the new harbor bill in the 1959 Public ';Jo3-:s Appropriations Bill .
25
5_l5_58 A study by Councillor Uilfred Foitras sees as feasible a
landinl- at the en? of Derby Wharf . A float car. be obtained
from the Ilaval Reserve, for wl . Th_ vapor disc roved of the
`. report saying that, it was the duty of the =ar:: Dept. Mr.
Poitras said teat he consulted ,e Pari: Dent Ea'rold lessens ,
Derby custo8ian, said that federal ap-ro-ial rust be obtained 4I
for any development of Derby Wharf. The riavy float is 80'
long and eight feet wide .. L
3-16-59 Contracts for the dredging of Salem Harbor have been awarded
to Great Lakes Dredging of ,:iC for x1 ,235 ,162 .
26
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES CONCERNING SALEM HARBOR:
EVENING NEWS FEB_1960-.-LAY' 1970
2/5/60 With regard to Salem' s $1, 320 , 000 harbor improvement project,-
Gen. A.K. Sibley, Division Engineer, states that the dredging
has been completed and a few rock shoal areas will be removed
under a new contract.
8/6/60 Blasting of Salem harbor is completed,
2/27%62. Local interests have dredged a 32 ft, approach channel and .
maneuvering basin in the terminal area.
12/?6%62" _The U.S. Army Corps of Engineering said that bids would be
C� opened Jan. 10 for a contract to re-ove the entire rock plateau
on the edge of the channel about 400 ft. east of Abbott Pock
. day beacon.
7:4/5/63 P_ breakwater, was being erected at Juniper Cove.-in Salem Willows.
:.x:/24/64 Soundings from a 22 ft. launch are being taken of the channel,
dredged in 1959 to a depth of 32 ft. at a mear low crater, with
a vsew of deciding whether there is a need for a recommend-
ation for a new dredging project.
11/30/64 The first step will be taken this waek by Richard W. Poitras
toward creation of a harbor of refuge and improvements to the
mud-glutted Salem waterfront in the wake of completed repairs
to the opening mechanism of the dra,a at Congress St. bridge. -
4/2/65 Salem' s city government, through a special committee and The
• Chamber of Con?ierce, through its Harbor Development Comamittee
are cooperating in the proposed establishment of a $1, OG0 ,000
27
marina and channel in the historic Derby 4`narf . area at- no
cost to the city.
4/9/65 The National Park Service has advised Rep . Pulliam H. Bates
that a survey team has conducted preliminary studies of the
possibility of converting historic Derby Wharf of the Salem
National Maritime Historic Site into a yacht landing facility. - .
8/13/65 A resolution was introduced by Councilor Richard W. Poitras
which guarantees to the U. S. Army or Engineers that the
city will maintain a public landing on the easterly side of
Derby Wharf. The project calls for the dredging of an approach
channel and anchorage of the South River, with a view of
eliminating widespread flooding of a large interior section of
the city and putting and end to the heavy silting of the Salem
Harbor.
4/1/66 It was proposed to purchase and place in storage for installa-
tion next spring, six guest moorings for the new yacht anchor-
age area to be established on the westerly sidd cn the wharf.
1/25/66 The communities of Salem and Marblehead soon will be tested as
their willingness to either utilize federal participation
in two key waterfront development projects, . or to let the
funds totaling over $3 million be diverted to some other area.
3/11/66 Dredging under contract to the U.S . Armv Corps of Engineers
probably will appear in Salem Harbor to open the possibility
of tremendous waterfront renovation and development by clean-
ing out the South River and creating an approach channel and
yacht mooring basin on the easterly side of historic Derby
Wharf.
9/2/66 Maintanance dredging of Salem Harbor' s main ship channel is to
28
Central Wharf, site of the naval training station, are not
f available in the budget allocated to the Interior Dept. Ed-
win W. Small project coordinator of the Park Service said that
the Navy, which leases the wharf from the Interior Dept. would
have little choice but to allocate funds from its own budget
to make the necessary. repairs to the westerly side of the .
wharf.
8/10/67 Sen. Edward W. Brooke has suggested that city councilors con-
sier rebuilding the 175 yr. old Central Vharf to fit modern
u.S. Navy specifications be-fore the submarine Sea Dog can be re-
turned to her former berth there.
6/26/67 Submarine Sea Dog must leave derelict Central Wharf.
2/7/67 Lt. Sanchez Goode, commanding officer of the training station
said today that currently under study the First Naval District
are two courses open to the status of the site.
1. ) Abandonment of the school facilities for consideration with
current plans for enlargemaent of a training center in Lynn, or
2. ) An expenditure of between $150 ,000 and $250 ,000 to re-
build Central Wharf which has collapsed on its westerly side.
7/29/67 Congressman William H. Bates, says an estiirzted $200,000
will be needed to restore Central S•rnarf for safe use and he
is exploring how to effert the repairs .
8/12/67 Congressman William E. Bates queried Adm. L.G. Bernard on the
r
possibility of locating the proposed Navy and Marine Corps
Center at- the'-present Salem center on Central Wharf rather
than the naval industrial Reserve Gear plant in Lynn. The Salem
location had been rejected because the joint Navy-Marine
Center required a mini,..uri of seven acres .
2/7/67 The cost of replacing the existing building at the Salem
29
be accompanied under a recently approved $250 , 000 appropria-
tion made by Congress for fiscal 1967 . The $250 , 000 will be
r
used to remove shoals which night have forned along the
banks of the channel over the past fe-:r years and restore it
,.to a_ depth of 32 . ft. at .wear low tide.
7/15/66 The proposed anchorage area approach channel has been moved
20ft. seaward of the previously considered location.
9/23/66 Councilors asked Mayor Francis X. Collins to appropriate
$35,000 for the construction of three floats at historic
Derby Wharf. In a companion notion Richard W. Poitras was
successful in gaining first passage of an ordinance that
regulates utilization of floats and moorings within city
waters.
12/1/66 The dredging area has been moved eas`ward. ab9ut 15 ft.be-
cause of the added length the city must now withdraw one
of the 3 docks at the wharf.
9/8/66 A flood control project for the South Fiver to cost approxi-
mately $432,000 has been recommended by a Boston consulting .
firm after an extensive study by engineers .
4/17/67 The sum of $40,000 has been appropriated by the city council
for the project which will be completed in mid summer, Dredging
of an approach channel and anchorage basin on the easterly
side -.of Derby Wharf will be started by the Corps of Engineers.
This segment of the yacht center project also will- involve
the placing of a revetment along the edge of the anchorage
area to protect Derby Wharf and to prevent the slopes frcm
filling in the dredged area.
4/6/67 The National Park Service has notified the First Naval Dis-
trict that $140 , 000 needed to repair collapsed portions of
30
s center totals $300 ,000.
tIW16/67 Councilor Richard GT; Poitras disclosed that he would seek
council approval of the petition of the State Division of
Waterways for a study leading to the dredging in 1969 of
an additional anchorage area and construction of a breakwater
east of Derby Elharf.
4/20/67 A low bid of $223 ,970 was sibmitted to the Army Corps of
Engineers for maintance and improvement, dredging and re-
lated work in Salem Harbor.
3/24/67 $40, 000 has been appropriated for constructing a public land-
ing at Derby Wharf.
5/27/67 A constract was signed for construction of piers , ramps and
floats for the project which will be done in conjunction with
the dredging.
7/3/68 The state and the city will each pay $25, 000 for the first
stage of the South River drainage project.
1/9/69 The city' s_ $1. 8 million project planned for the easterly side
of Derby Wharf consists of a wharf extending approximately
1,600 ft. stretch water.
12/18/70 The Salem Harbor Advisory Board rene=vied its pledge to bring .
about needed harbor improve-ments.
i�
31
A SUM=^_CRY OF THE BLAIR ,REPORT ON WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT
The Blair Report, which was adopted by the city in
1964 , is the officially approved master plan for the City
of Salem. Though this document is somewhat out of date,
it does contain many ideas which still deserve careful
consideration. A copy of the waterfront development sec-
tion of the Blair Report may be found on pages 32a-32i.
The major thesis of the Blair Report is best expressed
in the following quotation: "It is evident that Salem has
turned its back on the waterfront. With the exceptions of
the New England Power Company' s Plant, portions of Salem
Willows, scattered marinas, yacht clubs, and boat yards,
most of the waterfront is used for the purposes which are
unrelated to the water" . (Blair Report: Part 3, Page 9)
According to the study, land uses along the waterfront
are currently apportioned in the following manner:
44%--Public and semi-public uses , much of
which has little or no relation to the
water.
18%--Heavy industry and public utility uses. '
15%--Residential uses.
7%--Railroad rights of way.
3%--Commercial.
Clearly the above percentages indicate a less than
prudent use of valuable ocean front property.
Fortunately, there is little reason to believe that
the existing land use practices are in any way fixed or
permanent in nature.
32
��. As the Blair Report points out, the character of the
waterfront has changed greatly over the years. Current
activities can be regarded as transitional as well. "For
example, the industrial and railroad uses which replaced the
wharfs and warehouses of the maritime era may be superseded
in turn by residential and recreational uses . Future changes
in waterfront uses will depend upon land uses trends , im-
proved storm protection, accessibility, pollution control,
and public improvements. " (Blair Report: Chap. 3, Page 9)
The Blair study goes on to single out the former U.S.
Coast Guard Station and the Plummer School properties on
Winter Island as two sites which are under utilized and
which might be better used for recreation or waterfront
�� development.
324
w1- 7
- 0
- W
0
wa
r
,
IV DEVELOPMENT, POTENTIALS 4. The protection and development of
the shoreline for public use or en-
There arc several opportunities for develop- joyment;
ment of the waterfront which should be consid-
ered by the City in the future. Some projects 5. The establishment of a long-range and
depend upon public harbor and channel improve- continuous program to encourage the
ments; other developments will be fbasible in proper reuse and redesign of selected
the long-range future and depend upon long-range key sites and areas.
trends whose effects can only be generally fore-
casted. Derby Wharf Marina
Despite uncertainties, it is relatively clear that Of all the projects which could be developed
the direction in which Salem should develop is along the Salem waterfront, the most immed-
towards more waterfront residential develop- iately attractive and generally feasible o¢ne is
ment and recreational boating activities. This the Derby Wharf Marina.
development strategy requires a flexible ap-
proach which takes advantage of opportunities In the Historic Areas study, action has been
as they emerge. The purpose of this section of proposed to develop a Historic Waterfront Proj-
the report is to set forth the. recomrriended stra- ect. The areas to be included would be the Sa-
legic objectives as follows : lem National Maritiliic Site, the north hank of
the South River, the Turner Street area, the
1 . Construction of a major yacht basin Essex SLrceL-Derby Street-I-lawthorne Butile-
ind public marina adjacent to Derby vard-Winter Street neighborhood, and areas
Wharf and inl:cgratecl with residen- adjacent to the: Hawthorne Hotel. It was rec-
tial areas and historic tourist ans ornmended that cooperative detailed planning
recreational facilities; be initiated by the Planning Board with various
Federal and State agencies toward greatly in
Z. Later development of a major re- proving and expanding the Salem National Mari-
gion-serving yacht basin and pub- time Site, redeveloping the area between the
lic marina facility for Collins Cove; site and the House of Seven Gables, the provi-
sion of tourist facilities, and the rehabilitation
3. The continuation and improvement of adjacent residential area. m
of smaller marinas and yacht clubs
under planning and regulating stand- These improvements would complement the fol
aids; lowing type of waterfront improvement:
32c
t �J
10
I
r �
W
!'I
Vs�
1
. . V
I. the construction of a 30-foot wide Such an area would provide superior marifa-
earth-filled L-shaped wharf to the cilities in Salem, which would be related to the
immediate north of the House of historic assets of Salem. It is believed that this
Seven Gables, forming a sheltered development would stimulate improvement in the
harbor; historic residential and business areas.
Z. dredging within the harbor to the Collins Cove Marina
depth of approximately eight feet to
provide fill for the new wharf; Previous studies of the historic areas in Sa-
lem have indicated the need to preserve Bridge
3. dredging an 8-foot channel to and Street as a residential neighborhood. Thor-
from the harbor to the main ship oughfare planning indicates the strong need
channel; for the development of a major thoroughfare
along the North River leading to Beverly. Re-
h, a statue in commemoration of Na- newal activities should assist in realizing
thaniei Bowditch, the great Salem these objectives.
navigator, to be located in the Der-
by Wharf area; It would be consistent with this current planning
for future land use and thoroughfares to encour-
5. finger piers off Derby Wharf and the age the replacement of gas storage tanks at the
"L" wharf; tip of Bridge Street with a use which is more in
keeping with maintaining desirable living condi-
G, marina supply, fuel, and water serv- tions. It is quite possible, however, that access
ices on the new wharf; off the new cxpressway would be provided on to
131-idge Street ;It the tip of the peninsula. There
7, parking for loading purposes on the arc currently some facilities at this location
new wharf; which would benefit from a major marina fa-
cility, including restaurants and a motel. Traf-
8. direct access to the waterfront walk fic circulation could be provided which would
from both wharfs; route almost all nonlocai traffic to and from the
marina directly on to the expressway without
9, pathway connections.to the interiorpassing through the Bridge Street neighborhood. N
historic areas, to thehotel complexa
proposed on.the south side of Salem A. major public marina in this location would
Common, and to Essex Street. serve the residents of Salem and meet the re-
gio.nal need for water facilities with minimum Regulation of Marinas and Yacht Clubs. Yacht
conflict with local residents. clubs and areas serve the general population of
r as the Comprehensive Plan
the region. Insofa
Considerable dredging of Collins Cove will be of the City is concerned, their exact location is
required to provide sheltered anchorages. not important, provided they meet certain stand-
ards. In regulating expansion and new develop-
Small Marinas and Yacht Clubs ment, the City should consider the following
provisions :
Even when the two above marinas are developed,
there will probably be a need for, smaller public 1. Adequate automobile parking space
and commercial marinas andprivate yacht clubs. should be provided adjacent to the
Their use andimprovement should continue with yacht club;
in limitations.
2. Adequate road access shouldbeavail-
Kcrnwood Marina. Kernwood Park provides an able from major public streets;
excellent setting for a more modest marina de-
vclopriient primarily for small motor craft. The 3. The location of yacht club facilities
width and depth of the Danvers River in this to should not substantially conflict with
cation, and more importantly the Boston and existing residential uses;
Maine railroad bridge and the Beverly-Salem
highway bridges, limit the usage of this site. 4. If located near residential uses, pro-
However, the marina should provide for the tection should be provided from glare,
needs of residents with small motor craft. noise, and other nuisances resulting
from night time use.
_Salem Willows_Marinas, Limited facilities
should be maintained in the Salem Willows urea, Protection of Shoreline
Currentlythe Salem Willows Yacht Club operates
as a private yacht club in the Salem Willows. The shoreline is an important esthetic feature and
There are also Recreation Department docks amenityof the entire city of Salem and should be
and the commercial Salem Willows pier. These preserved fox public enjoyment. The City must ac-
improved. cept general responsibility fox protecting the sh
facilities should be continued and
ore-
Care should bv. exercised to limit the extent of line. Improper designancluse can seriously jeop-
the development of these marinas so as not to ardize econoic development as it has in the past.
m
encourage excessi✓ traffic to and from Salem The City can protect and use the shoreline as a re-
1Villows, source in a variety of ways, as indicated below.
North River Expressway. A,new major thorough- North Salem Shoreline. The west bank of
fare in under cons ideration intransportation plan- the North River and the Danvers River shore-
ning by the Salem Planning Board to replace line is pleasantly wooded and attractive. There
Bridgc Street as a major street. Part of it would is some residential development, a minor
be located on fill along the North River, Chang- boat yard, and an industrial use, but most of
ing waterfront land use. the shoreline has a generally natural appear-
ance.
The first step in advancing this project would
appear to be to dredge the North River, whose This natural shoreline should be preserved.
dredging appears long overdue. The fill from Devises such as scenic easements, prohibiting
dredging should be used to develop a strip of billboards and similar uses through restrictive
right-of-way adjacent to the Boston and Maine covenants or zoning, and acquisition of shore-
railroad right-of-way. front land to preserve open space should be in-
vestigated. It is quite possible that open space
The completion of the first step will provide acquisition could be partly financed by a grant
the City with a substantial basis for persuad- from the Federal Government.
ing the Massachusetts Department of Public
Works to locate a new expressway from the Collins Cove Park. When Collins Cove is
Beverly Bridge to North Street along the wa- dreclgccl, a portion could be used to fill the inshore
Lcrfront. The expressway would reduce traf- portion presently occupied by a railroad spur
fic on Bridge Street and thereby tend to unify track and an exposed sewer trunk line. This
the Bridge Street neighborhood. It would al- filled area could provide a site for waterfront
so change the use of the southeast bank from walkway, neighborhood playground, commi-
t iLroad ri};hi-of-wtty to landscaped express- niLy ccniLcr and other facilities supporting the
way right-of-way. Assuming the North River residential area to the southwest.
i:1 clrodged and odor from industrird wastes
climinatcci, such improvements will tend to East Shore of Salem Harbor. The City should
provide a pleasant view for motorists and consider gradual acquisitions of property or
help renew residential area south of the ex- casements in a narrow strip of shoreline
i
pressway. Access to the water would require from Palmer Cove to the Marblehead town
pedestrian bridges similar to those along the line. In the long-range future, a waterfront
Charles River in Boston. A small waterfront walk might be built along this .strip. A park
011
park might eventually be provided on the area could be preserved between Forest Riv-
point of land where March Street is presently er Park and the Marblehead town
located, l i n e .
v
v
'4V�oAuvcc6 '
177 R —
Ipf�� _
114 , ' /NASLG4
i1 WATERFRONT PLAN
Public and Semipublic
Residential
�f -
I]
•- � fir,,, Industrial
`. co
0 Marina Facilities Existing
0 Marina Facilities - Proposed ,,
Lo_ny_-Ran,>e Development Policies powers with regard to zoning and the provision
of municipal services and facilities to influence
There are several key locations along the water- the design and use of property in those key
front where use and design, are not likely to shoreline locations.
change in the near future. Few of these loca-
tions are eligible for urban renewal, and most The exception to this policy would be the land
of tlietn serve valuable economic functions at abutting Juniper Cove and at the tip of Salem
present. In the long-range future, however, op- Neck which should continue as a residential
portunitics will arise to change the use of land neighborhood in parcel ownership.
in some of these locations. The City should be
prepared with policies and objectives when those South River Site. Eventually it is believed that
opportunities arise. many of the existing. uses on the South River
will relocate or expire. At that time, steps
Salem Neck. Most of the shoreline of the north should be taken to make the entire area avail-
shore of Salem Neck is protected by public own- able for apartment development. This may.in-
ership. Public ownership and control of the volve a program of acquisition as land becomes
shoreline should continue. On the south shore available. In addition, gradual steps should be
facing Salon Harbor, little of the land is con- taken to eliminate any traces of pollution of the
trolled by the City; most of the public land is South ,River.
used by regional, State and h'ederal agencies.
If the Naval Reserve Training Station s it c
As a matter of general long-range policy, the becomes available in 1966 as now indicated,
City should protect Salem Nock, especially Win- it should be acquired for eventual clearance
ter Island, Cat Cove, and any industrial land and redevelopmcnt in connection with land to
which becomes available, frouz acquisition by the er,st. The development of the north bank
land speculators in the future. Whenever pos- of the river should be planned as tho key
sible, land should be acquired by the City when link between the Central Business District
it becomes available and sold for unified level- and the Derby Wharf his toric - marina
opmcnt accordingto approvedplans and designs area.
written into the contract for sale or the deed .of
sale. When acquisition is not practical, the As the north bank of the river is closely related
City should work with regional, State and Fed- to nearby areas in which changes in land uses are N
eral agencies in controlling the future use. and planned, this portion of the South River water- s
design of land sold to private parties by these front might be redeveloped at an earlier date
agencies. The City may also use its potent than the south bank.
Peguot Site. No action should be taken to re-
move the present uses which are important
sources of employment and taxes. However, at
such time when the land becomes available for
a new use, the bulls of the site should be used
for high-density apartment dwellings with con-
siderable open space around them. Its develop-
ment should be coordinated with the major re-
habilitation of areas to the west of Congress
Street and the South River Development. This
neighborhood should increase the population and
purchasing power adjacent to the Central Busi-
ness District.
The site is adjacent to the Palmer Cove Yacht
Club, which might serve some of the residents.
Additional boating facilities could be provided
alongthe South River, shelteredby Derby Wharf.
The existing Palmer Cove Playground would
provide an important amenity for children.
Schools in the area should be retained.
Winter Island Site_. When the current Winter Is-
land uses are discontinued, the island could be
made available for new sites for the combined
Lynn-Salem Naval Reserve Training Station.
Dredging and harbor improvements will be re-
quired for this use. In the more long-range fu-
ture, the island could be used for park-like
apartment purposes. It is not likely, however,
that an apartment project wouldbe feasible with-
w
out the elimination of occasional overflow sewer-
age effluents in Cat Cove from sewage pumping
station, abatement of coal dust in the atmosphere,
and rehabilitation of in-town neighborhoods. ..
33
"THE RENAISSANCE OF SALEM HARBOR" ,
• A SUMMARY REPORT
David J. Hooks of Salem State College did an economic
feasibility study of locating a modern marina complex at
Salem Harbor.
He first surveyed to establish the demand for such a
facility. His findings were as follows :
1) The demand for docking facilities at surround-
ing harbors on the North Shore (i.e. Marble-
head, Manchester, and Beverly) wiil .far out-
strip capacity in coming years .
2) A high percentage of yachtsmen waiting for
mooring openings at these three neighboring
harbors indicated that they would be willing
to keep their boat at a modern marina in
Salem Harbor if one existed.
Additional surveying of boatowners indicated keen inter-
est in a Salem Harbor facility.
- Hooks next reduced the location possibilities of such
a complex to . two prime sites; Cat Cove next to Winter Island
and the area east of and including Derby Wharf. A cost
benefit analysis of the two alternatives established Winter
Island as the superior site for the following reasons :
1) Site preparation and development costs are con-
siderably less at Winter Island.
2) Moreover, a Cat Cove Marina would have the
capacity to handle 446 boats, 200 more than
a Derby Wharf alternative.
3) The Winter Island location has considerably
more land for the development of necessary
support facilities than does the Derby Wharf
area.
a 4) Parking and access consideration dictate the
Cat Cove site.
34
The study next explored funding possibilities and made
note of the fact that state and federal monies might be
available to pay for over 60 per cent of the costs of a
marina.
In conclusion, David Hooks considered a cost-benefit
analysis of a marina: facility and observed that even con-
sidering only revenue derived from slip rentals against
total costs, a Winter Island Marina would be a slight
money maker.
Revenue earned by support facilities would make such
a marina an even more attractive money maker for the City.
P'�
III. Planning Framework--ENVIRONMENT
s•
36
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: A SYNOPSIS
I. INTRODUCTION
Note: The following information has been assembled largely
through the generous 'assistance of Mr. Barry Less-
inger, legal consultant of the Florida Coastal
Coordinating Council.
Coastal zone management has become a popular issue in
the early 1970 's. Most recently, the. Congress has enacted
legislation which provides cost sharing with state govern-
ments interested in this area.
A Coastal Zone can be defined as anything from a 100-
foot band to the entire area from the sea to the coastal
mountains, as is the case in Oregon.
Definitions:
The following are a list of areas which relate
directly to overall coastal zone management schemes;
1) Wetlands preservation and acquisition,
2) Beach access,
3) Power plant siting,
4) Shoreland zoning, and
5) Site location regulation.
Wetlands Preservation and Acquisition:
A coastal wetland is any marsh area which is in-
fluenced by tidal flow.
These areas are tremendously important as fishery
nurseries and represent the lifeblood of approx-
imately 700 of sport and commercial fisheries. They
�. are threatened by development, dredge and fill, and
runoff.
37
Most Atlantic Coast: states have enacted rigorous
dredge and fill permitting procedures and have
enacted wetlands preservation and aquisition legis-
lation.
Beach Access:
The legal definition of a beach is generally that
area above the mean high water mark and below the vege-
tation line.
Texas, in 1959 and Oregon later, enacted legislation
giving the public rights in beaches as well as access to
them. Trends in other states (i.e. California & Florida)
indicated a growing concern toward recognizing public
rights to beach access through the courts. Most of these
cases attempt to establish long-standing public uses.
However, with strong private pressures on waterfront and
beach access, state and federal action may be necessary
in order to preserve, through zoning or aquisition,
existing beaches and waterfront properties .
Power Plant Sitings :
Certain states (i.e. Maryland, California, New York)
have established commissions which research and plan for
sites, considering -environmental impact, tl:en buy and
develop them and ultimately sell . then to the companies.
Shorelands zoning:
Shoreland zoning as a management tool is still in
its infancy. It has been tried most successfully in the
Great Lakes Region.. However, in the opinion of most,
Shorelands zoning perse does not appear to be a viable
approach to coastal zone management.
Site Location Regulations :
Site location regulations have been used in two states,
Maine and Delaware, as a direct response to proposals for
large-scale coastal projects. In both cases, the legisla-
tion prohibits some industries while requiring special
permits for others.
In the case of Maine , the burden is on the applicant
• to show that his project meets the standa-rds of the statute
and does not jeopardize public health, safety and welfare.
Though such response. type legislation may be necessary
. to meet an emergency situation, it ought to be supplemented
by comprehensive planning, of which both Maine and Delaware
are involved.
Coastal zone planning and management requires partic-
ular kinds of expertise, knowledge of land planning and
water planning as well as legal expertise familiar with
jurisdictional problems of overlap and conflicts vis a vis
county, state and federal agencies.
II. CASE STUDIES
Delaware:
Background:
A) Along with Montauk, New York and Machiasport,
Maine, Delaware Bay is one of the three deepest
spots along the east coast. As such it is able
to accommodate modern supertankers of 250,000
to 350 ,000 deadweight tons.
B) Its central location in relation to the centers
of population makes it the most attractive location
of the three for future fuel depots.
C) Despite this, Delaware Bay had remained one of
the least spoiled tracts along the Atlantic Coast.
Problem:
1) In January, 1969 , Shell Oil released plans to
construct a $200 million refinery and petro
chemical plant at the head of Delaware Bay.
2) Concurrently, a consortium of thirteen (13) of
the nations largest oil companies proposed a
petroleum transfer station six miles off shore
in the Bay. The facility would be linked to the
shore by two 48 inch pipes.
3) Zapata Norness Inc. expressed their intent to
build a 300 acre transfer terminal for coal
and iron ore at Delaware Bay.
( Strategy:
Newly elected Governor Peterson decided to stop
the projects through the following strategy;
1) He assembled a task force to study the
coast. The task force held hearings through-
out the state in order to illicit bi-parti-
san support.
2) The argument repeatedly used was that the
unspoiled coast was more valuable than the
relatively few jobs automated industry
would bring.
Results:
The Delaware General Assembly passed the Coastal
Zone Act of 1971. Lobbying against the legislation
were trade organizations and the U..S. Departments of
Commerce and Treasury. The Act banned heavy industry
in a two mile zone along the coast, including oil,
chemical, paper and steel manufacturing. It specif-
ically banned marine terminals to handle said products.
The legislation also encouraged the development of
clean industries along the coast. The Delaware Act
was the first of its kind anywhere in the nation.
Oregon: .
Oregon has perhaps exhibited the greatest concern
for environmental problems of any state.
The Oregon Coastal Conservation and Development
Commission was established in 1971 to develop a plan
balancing conservation and development: simultaneously
a moratorium was established on all state coastal construc-
tion during the planning stage which may extend to 1975.
Any variances from the moratorium must be secured from the
Governor' s office.
In addition, the state government has enacted the
following:
1) Dredge and fill permits to be approved must be
shown. to be in the public interest.
2) The public has unrestricted use of beaches to the
vegetation line. This Act was recently upheld by
the Supreme Court of Oregon.
40
3) A special task force, responsible to the Governor,
has been empowered to review the sites for power
plants.
4) The state has outlawed the sale of no-deposit
bottles and beverage cans.
New Hampshire and Connecticut:
New Hampshire and Connecticut conduct no other program
than the protection of wetlands. The State of Connecticut
has already acquired one-third of the 14 ,500 acres of
wetland it has officially designated as significant.
Maine:
Comprehensive coastal zone planning in Maine is
handled by the Coastal Planning Advisory task force.
The Maine Environmental Improvement Commission is
a site regulatory agency. It has jurisdiction
over all development which : 1) is in excess of 20
` acres, or 2) involves drilling or excavating for
natural resources, or 3) where a single structure
exceeds 60 ,000 sq, ft.
Rhode Island:
Enabling legislation is the Coastal Management Act
which was passed in July 1971.
The regulatory agency is the Coastal Management
Council which manages water and land areas , re-
gardless of location, but ;•here there is reason-
able probability of conflict with resource manage-
ment plans or potential damage to the coastal zone.
The council also has power to licence permits for
wetlands activity and acts as an arbitrator in
disputes between local governments and state agencies.
41
Massachusetts:
A complicated set of laws and guidelines relate
to wetlands .
This is the only state to specifically protect
inland wetland.
A state agency, . the Commission of Ocean Management,
has been designated to develop a master plan and
determine the appropriate state agency to carry
it out.
Nantucket Sound Islands Trust:
During the last session of Congress, Senator Kennedy
introduced legislation which would have created two island
trust commissions, one for Martha' s Vineyard and the other
for Nantucket.
The purpose of the islands trust is to carry out shore-
line preservation and conservation employing some of the
following tools:
• 1) Guaranteeing the public a right of passage in
an area along the shoreline between the high
and low water line.
2) Acquiring lands for strictly conservation pur-
poses.
The bill died in the last Congress and is expected
to be re-introduced in the coming session.
t,
42
THE CONSERVATION MASTERPLAN
At present, the consulting firm of Wallace, Floyd,
Ellenzweig Inc. of Cambridge is in the final stages of
writing the conservation master plan for the City of Salem.
The conservation master plan is an important prerequisite
in the process of obtaining state and federal funds for
recreation and open space projects.
Though the open space plan is not yet completed, Mr.
Lee Weller of the consulting firm. was able to identify
several areas of importance relative to Salem' s shoreline.
The report identified four areas of particular value and
significance along the waterfront (See Map 3) c 1) The
Forest River and its wetlands; 2) The Forest River Park
shoreline; 3) Winter Island and; 4) The area along the
Danvers River above Rernwood. The four account for per-
haps the only coastal areas left in Salem where there is
both open shorefront and natural edge. In addition these
locations have relatively low levels of water pollution.
As a result, each of the sites has potentially high
recreational value. Each area is also fairly active from
an ecological point of view.. Many of the locations have
clam flats either adjacent to, or associated with then.
Given present action in the realm of sewerage treatment and
• pollution abatement, these areas could become productive
in future years.
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While all four areas have certain characteristics
in common, each has qualities of special significance. The
Forest River and its tributaries constitute perhaps the only
complete ecological and tidal systems remaining in Salem.
The Forest River Park shoreline and the coastal area above
Kernwood are notable for their scenic beauty and their
adjacent clam flats. However, of all the areas, Winter
Island offers the most potential for recreation. The beach
which runs along the eastern shore of the Island is, because
of its relatively clean water and seaward exposure, perhaps
the finest in Salem.
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g� 226 OLD NAUAIiCEA6. � "S� f 6ALG31—PAST AND PRESENT. 227 p
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Ys+ 'nos Briggs, her builder, built in Salem fitly.otee `bf a board of ten trustees,chosen for a term of years
't 'fib vessels in all, of 11,000 tons. IIe died in IS19 ai lig the ?\Lryor and Aldermen. It was incmporatod z • ,;t,, j
i aged 73, highly respected for his mechanical:skffl" ,.bS art act of the Legislature ill 1855. The school his industrious exampl0 and Itis useful life. T7re t rTMent into operation September 23, 1870. William I,
'sses was the firstUnited States ship to caaq '�-�' ''T4Bo\\ditclr is now president, and Gilbert L. Streeter,
t ,}
Our Ong around the Cape Of Good Hope and Cape, ° y� 14
}'• '
Horn ; was the first to capture an awned prize t0 x
tr*' '�a Salem Necl: is now considered the principal sum- ;
ink the War of Great Britain, quit when compelled st f^
Al. 2 met retrcaC" of the couunnuity of Salem, I'cvborly • r
last to surrender to a superior Puree, nmde a pro. a ,. 1111 Beverly. Salem and Lovell people occupy J11- < ;,
°r °I
w tr ,
acted and unequal Conflict In Valparaiso bay, }eq x+r ?Wiper poin
t, with a likely and handsome village of -
1
' }:z4 ships in L!w United Sows service, with so short a r summer residences. Thiou�h thea• foal taste and
,tr s�A� career, have ever been blessed with such a aalniy' o- the enterprise of the cit}' goverumcut under .11 IO"
tkt r of omuntaudors-1'reLle, Banco, Bain6rirlg0; Da- t ; - Williams' aQtninistnahm, iu making the Willows
cahu, Stewart, Coe C.un tbell, Smith curd lest ItuS r a
,? i eveccdiugl}• attractive .rad impro\iug the accn uc !
s.��ti not least porter, father of Admiral Iafcr. Admr 'v �� ,thereto, together \nth the Nauntl.ca, Railway com-
d} rat I ur rgnt, of New GrlonnS rams receive, his '
3^ '1 t 6-n which has established n branch road to the r �
,r first wounds on her deck as n WSIlipman. All }j at UWws for summer travel, the Nuck has Leen con- n ir°I
`,F her capture she was entered upon Lhc list of lughsh p;+ ^k` YeItcd, front pasturage hied, into one of the finest
ships, ;uul in 1833 was used ❑s a convict ship at res � anmmer tct.rcats oil 0111 coast. It had been more or rl.
�! I s
Kingston, Jamaica, She was finally sohl at anchog vt� �v.,,a less of a r etrcat for pr i\ate pat tics toll some years, Y
t°a
:it SOmerSet Ilousc, in 1537. t '
,brit there yr ns neither prnate nor public shelter for d\
I s , For many years n�cv ions to the last war, 'Winter w I I
• ;� 1 l '� (lam, save paha rs tho old farm house at the t'orlc
+t a a Island was used each fall as the minor ground Of vise P oP the ro.uls to the Willows, Juniper and Winwil ,a
n m0iv*h the WiJaof T,sscx comity, when the brigade mnuer vt` I r>Islmrd. This house was built about the close of v ,
v'risr' ^� sys . It is now occupied by" the c
t' ra the seventeenth, or the beginning of the eighteenth
Plnmmcr I'atm School of Reform
tem was ill v06-110for boys. 1u4 �K =°�F century, ou a farm purch.tsed here Ly Cul. John
school was founded by the nnmiGeent bequest of 11, insou, grandson of Rev. Francis, and son of
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k1` ' Bliss Caroline Plumuter'• It is a school for the n ,Nr ,Ree. John Ili,giuson. It was afterwards Owned by
s
strnetion, employment and reformation of juvenile �a ?�.x-Capt. Benjamin Ives, then by Capt. Richard Dethy,
offenders ill the city of S:dem. The a.mcLint Of the .. ' rWinter �• �
irbo leased a'voint ou Island, in 17•iS, for v R
a�. bequest was 620,000. The fund by juclicious maq }`. ' 'Es6 vrf and warehouse. Capt. Allen next occupied fk
}' agement is} RJ N
'early increased. Itis under the charge r, the farm, which includad a lenge portion of the u f l, '
I
10 — ESSEX INSTITUTE
JAMES DUNCAN PHILLIPS LIBRARY
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;. 1- � yt, ., t v �, c..✓„1� 3 £ Vis` i' �.^ �, ,��£�� <, ��. �, yrr» x ry� ys.t,�.c�# r k�+ :��?��.ya;'�j�,SM.�y-,5?G,�`:
f[. -�. Y •� 4 + + �"Y:�. '�' ,4'S � t" cc{'='a ,y + , $ 7"W"4 '+' ai{ � � rt"". � :y `q r`t", '. 'f�M1'✓".� `
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Juniper. It was longi known as the "Allen fit' '� S'.{{'ntch-hoose point, so called from the bloct:, or
a
'` yjtsr� a It has since heen occupied by Aaron lycleli ami �-�-Retell-house which stood here as Leto as 1758, and
a, RghI otters stilt liciug. It has recently been Ienorate4 `� from which when new,our people watched for pirates x
" }5 and is now a public house, known as the "Jumper; Aird other emmnies trho frequented our coast. From `l • R: -
t House."
try 4!Allis point a tine v ieo• is obdtilied of the coast, from
M -
�, In 1855-6 a few Boston clerks began to camp- ��, '. z!4.
"' t'tlm-blchend Neck oil the right, to Gloucester harbor
during their rncxLious at Juniper point; fiohU,f r 'y ;tr on the Icl't, with its indentures of harbors, cores Iof
34 r 12 some of the Lowell people, driven from Dfnl$Ichc•uF. ^ d _ ":.°and crco6s ; also lLe ])rent ha.V st tread out in front 1 -:
r�xls,� Neel: by disagi cement with the props ictol:s fit r ' and dotted with its many islands. i w
I, sought owl• 'juniper and erected a cottag, e
? 1 r or +
two. may. c -.baler's Island teas so called as Cally' as 1630, at
Tile
y were followed to othcls, until the point tivgan s�`'r `,Y,.,-Meir time tile most of these islands welt. covered
to dei clop itself' into n rratcl inq pl'tce fur resident " --nith forest Ll ees. I,:d:cl e lsl,tua Is t.hc lai,r',t of
Lt 1873 D. R. Gnulnm,p.,bought the "Allen farmthc group; it cont;uus lilt}'-five acres, and i, dist.mti
I Al
of t.ho Dustin heirs, of peaborl•y, Sud laid it out. l-Ii ' ..bout four miles c.tster!y Gum ACatch-house point.
_ � L` :{ into sti cels, curl line hoose lots which aro fur sale MCI- being long nppi oprl.ited for Imstui:rge, this �s•
There are I101r SUllle t!rly oi• liLn'C Lille COLt,igCS here a 1JL1Iltl iC;1S seleUCil, iii�1,191, as the location for a
and Wle numbci ince c.rsesyearly. The AV!Ilows,a `�. lighthouse. The two lights 111"111,13. displayed here ai
e ? a' point, to the vol th-west of the Juniper, and from x Lnero first shown oilJanuw y 8, 1798. Lovell Island
which an h:ng ish man-ol=war o'.ts cannouarled,e neer * -a
is the neer largesC and contains nine acres. It �y i•
F4 t � , p
begun to be looked apes in be favor able light which ' has n large hotel oilit built by the Lowell people
is npw at tacked to i t. A pai i l i o it,paged as,fun it tains t" sonic years ngo, for a summer retreat. Iit 1G55 It f;
new roads and encing Looses we rC Guilt, and covet was n-outed b,y the Gencral Court to Governor I:n-
i"'+'t thing of an A1C'-actnc nature about it improce<I dicoCt and his heirs. Its proper name was Gotta
g ` On plcasaut smnmu drys thousands of peoplecome s>�
licre to enjoy the cooling hlcezes, and to listen to L Island, the name being deiical from that of its tst ,
oiu¢rs. 'Phis imme ,vas afield ands contr.icted to
'et a E the mnsic from the b.utd irhich is often employed to �iYIsland, by which ]):title it leas long ! noon.
Arid to the enjoyment Steamboats, .)-edits.end 1•ow ;A small-pox hospital erected here by' the 11I n hlehcad y -
� ' + Leas :ue al w'a.ys at laud to acro amt odatu parties or
I iC people, was burned in 177I be a mob. Ilousc Is-
iudiv iduals. A longi wh:u•f Lnowu as steamboat
+ .. land, so named because of a I-cwk on it which looks I c
, regi wharf, has been built flout what was early lcnow'u all ' like a building, Contains fire ;lues, ausl is the nvyt inn -.-3
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lamest to Lowell Is,aud. The other isl.urls are
Formerly known as 11espnnl-pout, vsee Beverly. a .kil ll as Eagle, Ram, Coney, Tinker's, two Goose- -y ii
= I ESSEX INSTITUTEINV
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JAMES DUNCAN PHILLIPS LIBRARY
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SALEM NECK AREA FORM
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Salem Neck area is located in the southeasternmost
section of Salem, consisting of a peninsula encompassing the
Salem Willows area ( the Salem Willows Park and the Juniper
Point residential neighborhood ) and Winter Island .
The Willows area contains approximately 135 acres . Its
residential section was developed primarily in the late 19th
century , and reflects the popular summer resort architecture
of the day . While most of the houses have been winterized ,
many still retain their decorative features and the
neighborhood retains much of its 19th century character .
Well-represented styles include the Queen Anne ( 101-103
Columbus Avenue) , Colonial Revival ( 43 Bay View Avenue) ,
Shingle ( 4 Beach Avenue ) , and Italianate . Other especially
noteworthy houses are 15 Bay View ( Queen Anne/Shingle
Style) , 136-138 Bay View Avenue (Second Empire ) and 97
Columbus Avenue ( Queen Anne/Italian Villa) . The area
formerly possessed several boarding houses and hotels for
tourists ; the Central House at 1 High Street is the only
known extant example of these .
The Salem Willows Park is a hilly waterfront park
established in the late 19th century . Landscaping includes
walking paths and European willow trees . Buildings dating
from the late 19th and early 20th centuries include
bathhouses , gazebos and other small outbuildings . A row of
amusement buildings including restaurants , an arcade , and a
carousel include some 19th century buildings , some with
modern alterations , and some new buildings .
Winter Island is connected by a narrow causeway (Winter
Island Road ) at its northeastern corner to Salem Neck . The
peninsula contains approximately 38 acres . With Salem Neck
it forms Cat Cove (north) and with Juniper Point it forms
Juniper Cove (east ) . To the west and south it is bounded by
Salem Harbor .
The area possesses resources reflecting several themes
and periods of development . Identified archaeological
resources exist , reflecting the area ' s prehistoric and
historic period use . These include a burial ground at Fort
Pickering (possibly Late Archaic) , unknown site types at the
Coast Guard Station and at the Plummer Home , and a Late
Archaic period shell midden at Smith ' s Pool . Testing is
necessary to determine the extent and integrity of existing
archaeological sites , as well as the possible existence of
other sites . The island was important as a home for Salem's
fishing fleet by the mid 17th century , with fish flakes and
shacks along the north side of the island and numerous
wharves along the shoreline . Remnants of the
Derby-Powderhouse Wharf ( 1755- 1775 , rebuilt 1837- 1855 )
survive at the southwest point of Winter Island . According
to Stephen Mrozowski , et al in Salem, Massachusetts: An
Archaeological Survey of the City , "This concentration of
cultural resources combined with what appears to be
relatively good integrity makes Winter Island an important
site . No further construction work should be carried out on
the island until an intensive archaeological survey has been
completed . "
Buildings and structures relating to the island ' s
military history are Fort Pickering (National Register ,
1972) , the Fort Pickering Lighthouse ( 1871 ) , and the U . S .
Coast Guard Air and Sea Search Rescue Station (c .
1933- 1934) • In addition , the Plummer Home for Boys (c .
1870) stands south of Winter Island Road . Later residential
development (late 19th century-present ) exists on the
eastern end of the peninsula . Associated with the later use
of Winter Island and Juniper Point ( see Salem Willows Area
Form) for summer cottages was the creation of a salt water
swimming pool- the J . C . B. Smith Memorial Pool (e . 1930s) -
at the east end of Cat Cove , through the construction of a
dam between Winter Island and Salem Neck .
<BAfh �. ''� YMSNIN4TON lO.NORrq
116
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