Essex, Massachusetts is located 25 miles north of Boston’s city limits in Essex County. The U.S. Census Bureau considers part of Essex to be a census-designated place and reports the population of Essex as 3,339 (2009 population estimates). Essex occupies a total of 15.9 square miles, of which 1.8 square miles are water – mostly shallow salt marsh and the bulk of Chebacco Lake.
The first European settlers arrived in 1634 to find the area inhabited by Native Americans of the Agawam tribe. Essex formerly was a part of the town of Ipswich called Chebacco Parish; Chebacco is an Agawam word for the large local lake. Chebacco Parish petitioned for permission to build a meetinghouse. In those colonial times, the construction of a meetinghouse in a settlement gave them autonomy, so they were denied permission to build it. Popular local lore says that a written dictate was issued stating, “[n]o man shall raise a meeting house.” Chebacco residents interpreted it to mean that women would be allowed to build it. A local woman, Madam Varney, organized women to construct a meetinghouse while the men watched.
The Town of Essex was incorporated in 1819. The Town of Essex boasted a prosperous shipbuilding trade that accounted for most of the town’s revenue from pre-parish days until the early part of the 20th century. Once a leading supplier of sailing schooners for the Atlantic fishing communities, Essex did not make the transition from sail powered wooden ships to engine powered metal vessels, and its shipyards closed before WWII. The Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum keeps the era alive. Established in 1976, the museum maintains one of the best maritime collections in the region, re-telling the extraordinary story of a small New England village that built more two-masted wooden fishing schooners than any other place in the world.
Essex’s main sources of income are from the shellfish industry and tourism. The fried clam was reportedly “invented” in Essex by Chubby Woodman early in the 20th century. Due to the exceptional quality of the clams that live in the tidal river in Essex, local restaurants thrive by preparing it along with other types of seafood. Tourists are drawn to Essex for the seafood restaurants, but, in recent years, leisure activities such as boating excursions down the Essex River have enticed tourists to visit as well. The only beachfront in Essex is not easily accessible by land. Essex has an abundance of natural beauty and quaint New England charm. A flourishing antiques trade is developing in Essex, which now boasts the greatest number of antique shops per square mile in the U.S.
Essex has a large and well-known medical facility on Martin Avenue. The Lahey Essex Medical Center is a teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine. Many of their physicians hold teaching assignments at Harvard Medical School and Boston University School of Medicine. In a secondary role as a major research center, the Lahey Essex Clinic offers patients access to clinical trials of new therapies for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and cataracts. Research programs at Lahey Clinic encompass more than 200 clinical trial protocols and participation in numerous national and international studies. The Town and County of Essex consider the Lahey Essex Medical Center to be their largest employer.
