Crowninshield Island, also known as Brown's Island, is a small island off the shore of Marblehead, Massachusetts. Since 1955, it has been maintained by The Trustees of Reservations. For all Trustees of Reservations purposes, the island is referred to as Crowninshield Island, however federally the island is still maintained as "Brown's Island", and it remains better known by that name locally. [1]
The island had been owned by the Brown family from 1797-1918. The Massachusetts Trustees of Reservations describe themselves as "the oldest statewide land conservation organization in the country." In honor of Louise E. du Pont Crowninshield, a historic preservationist who married Francis Boardman Crowninshield, a member of the noted Crowninshield family, they suggested to call it Crowninshield Island, honoring the pioneer in America's historic preservation movement from 1925 until her death in 1958. Crowninshield summered at Peach's Point and the family donated the island to the Trustees in 1955. The Crowninshields purchased the island from the Browns for $1 in 1918. The Crowninshields were Boston Brahmins who had been historically powerful in nearby Salem, the original town from which Marblehead was formed.
Early January 2009, Gene Record wrote to selectmen of Marblehead asking to change the name of the island. While the Trustees list it as Crowninshield Island they never had the name officially changed by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, a federal office maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Board on Geographic Names doesn't approve a request for a name change unless it comes from the local government.
In his letter, Mr. Record, a relative of the Crowninshields, mentioned their generous support of Marblehead institutions and asked the selectmen to send in their support. The selectmen voted unanimously to oppose the name change. [1]
Marking the entrance to Dolliber Cove and Marblehead Little Harbor, Crowninshield Island features a rocky shore, sandy beach, meadow, and salt marsh. There is some anecdotal evidence that it has at times been considered two separate islands, a notion which the topography of the whole would seem to support. Accessible by foot via mudflats during low tide, it is most frequently used as a spot for picnicking and sightseeing, with Grace Oliver Beach, Fort Sewall, Gerry Island, Marblehead Light, and Marblehead Harbor all located in the vicinity.
Manchester-by-the-Sea is a town on Cape Ann, in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is known for scenic beaches and vista points. At the 2020 census, the population was 5,395.
Salem is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located in the North Shore region. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports trading commodities and slaves in early American history.
Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Atlantic Ocean that forms part of the central coastline of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Winthrop is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,316 at the 2020 census. Winthrop is an ocean-side suburban community in Greater Boston situated at the north entrance to Boston Harbor, close to Logan International Airport. It is located on a peninsula, 1.6 square miles (4.2 km2) in area, connected to Revere by a narrow isthmus and to East Boston by a bridge over the harbor inlet to the Belle Isle Marsh Reservation. Settled in 1630, Winthrop is one of the oldest communities in the United States. It is also one of the smallest and most densely populated municipalities in Massachusetts. It is one of the four cities that compose Suffolk County. It is the southernmost part of the North Shore, with a 7-mile (11 km) shoreline that provides views of the Atlantic Ocean to the east and of the Boston skyline to the west.
Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends into the northern part of Massachusetts Bay. Attached to the town is a near island, known as Marblehead Neck, connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. Marblehead Harbor, protected by shallow shoals and rocks from the open sea, lies between the mainland and the Neck. Beside the Marblehead town center, two other villages lie within the town: Old Town, which was the original town center, and Clifton, which lies along the border with the neighboring town of Swampscott.
The North Shore is a region in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, loosely defined as the coastal area between Boston and New Hampshire. The region is made up both of a rocky coastline, dotted with marshes and wetlands, as well as several beaches and natural harbors. The North Shore is an important historical, cultural, and economic region of Massachusetts. The southern part of the region includes several of Boston's densely populated inner suburbs. At the center of the North Shore lies its most prominent geographic feature, Cape Ann, with numerous small fishing towns, and at the northern end lies the Merrimack Valley, which was a major locus of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
The Crowninshield family is an American family that has been prominent in seafaring, political and military leadership, and the literary world. The founder of the American family emigrated from what is now Germany in the 17th century. The family is one of several known collectively as Boston Brahmins.
The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit organization of its kind in the world and has 140,000 dues-paying members as of 2018. In addition to land stewardship, the organization is also active in conservation partnerships, community supported agriculture (CSA), environmental and conservation education, community preservation and development, and green building. The Trustees of Reservations own title to 120 properties on 27,000 acres (11,000 ha) in Massachusetts, all of which are open to the public; it maintains conservation restrictions on over 200 additional properties. Properties include historic mansions, estates, and gardens; woodland preserves; waterfalls; mountain peaks; wetlands and riverways; coastal bluffs, beaches, and barrier islands; farmland and CSA projects; and archaeological sites.
Sandy Point State Reservation is a coastal Massachusetts state park located in the town of Ipswich at the southern tip of Plum Island. The reservation is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and is an important nesting area for the piping plover and the least tern. Access to the reservation is through the adjoining Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.
Tinkers Island is a pair of small islands off the coast of Marblehead, Massachusetts, United States. It is only accessible by boat and houses several small camps. The island was named after the breed of mackerel that can be found close to its shores.
The Monoliths, formerly known as Agassiz Rock, is a 116-acre (47 ha) park in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, owned and maintained by The Trustees of Reservations. The park's name is from two examples of large glacial erratic boulders plucked from bedrock. As glaciers scoured this landscape, the mass of bedrock forming the hill proved more resistant than the surrounding soil, forcing the bottom of the glacier up and over the hill. The north side was smoothed and the south side left steep and rugged as the glacier broke off chunks of rock as it passed.
The schooner Hannah was the first armed American naval vessel of the American Revolution and is claimed to be the founding vessel of the United States Navy. She was a fishing schooner owned by John Glover of Marblehead, Massachusetts and was named for his daughter, Hannah Glover. The crew was drawn largely from the town of Marblehead, with much of the ships ammunition being stored in Glover's warehouse now located at Glover's Square in Marblehead before being relocated to Beverly, Massachusetts.
Fort Pickering is a 17th-century historic fort site on Winter Island in Salem, Massachusetts. Fort Pickering operated as a strategic coastal defense and military barracks for Salem Harbor during a variety of periods, serving as a fortification from the Anglo-Dutch Wars through World War II. Construction of the original fort began in 1643 and it saw use as a military installation into the 20th century. Fort Miller in Marblehead also defended Salem's harbor from the 1630s through the American Civil War. Fort Pickering is a First System fortification named for Colonel Timothy Pickering, born in Salem, adjutant general of the Continental Army and secretary of war in 1795. Today, the remains of the fort are open to the public as part of the Winter Island Maritime Park, operated by the City of Salem.
Wasque ("way-squee") or Wasque Beach is a 200-acre (0.81 km2) nature reserve on Chappaquiddick Island, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. The site was established as a reservation for the public in 1967 and is one of five conservation areas on "the Vineyard" managed by the Trustees of Reservations. Wasque contains a sandy strand the Boston Globe calls "a magnificent beach." Travel + Leisure named Wasque Beach the number one beach in New England and WHDH-TV reports "It's pristine, serene, and rain or shine, it's a beach-goers' delight." Off the shore of Wasque Beach is Katama Bay, "a vast and pristine salt water bay that includes many acres of productive shellfish beds."
The Misery Islands are an 87-acre (350,000 m2) nature reserve established in 1935 in Salem Sound close to the Salem Harbor in Salem, Massachusetts. It is managed by the Trustees of Reservations. The islands are a part of the city of Salem, although they are much closer to the city of Beverly, in whose aquatic territory they lie.
Children's Island, formerly known as "Cat Island" is an island off Marblehead, Massachusetts, and is part of the City of Salem, Massachusetts. The YMCA of the North Shore has owned and operated a children's day camp on it since 1955. The first written record of the island was in 1655 when it was granted to Governor John Endecott. It was then bought and sold several times until around the Revolutionary War when the Essex hospital was built as a smallpox inoculation site. The hospital was burned down by townspeople of Marblehead. By the end of the 19th century, the Lowell island house was established as a summer resort. This was run for about 30 years before being converted into a sanitarium for sick and crippled children until 1946. The island then lay unused until bought by the YMCA and converted into a day camp.
Bowdoin Bradlee Crowninshield was an American naval architect who specialized in the design of racing yachts.
The Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston is a system of reservations, parks, parkways and roads under the control of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) in and around Boston that has been in existence for over a century. The title is used by the DCR to describe the areas collectively: "As a whole, the Metropolitan Park System is currently eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places", as outlined on the department's website. The DCR maintains a separate Urban Parks and Recreation division to oversee the system, one of five such divisions within the department—DCR's Bureau of State Parks and Recreation manages the remainder of Massachusetts state parks. Direct design and maintenance functions for the parkways and roads within the system are provided by the DCR Bureau of Engineering.
Stavros Reservation is a nature reserve located in Essex, Massachusetts. The property is owned by The Trustees of Reservations through a 1952 gift and a 1955 purchase. Most of the approximately 50-acre (20 ha) reservation consists of salt marsh. The property encompasses Whites Hill, which includes fine views of the Massachusetts coast, including Crane Beach.
Coordinates: 42°30′50.97″N70°50′33.52″W / 42.5141583°N 70.8426444°W
