Nahant Historical Socoets Message Page 1 of 2 Epp, Ronald From: Information Desk [info@nahanthistory.org] Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 5:11 PM To: Epp, Ronald Subject: Re: Research Question Dear Mr. Epp, Please forgive the delay in replying to your request for information. In addition to our limited staff, our computer crashed and your email was somehow misfiled-filed in the wrong folder. Yes, many Bostonians summered in Nahant during the whole of the 19th century into the early 20th. We have a hotel account book from the legendary Nahant House hotel on East Point. On August 14, 1856, there is a notation of a N. T. Dorr of Boston staying in apartment 211-4. This is the only source, primary or otherwise that we have that mentions a Dorr family member. with However, we do have some other information, mostly of a secondary nature, on this hotel and others. Our publication, Nahant on the Rocks by Stanley Paterson and Carl Seaburg does have much that might help you get a picture of what life was like. It is currently available for purchase at $25 or we have copies available to researchers for in-house use in our library. We appreciate your reference to the Thomas Wren Ward papers of Mass. Historical. We are certainly interested in trading any information that you might have regarding Nahanters, summer people or winter folk. Again, please forgive our slow response. Yours truly, Bonnie Ayers D'Orlando thank you. Assistant Curator Nahant Historical Society 41 Valley Road Sent Nahant, MA 01908 12/8/04 781-581-2727 nahanthistory.org Original Message From: Epp, Ronald To: info@nahanthistory.org Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 9:39 AM Subject: Research Question For the past four years I have been researching the life of Mr. George Bucknam Dorr (1853-1944), Founder of Acadia National Park, son of Mary Gray Ward (1820-1901) of Salem and Charles Hazen Dorr (1820-1893) of Boston. The Thomas Wren Ward Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society contain repeated references to the Dorr family vacationing in Nahant, especailly in the years 1853-60. Do you have documents that might help me better understand the Nahant culture of that era or any more specific information on the lodging and social opportunities of that timeframe? If so, I can then plan a visit before the winter sets in. Thank you! 12/8/2004 Town of Nahant Website - Our Community - All About Nahant Page 1 of 2 ENTERING EST. 1630 NAHANT Nahant. Org MASS. OUR COMMUNIT WHAT'S NEW OUR COMMUNITY TOWN HALL PUBLIC SERVICES RECREATION CONTACT TOWN HALL about Nahant At A Glance I Geography | Government Economics I Other Resources ALL ABOUT NAHANT business A Brief History education The Town of Nahant is a resort town of rocky coasts in the southernmost part of Essex County. Used in early colonial days as a grazing areas for cattle, sheep and goat flocks historical owned by Lynn residents, Nahant very soon became a maritime community with a small society population devoted to fishing. Settlers were granted land for homesites but only if they also spent time fishing and smallboat fishing developed before 1640. Disputed land organizations claims were the hallmark of the town's early years since the Indian Sagamore George apparently sold the same town site to three different sets of people. picture gallery public library religion transportation By 1657, Nahant was laid out in planting lots of equal shares for all residents of Lynn with the requirement that all lots were to be cleared of wood in 6 years. This mandate effectively stripped Nahant of all its first growth woodlands. The town became a resort mecca very early on with chaises coming from Lynn. Visitors stayed in boarding houses or private homes and the first hotel was built by 1803. In 1817 a steamboat sailed from Boston to Nahant daily and by 1826 a stage from the Nahant Hotel connected twice a day with coaches running between Boston and Salem. Fishing and several shoe shops were the major businesses aside from agriculture and tourism and even up to 1830 year-round residents were very few. Thomas Handyside Perkins, a prominent Boston businessman, built a hotel in Nahant in 1823 which featured a bowling alley and by the 1840's the town was already celebrated as the summer resort of Boston's elite. Incorporated in 1853, the town was the site of the most massive hotel complex on the Atlantic Coast and the location of an annual regatta. By the end of the 19th century, http://www.nahant.org/community/about.shtml 8/31/2004 Town of Nahant Website - Our Community - All About Nahant Page 2 of 2 there was a visible shift away from hotels and toward residences. An era of skyrocketing growth began about 1870 and continued unabated for the next four decades with construction firms putting up hundreds of summer homes for visitors to the town. In the modern era, Nahant has protected its residential status and farming and industrial activity have disappeared. home I what's new I our community I town hall | public services I recreation I contact town hall C 2004 Town of Nahant, Massachusetts http://www.nahant.org/community/about.shtml 8/31/2004 Nahant Historical Society Page 1 of 2 Nahant Historical Society 41 Valley Road, Nahant Massachusetts 01908 (781) 581-2727 1630 1975 Our Collection Home Office Hours Our Collection The Nahant Historical Society has an extensive collection of memorabilia Exhibits demonstrating the culture of Nahant and its people from early settlement through Concerts to the 21st century. Services Membership This collection was recently moved in 2002 into new renovated spaces at the Links Nahant Community Center where we now have the Paterson Room for artifact Gift Shop storage, the Hodges Reference Room for archives and library and the Lowell Our Calendar Room gallery for major exhibitions. This has given us much needed Contact Us improvements in storage quality and space. Last updated We hope to include sample images of our collection here; at present we are 3 July 2004/beb continuing the process of cataloging the collection SO we can better assess what we have, its condition, and what will be needed to properly preserve it for future generations. CURRENTLY ON VIEW Nahant on the Rocks in the Lowell Room Gallery In October 2003, we opened our first full exhibition, entitled Nahant on the Rocks, This is an interactive exhibit showing the history of Nahant from its early days as grazing land for Lynn livestock, through its days as a fishing community, its heyday as the Summer resort community for Boston's wealthy, literary and scientific notables and artists. Nahant's 150th Anniversary in the Hodges Reference Room http://www.nahanthistory.org/collection.html 8/31/2004 Nahant Historical Society Page 1 of 1 at Nahant Historical Society 41 Valley Road, Nahant Massachusetts 01908 (781) 581-2727 1630 1975 Contact Us Home Office Hours Our Collection We invite you to contact us here at the Nahant Historical Society; we welcome Exhibits inquires into Nahant and our services both for members and for non-members. Concerts Just please be aware that we have limited staff, SO our responses might not be immediate. Services Membership Links You may reach us by phone at (781) 581-2727; we make every effort to return Gift Shop calls promptly, SO please leave a message if we are not there. Postal mail will Contact Us reach us at Nahant Historical Society 41 Valley Road Nahant Massachusetts 01908 via e-mail, general information queries may be sent to our Information Desk. Sales enquires, or questions about sales orders, may be sent to our Sales Coordinator. Last updated 29 April 2004/beb http://www.nahanthistory.org/contact.html 8/31/2004