Overview
The North Shore is a region north of Boston, consisting chiefly of urban suburban communities of Essex County along Massachusetts Bay.
Geography
In its most restrictive sense, the North Shore only includes the coastal cities and towns below Cape Ann: Beverly, Danvers, Peabody, Salem, Marblehead, Swampscott, Nahant, and Lynn, with Saugus and Lynnfield perhaps included as well. In some cases, "North Shore" can include the Cape Ann towns or even towns further up the coast such as Newburyport, or more sparsely-populated inland towns such as Topsfield. Revere, between Lynn and Boston, is sometimes included as well.
History
The North Shore communites have varied and rich histories: Gloucester was America's first fishing community; Salem was the location of the infamous Witch Trials as well as one of the largest centers of shipping and sixth largest city in early America; Lynn was once the center of the American shoe industry; and Peabody had the largest concentration of leather tanneries in the world.
Sights to See
- The Peabody Essex Museum- a museum with large collections of maritime artifacts and Asian art.
- The Salem Witch Museum
- The Salem Seaport
- The Gloucester Seaport
- Historic Downtown Salem