History of Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA

Newburyport, Massachusetts
One of the shire towns of Essex county. This is considered one of the most beautiful towns in New England. It lies on a gentle acclivity, on the south bank of the Merrimack, at the union of that river with the ocean. In point of territory, it is the smallest town in the commonwealth, being only one mile square. It was taken from Newbury in 1764. Population, in 1837, 6,741. This place has been and now is considerably noted for its commerce and ship building. Some of the old continental frigates were built here, and in 1790, the tonnage of the port was 11,870 tons. Of late years the foreign commerce of the place has diminished, in consequence of a sand bar at the mouth of the harbor. This place has considerable inland and foreign commerce. It has four whale ships, and a large amount of tonnage engaged in the freighting business and the cod and mackerel fisheries. Tonnage of the district, in 1837, 22,078 tons.

The manufactures of Newburyport consist of...

This town was the port of Newbury until it was separated by the
act of incorporation.

It is compactly built, and is remarkable for containing less land
than any other town in the State, not even excepting Hull.

Its situation on the bank of the Merrimack, gradually rising
from the water, renders it one of the most beautiful towns in the
State.

A series of misfortunes, among which was the disastrous fire of 1811, which consumed about 250 buildings in the centre of the town, for several years checked the commercial activity of Newburyport.

It is fast recovering, however ; and the establishment of several
large factories and the great attention paid to education, give indications of reviving prosperity.

Among the great men of Newburyport, were Chief Justice Theophilus Parsons, surnamed the Giant of the Law, and Jacob Perkins,
the inventor of the nail machine, the bank-note plate, and many other
curious and useful things.

Newburyport contains the tomb of the...

Newburyport, a city, port of entry, and one of the capitals of Essex county, Massachusetts, 34 miles N. by E. from Boston, is situated on the right bank of the Merrimack river, and at the union of the Newburyport with the Eastern railroad. Lat. 42° 48' 32" N., Lon. 70° 62' 47" W. It stands on a gentle acclivity, commanding a beautiful prospect, and is laid out with great regularity, in the form of a parallelogram. Near its centre, at an elevation of 60 feet above the surface of the river, is a small pond, comprising an area of about 6 acres. This has been surrounded with a wall and terraced promenade, rendering it one of the most attractive features of the place. The harbor of Newburyport is spacious and safe, but obstructed at its en trance by a shifting sandbar. The town is considered one of the pleasantest in New England. The principal public buildings are the custom house, ft large granite structure with an elegant Grecian portico; the court house ; the new city hall, a beautiful...

The Newburyport Herald of the 25th inst. has the following account of the arrival home of the missing and mourned pilot:-

The day of miracles is passed - so it has, and let it go; but so long as Michael Stevens, Jr., shall live, we shall look upon him as one risen from the dead. While we were all lamenting that this worthy man was gone, and the flags had drooped in mourning for the dead - while people were stopping each other at the corners of the street to talk over the matter, and some were raising a subscription for the benefit of his family - after we had published his obituary, and already had another paragraph written, calling for a material testimonial to aid the widow and orphans - as suddenly as though he had fallen from the heavens above, Captain Stevens, yesterday, at noon, appeared in our streets. Wildly the story goes about town; speedilyhe is rushed home to a family mourning his demise; instantly the flags from half-mast are run hard up, and gladness is upon all...