Essex History Walk
Town Park.
Essex Town Park on Main Street in Essex Village
Essex Square
Essex Square* This sign is located in front of “Scensibles”. Essex Square did not exist until after the April 8, 1814 British attack on Essex harbor when 28 ships were destroyed. A change in the configuration of the streets leading to the river created a new intersection that became Essex Square. What is remarkable is that the look of this part of town has not changed since it was built in the 1820s.
Rope Walk
Rope Walk* Located in the brick patio area in front of “Pocketful of Posies”, this sign tells about the rope walk that was built about 1814 at a point halfway between the present Pratt and Bushnell Streets. This narrow building, about 20 feet wide and 1200 feet long, stretched all the way to the shipyards at the foot of Main Street and produced hemp rope that was used on the many ships that sailed from our harbors.
Hills Academy
Hills Academy* This sign is located in front of the red brick Academy building, built in 1832. Located on Prospect Street, next door to the Catholic church, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and contains a meeting and exhibit room and houses the Society’s growing collection of Essex memorabilia.
The First Essex Village Village Center
The First Essex Village Center* The center of the villages changed depending on the fortunes of the town. In the early 1800s, the area around Pratt House, including Champlin Square, the Smithy and the Hill Store, served as the first Village Center. The sign is located at Pratt House, the home of the Essex Historical Society, built in 1701 by John Pratt, Jr., grandson of Lieutenant William Pratt, one of the three original settlers of Essex.
Centerbrook Meeting House
Centerbrook* Not to be missed, is the sign near the sidewalk in front of the handsome white Centerbrook Congregational Church, now the Centerbrook Meeting House, on Route 154. The growing population in Centre Brook (as it was written back then) established a Congregational Church whose petition was granted in 1722. The church was built in what at that time was the most populated area in Potapoug Quarter.
Ivoryton Green on Main Street in Ivoryton Village
Ivoryton Green.
The blue sign on the Ivoryton Green tells the overall history of this area.
Ivoryton Library
Ivoryton* The new sign is located in front of the Ivoryton Library. Ivoryton was a typical company town begun by Samuel Merritt Comstock who founded the ivory factory. The fortunes of both the ivory factory owners and their employees flourished under the paternalistic benevolence of the company. From the 1840s to the 1900s, the company built a store, a dormitory hotel, library, a chapel, meeting halls and company houses. The village still bears strong physical evidence of its ivory factory beginnings.
Ivoryton Mill Race Trail
Ivoryton Mill Race Trail.
Bring your hiking shoes and take a walk on the Essex Land Convervation Trust trail. Maintained by the Essex Conservation Trust, this walking trail winds behind the buildings and lands of Ivoryton center and tells the story of the natural and the business history of the area.
* These signs were created with a generous grant from the Middlesex County Community Foundation