Marblehead Rev250

06/15/2026

Marblehead Independence exhibit at Marblehead Museum running from June 1 thru December 31. What does independence mean to you?

06/15/2026

This Wednesday, June 17, 7:00-8:30 PM at
Abbot Public Library ,
Marblehead Town Historian, Donald Doliber, will provide a fascinating look at the story of Captain Samuel Russell Trevett, Marblehead's artillery commander who defied orders, led his cannon company into battle, and saved the only American field piece from capture during the American retreat.

Attend in person (no registration required) or join via Zoom.
Learn more and get the Zoom link, at abbotlibrary.org/events

Presented in collaboration with Marblehead Rev250 and Abbot Public Library, and funded in part by a grant from the Marblehead Cultural Council , which is supported by the state Massachusetts Cultural Council.

06/05/2026

Did you see Marblehead Rev250's Don Doliber, also Marblehead town historian, at his talk last week?
Courtesy of Abbot Public Library and Marblehead Cultural Council

Marblehead historian and member of Marblehead’s REV 250 Committee, Donald Doliber presented the second in his series profiling the men and women of Marblehead who played significant roles in shaping the outcome of the American Revolution.

Tonight’s presentation spoke of the leadership and bravery of Marblehead resident Captain James Mugford Jr., Commander of the Franklin Privateer Schooner.

The series is funded by a grant from the Marblehead Cultural Council.


Mass Cultural Council
Abbot Public Library
Marblehead Rev250

06/05/2026

Revolutionary Dwellings - A Marblehead Rev250 event
Friday, 6/5 & Sunday 6/7, 4-6 pm
No RSVP required / no tour if it rains
Meet in front of Abbot Hall

Nearly 300 houses in Marblehead from before 1775 still survive ~ out of approximately 525 that stood during that time. More than 1,000 men & boys served in the Revolutionary War from the town's approximately 950 families. At that time, Marblehead was the 6th most populous town in British North America! Many of the surviving 300 houses in downtown Marblehead were homes of those who had served in the Revolutionary War during its 8 long years.

Join Judy Anderson's walking tour, where you will see exteriors of the homes of some of the more famous, but still surprising, of those who served.

For info:https://marbleheadtours.com/2026_JA_Programs.pdf

05/21/2026

Judy Anderson, Marblehead Architecture Heritage & Tours, will be leading outdoor tours the next two weekends. Each tour meets in front of Abbot Hall and ends at General Glover's home in Glover Square, near the Town Landing.

Outdoor Walking Tour featuring Glover Family Houses
Friday, May 22 & 29, 4 to 6 pm
Saturday, May 23 & 30, 9 to 11 am
Sunday, May 24 & 31, 4 to 6 pm

This is a Marblehead Rev250 activity.

The outdoor walking tour will feature Marblehead homes of the four Glover brothers and their families (exteriors only). Select outtakes from correspondence of General John Glover to General George Washington, will be shared.

Donations welcome, and will benefit the Save the Glover Farm House effort.

No RSVP or registration required. No rain dates. No restrooms.
For info, seehttps://marbleheadtours.com/2026_JA_Programs.pdf -- or call 781-631-1762.

MA250 America250 Essex National Heritage Area

05/21/2026

Wednesday, May 27, 7-8:30pm, Marblehead Town Historian, Don Doliber will present his talk at Abbot Public Library in their Event Center. The program is offered in person and via Zoom, the link which you can get on the Library website. No registration required.
Don Doliber became town historian after 24 years as an award-winning history teacher in town. He was selected as an "Outstanding American History Teacher" by the D.A.R, Daughters of the American Revolution. His ancestors arrived in Marblehead in the 1630's, and were fishermen and merchants, with a few later serving in the Revolutionary War.

Don will share the story of Captain James Mugford, a 26-year-old Marblehead sea captain with a fishing boat, who on May 17, 1776, commanding the USS Franklin, a small schooner armed with just four cannons and crewed by 21 men, captured the largest single prize of the Revolutionary War.

He spotted the British transport ship Hope, a 300-ton British supply ship, heading toward Boston Harbor through his spyglass. Lost in a thick fog, the Hope was carrying 1,500 barrels of desperately needed gunpowder, plus 1,000 carbines and artillery equipment. Mugford and his men boarded the ship and captured what became known as the largest single prize of the Revolutionary War.

Two days later, on his 27th birthday, the Franklin ran aground near Boston Harbor. British warships spotted the stranded vessel and sent a boarding party to recapture it. As 12 to 13 boats rowed silently toward the Franklin in the darkness, they called out that they were "friends from Boston." Mugford wasn't fooled. He warned them to keep their distance and opened fire when they refused. During the fierce battle that followed, Mugford was fatally wounded.
His last words to his crew were: "I am a dead man, do not give up the vessel; you will be able to beat them off." His men then sank two of the British boats and forced the rest to retreat. Mugford was the only American who died during this fight, becoming the first captain in Washington's navy to die in combat.

Mugford is buried at Old Burial Hill in

This program is funded in part by a grant from the Marblehead Cultural Council, and is part of the MA250 Revolution250and America250 celebration, and focusing on Essex National Heritage Area Essex County events.

05/08/2026

'Colonel Jeremiah Lee’s Covert Acts'

Join Judy Anderson's outdoor talk as she discusses the covert activities and risks taken by Colonel Jeremiah Lee in 1774 & 1775, when the Crown and Parliament's sanctions grew increasingly restrictive as the American rebellion mounted. The war that followed would tragically claim Lee’s life just three weeks after the first battle, with his death on May 10, 1775. It was after Colonel Lee's death that his Lt. Colonel, John Glover, became head of the Marblehead militia, which became a full regiment of the new Continental Army the following month, in June 1775.

Talks offered-
Fri, May 8, 4-5:30 pm
Sat, May 9, 9-10:30 am
Sun, 10, 4-5:30 pm
No RSVP required / No rain dates
Meet in front of Abbot Hall

05/04/2026

Our May library talks for Marblehead Rev 250 start with Judy Anderson's "Revolutionary Dwellings – Homes of Patriots and Loyalists in Marblehead." Her talk will be held again at our Rev 250 partner venue, Abbot Public Library on Wednesday, 5/6, 7p, and also available via Zoom.

Nearly every house in Marblehead that predates 1775 was the home of a serviceman in America’s Revolutionary War. An estimated 300 houses still survive, even if modified by later generations, out of perhaps 525 or so that existed as the war began. And a revolutionary story from every one of those homes!

In June 1775, nearly 600 men and teenage boys left their families to join the Continental Army’s new “Marblehead Regiment” under Colonel John Glover, which grew from the earlier militia led by Colonel Jeremiah Lee, until his death in May 1775. Starting in Autumn 1775, hundreds of them would sail out as captains and crews of privateer vessels. Over the course of the war’s eight long years, an estimated total of 1,400 or more would serve from this town of about 950 families –– all living in those 525 houses!

Nearly all were Patriots, with only about a dozen heads of households identified as Tories, or 'Loyalists.'

But many pre-Revolutionary homes still survive. Come learn about where some of these Marblehead Revolutionary heroes and their families lived.

MA250 Revolution250 America250

04/29/2026

Looking for something Revolutionary 250 MA250 to do? Join Marblehead Museum Wednesday, April 29 for a new talk on Marblehead's Founding Father, Elbridge Gerry. Bob Allison will discuss Gerry's legacy, and explore whether Gerry acted as a principled statesman, or a political chameleon.
Tickets are available here: https://marbleheadmuseum.org/upcoming-programs-page/
The Jeremiah Lee Mansion features this portrait of Gerry, made in 1860 by William Goodwin in the folk art style. An iconic Gerry quote is painted above his head: "It is the duty of every man, though he may have one day to live, to devote that day to the good of his country."

Join us on Wednesday, April 29 as we welcome Bob Allison for a new talk on Marblehead's Founding Father, Elbridge Gerry. Bob will discuss Gerry's legacy, and explore whether Gerry acted as a principled statesman, or a political chameleon.

Tickets are available here: https://marbleheadmuseum.org/upcoming-programs-page/

The Jeremiah Lee Mansion features this portrait of Gerry, made in 1860 by William Goodwin in the folk art style. An iconic Gerry quote is painted above his head: "It is the duty of every man, though he may have one day to live, to devote that day to the good of his country."

Congress etched this same quote onto a monument erected next to Gerry's grave in Washington, D.C.

04/07/2026

We are having out next Wednesday Marblehead Rev250 talk at Abbot Public Library this Wed, 4/8, 7pm. Marblehead's own town historian, Don Doliber, will be speaking about Michael Corbett's act of revolutionary resistance at sea. We hope to see you there! You can also participate via the library Zoom link at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/vj52KgmETY-wckcZdCJWqQ

This program is funded in part by a grant from the Marblehead Cultural Council
MA250 Essex National Heritage Area 250