West Newbury was incorporated in 1819 after breaking away from the early settlement of Newbury, which was founded in 1635 by English livestock investors. From its very beginning, the town was a small farming community, later boasting many orchards, nurseries, and truck farms. The community was home to the last covered bridge in Essex County and can also lay claim as the birthplace of the comb industry. In 1886, a horsecar line from Haverhill opened up the community to surrounding areas. In 1897, horsecars were replaced with electric cars, the tracks of which extended to Newburyport. In the mid-1950s, the community grew with the opening of Route 95. Today, West Newbury retains its historic charm, and residents are passionate about its past.

In the first ten years of its settlement, the town of Newbury witnessed murders, kidnappings, earthquakes and a plague of caterpillars. The century that followedmarked by religious conflict, Indian uprisings and public scandal proved no less challenging to the early Puritan community. In 1640, Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop noted, As people increased, so sin abounded. But through the turmoil, Newburys citizens harnessed the regions abundant natural resources and developed a thriving community. Author Bethany Groff introduces the compelling personalities that shaped the history of Old Newbury up until 1764, when Newburyport received its independence from the mother town. From the scandalous exploits of Dr. Henry Greenland to the courageous and sacrificing acts of founding families like the Emerys, Dummers and Pikes, A Brief History of Old Newbury provides a captivating glimpse into the verve of this early New England town.

The Lowells of Massachusetts were a remarkable family. They were settlers in the New World in the 1600s, revolutionaries creating a new nation in the 1700s, merchants and manufacturers building prosperity in the 1800s, and scientists and artists flourishing in the 1900s. For the first time, Nina Sankovitch tells the story of this fascinating and powerful dynasty in The Lowells of Massachusetts. Though not without scoundrels and certainly no strangers to controversy , the family boasted some of the most astonishing individuals in America’s history: Percival Lowle, the patriarch who arrived in America in the seventeenth to plant the roots of the family tree; Reverend John Lowell, the preacher; Judge John Lowell, a member of the Continental Congress; Francis Cabot Lowell, manufacturer and, some say, founder of the Industrial Revolution in the US; James Russell Lowell, American Romantic poet; Lawrence Lowell, one of Harvard’s longest-serving and most controversial presidents; and Amy Lowell, the twentieth century poet who lived openly in a Boston Marriage with the actress Ada Dwyer Russell. The Lowells realized the promise of America as the land of opportunity by uniting Puritan values of hard work, community service, and individual responsibility with a deep-seated optimism that became a well-known family trait. Long before the Kennedys put their stamp on Massachusetts, the Lowells claimed the bedrock.

The town of Newbury, incorporating the villages of Old Town, Byfield, and Plum Island, was settled in 1635. The extensive Newbury plantation was primarily agricultural, although many early residents also earned their living through shipbuilding along the Merrimack River. Newbury is rich with natural landmarks and stunning landscapes, including a large portion of the Great Marsh, the largest salt marsh in New England. Byfield was the site of early industry, with gristmills and sawmills sprouting up along the Quascacunquen, now the Parker River, as early as the 1630s. Mills producing products from nails to woolens and snuff prospered into the 20th century. Ancient houses, many of them the homes of famous sons and daughters, stand as a legacy to Newbury's early history. During the 19th century, Plum Island became a fashionable seaside resort and hunters and fishermen took advantage of the birds and fish that proliferated there. The three communities bring together a citizenry fiercely proud of its heritage and a rich history of working and playing on land and sea.

Presents an historical analysis of the Salem witch trials, examining the factors that may have led to the mass hysteria, including a possible occurrence of ergot poisoning, a frontier war in Maine, and local political rivalries.