Fort Sewall

Fort Sewall is a Massachusetts historical marker in Marblehead, Essex County, dedicated 1930.

Front Street, Marblehead · location approximate

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Built in 1742 for defence against French cruisers. U.S.S. "Constitution" sought shelter under the fort's guns when chased by H.M.S. "Tenedos" and "Endymion" April 3, 1814. Named after Samuel Sewall of Marblehead, Chief Justice of Massachusetts in 1814.

1930 text, presented as a historical document.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1740 · 43. Novi Belgii, in America Septentrionali. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1763 · A map of the most inhabited part of New England (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1777 · Carte des environs de Boston, capitale de la Nlle. Angleterre en Amerique (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1794 · Massachusetts. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1903 · 1903 Map of Salem and surrounding places (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)

43. Novi Belgii, in America Septentrionali, 1740, covering the location of Fort Sewall, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — 43. Novi Belgii, in America Septentrionali, 1740, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours and the location is approximate.

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For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyExpected here. This page shows the older published text, and some signs were recast later. Telling us still helps.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

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Marker data: Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission, 1930 (Commonwealth of Massachusetts)

More markers nearby

On the National Register nearby

Fort Sewall170 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.