Danvers History
In 1752 Danvers, formerly known as Salem Village, was officially established as a District and was made a township in 1757. During the 1760's and 1770's Danvers took a politically active role in the growing revolutionary turmoil, and her record during the Revolutionary War is indeed a proud one. Seven Danvers minutemen were killed in the first armed struggle during the Lexington Alarm of April 19, 1775. 300 Danversites served actively in the war, and Danversport built and outfitted 4 privateers. So too, Danvers gave the nation such famous sons as Brigadier General Israel Putnam and Doctor Samuel Holten, a member and President of the Continental Congress, and signer of the Articles of the Confederation.
At the time of the Revolution, Danversport became a prominent shipping and shipbuilding center where tidal mills prospered. Its local bricks became nationally famous, while the later leather tanning industry brought a diverse and colorful mixture of new immigrant labor to the area.
The 19th century saw Danvers growing industrially and culturally. The period of 1820 - 1850 saw Danvers in the midst of the New England reform era as numerous cultural and reform societies were formed.
Tapleyville emerged in the 1830's as a center for the production of woven carpets where English and Scottish weavers settled and made their homes. Danvers Plains took advantage of important crossroads and the introduction of the railroad in the 1840's to become the prominent commercial center. Putnamville and Danvers highlands were noted for their important and early shoe manufacturing industry, while farms throughout Danvers became known far and wide for the Danvers half-long carrot, and the Danvers onion, still popular today.
Considered a fine area for country residence, Danvers saw the growth of numerous fine and elegant country estates, one of which, Glen Magna, may be visited today. Among literary giants, John Greenleaf Whittier, Lucy Larcom, and Nathaniel Hawthorne were constant associates of Danvers, writing about many town sites, scenes, and people.
Though a number of Danvers structures have been lost to fire and "progress", much of the town's period architecture still survives, and its written records have been preserved, making Danvers an important and accessible area for period study.
(Submitted by: Richard B. Trask, Town Archivist) <www.noblenet.org/danvers/>