Essex’s distinctive coastal landscape features were instrumental in shaping the history of the community from the earliest Native American use of the land to the 19th century boat making, fishing and farming.

Native American sites date back to the Woodland period of development (1,000 B.C.E.-1,500 C.E.). The first European settlement in 1634 in Essex was known as Ipswich’s Chebacco Parish. By 1673 the Essex River hosted grist and saw mills as well as boat building. The first meetinghouse was not established here until 1679 and was the center of Ipswich’s eighth parish. The town remained a parish of Ipswich until 1819 when the area was incorporated as the town of Essex; however the final boundaries with Gloucester and Hamilton fluctuated until the 20th century.

The early agricultural settlement during the Plantation Period (1620-1675) in outlying areas of Essex was sustained by growing fruit and vegetable crops as well as hemp, flax and the harvesting of salt marsh hay. By the Colonial Period (1675-1775) fishing became an important part of the local economy. The saw mills on the Essex River were the sustenance of the substantial ship building industry here. Chebacco boats, characteristic of the area, were built on the Essex River and used for fishing. In fact at the turn of the 19th century there were more than 2,000 Chebaccos in Essex and nearby seafaring towns. In the early 1800s there was a shift to large ship building and ancillary businesses such as the manufacturing of ropes and lines, sails, masts, pumps and blocks. Fishing, including clamming, remained important to the economic base. For a brief time up to the 1870s, small shoe manufacturing establishments were successful, until the industry yielded to Lynn, the center of shoe making.

In the early 1800s several bridges were built over the Essex River including Great Bridge in 1824 which was a draw bridge carrying the Causeway over the River. The Essex Canal Company was established in 1820 and a canal was dredged from the Chebacco River to Fox Creek to bring lumber from the Merrimac Valley. Essex had three centers of industrial activity: at the Falls in the west, the Causeway at the central village near the mouth of the Essex River, and South Essex. These three districts were not well linked until the mid-19th century after the construction of Martin Street between the Falls and the Causeway, which already linked the central village with South Essex. The introduction of the railroad occurred in 1872 when the Essex Branch of the B&M Railroad was extended from Wenham to Essex Center. This railroad line was further extended in 1887 to South Essex and in the 1890s it connected with the Gloucester Street Railway and the Salem and Lynn Street Railway. In the early 1900s the Essex River was dredged to accommodate larger ships.

Essex’s population fluctuated only slightly throughout the traditional periods of development. In the early 20th century there were 1,677 residents which dropped to 1,384 in 1940. In the second half of the 20th century the population rose substantially to 3,260 in 1990. However, this number is low compared to surrounding communities. This is accounted for in part by the lack of areas suitable for development due to the high water table, clay deposits (poor drainage) and rock ledges. Essex Reconnaisance Report, Essex County Landscape Inventory, Massachusetts Heritage Landscape Inventory Program (pdf document)