Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts
A Short History of Manchester-by-the-Sea
From one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts, to a working fishing port, to a Gilded Age summer colony, to the 1989 Special Act that made Manchester-by-the-Sea the town’s official name.
One of the Oldest Towns in Massachusetts
In 1645 the Great and General Court incorporated Manchester as a town in its own right, which makes Manchester-by-the-Sea one of the oldest towns in the Commonwealth. From the beginning its business was decided in Town Meeting, the same form of direct democracy that still votes the budget today.
A Fishing Port
For more than two hundred years the town lived mainly from the sea. Its harbor sent out fishing boats, and generations of families made their living on the water and in the boatyards along the shore. That working waterfront is the reason the town grew where it did, and the harbor is still at the center of town life.
The Summer Colony
In the nineteenth century the town became a fashionable seaside resort for Boston society, and the Gilded Age left its mark along the shore in the form of grand summer estates. It was in this era that the town gained its reputation as a summer place, and the writers and publishers who came out for the summer helped fix its identity by the sea.
Singing Beach
The town’s best-known landmark is Singing Beach, named for the way its sand squeaks, or sings, when you walk across it. It is a public beach, and along with the harbor and the protected woods and headlands nearby, it is a big part of why residents care so much about how the town manages its coastline, an issue that comes up again and again at Town Meeting and before the Conservation Commission.
A New Name in 1989
For most of its history the town was simply named Manchester. In 1989 the state approved a Special Act that officially changed its name to Manchester-by-the-Sea.
Sources: Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea, About Manchester-by-the-Sea (manchester.ma.us); the Manchester-by-the-Sea Museum (Manchester Historical Society); U.S. Census Bureau.
MassCivics last checked this page on November 2, 2026.
Sources
- Town records: Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea, About Manchester-by-the-Sea, as of April 10, 2026.