Blaine's Port

"... Blaine's Port with its ancient vanes and steeples, ridgepoles and chimneypots, wharves and small bridges, willow trees and graveyards; endless labyrinths of steep, narrow, crooked streets, and dizzy church-crowned central peak that time durst not touch..."
Blaine's Port is a small tourist and fishing town located in Essex County in the northeastern part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, along the Atlantic coast. Located on the Massachusetts shore a few miles north of Salem, Blaine's Port is just a little more than three miles southeast of downtown New Jerusalem. From the home of Missituk University, Blaine's Port can be reached by taking Peabody Avenue west out of town. This brings the traveler into Blaine's Port by way of Hill Road. From Boston, follow Highway 1A north, taking the eastbound fork two miles past Salem. This brings the visitor in by way of Jackson Street in the south.
The city is nestled in a bowl-shaped depression that encircles Blaine's Port Harbor. To the north rises a series of rocky cliffs that culminate in the dizzying heights of Blaine's Port Head. To the west and south are a number of hills. The largest, called Central Hill, is the sight of Blaine's Port's old burying ground. Just over a mile out to sea lies the Jersey Reef, named after the Channel Island from which many Blainesporters trace their ancestry. This dangerous reef protects Blaine's Port's shores from the devastating Atlantic waves.
The streets of Blaine's Port are narrow and winding, twisting steeply through the hills to form a labyrinth of pathways often difficult to navigate. Houses are stacked at all levels and angles, bristling on the hillsides and filling the hollows. Numerous buildings and houses are incredibly old, particularly in the vicinity of Central Hill and along the north shore of the harbor. Many date back to the mid-seventeenth century.
Travelers reach Blaine's Port by car, bus, train, air, or small boat.

Demographics

There is an unofficial but nonetheless easily perceived social hierarchy in Blaine's Port. At the top of the heap are members of the old Blaine's Port families, including such monied notables as Norton Weiss, Stephen Cabot, Martin Cabot, fish-packing tycoons Brandon Turner and John Pickering, Mayor John Jacob Hoag, and banker Cyrus Abbott. Next come influential professionals such as attorney Richard Court, Judge Norton Bedlow, Dr. Matthew Harris, and Evelyn Mercer of the Mercer Art Gallery. Those of slightly lesser stature include folk like May Talbot of the Daughters of the American Revolution and John Miles, principal of Hall School. Below them come a multitude of middle and upper-middle class business people like Dr. Enoch Warren, hoteliers Adam and Lois Tuttle, and the majority of Blaine's Port's better downtown merchants.
Near the bottom end of the scales reside the lower class business people of Harborside and Hill Town, followed by a few yankee fisherman bearing old family names. Next are the Irish, Dutch, and other northern European immigrants, followed by Italians, and lastly the Portuguese. Few African-Americans live in Blaine's Port, and even fewer of Asian decent.
This order does not necessarily reflect the actual income or disposition of each of these groups, but merely how they are perceived and treated by each other - it is the local pecking order.

Government

Blaine's Port's elected officials include a mayor and nine city council members (selectmen), all elected to two year terms. The offices are part-time positions paying only small salaries but bringing their holders great prestige, as well as a certain amount of power. Mayor John Jacob Hoag is running uncontested this year, but 1956 promises a full ticket of candidates, each claiming they can make the town great again. Town Council meetings are held the first and third Tuesdays of every month at Talbot Hall, the site of Blaine's Port's town administrative offices.

Industry & Trade

General Hours of Business

Blue Laws in Blaine's Port are not as strict as those of New Jerusalem. Although most businesses operate between the hours of 8am and 5pm, Monday through Friday (9am to 1pm Saturday), numerous restaurants and stores, particularly those catering to the tourist trade, are open on Sunday afternoons. Government and public buildings are open five days a week, 8am to 5pm, but are closed for lunch from noon to 1pm.

Climate

Blaine's Port's climate is similar to New Jerusalem's but cooler, thanks to the ocean breezes blowing in off the Atlantic. The ever-present fog and mist also makes the environment considerably damper.
On the coldest winter nights temperatures dip to zero degrees Fahrenheit or lower, but daytime temperatures range in the 20s or 30s. The first snowfalls arrive in November, and, unlike New Jerusalem's snow, often blanket the ground for weeks at a time.
Spring comes in late March or early April, but frosts often occur as late as early May. The last week of May signals the start of the summer season and the arrival of the first crowds of tourists.
Summer highs range in the 70s and 80s, rarely higher, and nights are often chilly. The summer season ends at the beginning of September when the tourists leave to return to their jobs and schools in Boston and other places. Through October temperatures range from the low 40s to the low 60s, but by November the frosts have left their mark, and the trees have shed their leaves in anticipation of another winter.

"Non ducor, duco."

Maps

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  Blaine's Port, Massachusetts

Founding Date

August 15, 1639

Alternative Name(s)

King's Port, Blaine's Town, Blaine

Type

Town

Population

8,834

Inhabitant Demonym

Blainesporter

Additional Rulers/Owners

• Nine elected selectmen

Owning Organization

Essex County