Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends into the northern part of Massachusetts Bay. Attached to the town is a near island, known as Marblehead Neck, connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. Marblehead Harbor, protected by shallow shoals and rocks from the open sea, lies between the mainland and the Neck. Beside the Marblehead town center, two other villages lie within the town: the Old Town, which was the original town center, and Clifton, which lies along the border with the neighboring town of Swampscott.

A town with roots in commercial fishing and yachting, Marblehead was a major shipyard and is often referred to as the birthplace of the American Navy, a title sometimes disputed with nearby Beverly. Marblehead was once the fishing capital of Massachusetts. It is also the origin of Marine Corps Aviation. Three US Navy ships have been named USS Marblehead. A center of recreational boating, it is a popular sailing, kayaking and fishing destination. Several yacht clubs were established here in the late 19th century, which continue to be centers of sailing.

It is home to the Marblehead Light, Fort Sewall, Little Harbor, Marblehead Neck Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary, Crocker Park, and Devereux Beach. Archibald Willard’s famous painting The Spirit of ’76 currently resides in Abbot Hall. Much of the Old Town is protected by the Marblehead Historic District.

Marblehead is also home of the Marblehead Men’s Softball League which was established in 1939 and is the oldest and longest standing adult softball league in the world.

Marblehead was originally called Massebequash after the river which ran between it and Salem. The land was inhabited by the Naumkeag tribe of the Pawtucket confederation under the overall sachem Nanepashemet. Epidemics in 1615–1619 and 1633, believed to be smallpox, devastated the tribe. Numerous shell mounds and burial sites have been found throughout the town’s history, along with foundations of multiple villages and forts. On September 16, 1684, heirs of Nanepashemet sold their 3,700 acres (15 km²); the deed is preserved today at Abbot Hall in the town.

Marblehead’s first European settler was Joseph Doliber in 1629, who set up on the shore near what is now the end of Bradlee Road. Three years earlier, Isaac Allerton, a Pilgrim from the Mayflower, had arrived in the area and established a fishing village at Marblehead Little Harbor. In May 1635, the General Court of Massachusetts Bay established the town of Marblehead on land that belonged to Salem. Marblehead residents, who never saw eye-to-eye with their more devout and conservative neighbors, were delighted, but less than a year later, the lawmakers reversed themselves. Marblehead finally became independent of Salem in 1649.

At times called “Marvell Head”, “Marble Harbour” (by Captain John Smith) and “Foy” (by immigrants from Fowey, Cornwall), the town would be named “Marblehead” by settlers who mistook its granite ledges for marble. It began as a fishing village with narrow crooked streets, and developed inland from the harbor. The shoreline smelled of drying fish, typically cod. These were exported abroad and to Salem.