Essex Heritage

About

Essex Heritage

Essex National Heritage Commission (Essex Heritage) is a non-profit organization that has been federally authorized to manage and oversee the unique heritage resources of the Essex National Heritage Area.

Mission: To preserve and enhance the historic, cultural, and natural resources of the Essex National Heritage Area located in Essex County, Massachusetts.

Vision: The historic, cultural and natural resources (and their associated history, organizations, and people) are recognized as critically important to maintaining the quality of life, community vitality, and economic sustainability of Essex County, Massachusetts.

Essex National Heritage Area

The Essex National Heritage Area was created as an act of Congress in 1996 and encompasses the 34 cities and towns of Essex County, Massachusetts. Within this NHA there are two National Parks (Salem Maritime National Historic Site and Saugus Ironworks National Historic Site) and the US Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. There are also several state parks, thousands of acres of conservation land, and numerous museums, historic houses and heritage sites that are open to the public and owned/managed by non-profit organizations and municipal governments.

Land Acknowledgement: The Essex National Heritage Area encompasses land on which Native communities have thrived for millennia. The Pawtucket band of the Massachuset Tribe inhabited the land that is now known as Essex County. As advocates for the appropriate interpretation and stewardship of our many natural, historic, and cultural resources, Essex Heritage has a responsibility to acknowledge all stories, past and present.