By Katie Farrell Lovett
NEWBURYPORT — For 64 miles of Essex County, there are historical treasures and open space spread throughout 13 coastal communities from Lynn to Newburyport.
It's known as the Essex Heritage Scenic Byway.
The Essex National Heritage Commission, which has worked to bring Essex County communities together to promote their history and appeal through Trails and Sails weekends and other initiatives, is now working to gain this unique stretch of roadway national recognition.
Already one of 14 state-designated byways, designation as a National Scenic Byway and the creation of visitors' centers, informational kiosks and signs along the route would promote awareness about the region and its vast amount of resources and history, boosting economic development and tourism along the way.
For almost 70 miles, there is "gorgeous coastlines," noted Annie Harris, the executive director of Essex National Heritage Commission. But as the route winds along the marsh, out to Cape Ann, around Rockport and Gloucester and back over to Lynn, they are viewed as individual roads.
The 13 byway communities contain more than 8,700 properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places and several National Historic Landmark properties, according to the Essex National Heritage Commission.
The challenge has always been, Harris said, to give the North Shore a regional identity and promote the essence of the region. The state-designated route links Newburyport, Newbury, Rowley, Ipswich, Essex, Rockport, Gloucester, Manchester, Beverly, Salem, Marblehead, Swampscott and Lynn.
On Cape Ann, the Scenic Byway follows Route 133 through Essex and West Gloucester. Crossing over the Blynman Bridge, the byway follows Route 127 through downtown Gloucester, out Eastern Avenue to Rockport where it mainly follows Main and Granite streets, until it returns to the Gloucester at Folly Cove, following Washington Street through Lanesville, Bay View, Annisquam and Riverdale, ending at Grant Circle.
Back at Stacy Boulevard, the byway follows Western Avenue past Magnolia then following Route 127 through Manchester.
The Essex Heritage Scenic Byway will also be an economic development tool, Director of Heritage Development Bill Steelman said, as it will provide tourism marketing and funding support for the communities and organizations along the route through promotional materials. Preservation restrictions along the roadway would be at the discretion of each individual community.
"There's absolutely no regulation that comes with this," she said.
As a prerequisite to national recognition, the Essex National Heritage Commission is working with Juliet Walker, a planner with Taintor and Associates, a Newburyport firm. The commission was able to secure a federal grant to hire Taintor and Associates to prepare the plan by March 2011.
The goal, Walker said, is to bring people out of their cars and get them to use the environment and resources they are travelling through, such as hiking, biking or kayaking.
"It's not just about people sitting in their cars," she said.
Communities could join together to determine signs for the byway, or amenities such as benches or lighting or improvements to the visitors' centers along the route, said Mary Williamson, the director of development and communications for Essex National Heritage Commission.
The Essex National Heritage Commission launched the long-term process in June and it will take about 21 months. During that time, they will hold public hearings and forums to gain feedback and input from the communities.
It is funded with grants from the National Scenic Byway Program and the Mass. Department of Transportation.
For more information visit: http://www.essexheritage.org/scenicbyways/.
