Essex Heritage to Host Steampunk Party October 20

Have you ever wanted to travel back in time? Essex Heritage offers you an opportunity to wind back your clock to the Gilded Age to experience an alternative history in which technologies from the industrial revolution are reimagined in steampunk style – elaborate works of art, fashion, and mechanics – at Stop the Clock! A Steampunk Party at Witch Hill in Topsfield on October 20 at 7:30 PM.

Life for early European Settlers in Essex County was measured by the ring of iron, the smell of leather, and the woody beat of the handloom. Industries burst out from small shops into towering brick mills. Fishing and maritime trades transformed harbors into warehouses and wharves. Town centers filled with elegant homes demonstrating the wealth gained by these merchants and sea captains. By the 1800s, major advancements in manufacturing and production technologies presented new financial opportunities to the wealthy merchants and entrepreneurs of New England. During this time many communities within Essex County embodied the spirit of the American Industrial Revolution – huge textile mills, shoe factories, machine shops, and tanning plants were all built in the area. Soon, steam powered railroads became an affordable way to transfer raw and finished goods over long distances.

Peirce Farm at Witch Hill was the home of one America’s railroad tycoons, Thomas Wentworth Peirce (1818–1885).  With a history dating back to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, the property became a 500 acre gentleman’s retreat in the 19th Century. Essex Heritage invites you to celebrate this history with a visit to the estate dressed in your favorite steampunk gear to dance the night away with Commonwealth Vintage Dancers, strike a pose in the Victorian themed photo booth, and sip a signature cocktail.

Get your tickets before time runs out!

Tickets are $40 for Essex Heritage members, $50 for non-members. Tickets are available online at EssexHeritage.org/StopTheClock. Ticket includes entrance, Victorian styled dancing, a drink ticket, and light nibbles. Steampunk attire is encouraged!

Stop the Clock: A Steampunk Party at Witch Hill, sponsored by Pierce Farm at Witch Hill, Deacon Giles Distillery and the Topsfield Fair, is a fun fundraising event for Essex Heritage, now celebrating 20 years of preserving and enhancing the unique natural, cultural, and historic places of the region for those who live, work, and visit. The party will be held at Peirce Farm at Witch Hill, 116 Boston Street, Topsfield, MA 01983.

About Essex Heritage and the Essex National Heritage Area

Essex Heritage is the non-profit organization that manages the Essex National Heritage Area by developing programs that enhance, preserve, and encourage recreation, education, conservation and interpretation projects on Boston’s North Shore and the Lower Merrimack River Valley. The Essex National Heritage Area is comprised of the 34 cities and towns of Essex County, MA. For more information, visit EssexHeritage.orgor call (978) 740-0444.

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