To the south is an isthmus that connects the town to Marblehead Neck, which is located on the eastern side of the harbor.

It was the home port of the schooner Hannah, the first armed vessel of the Continental Navy,[3] and her original owner and master and most of her crew were from Marblehead.

A diary entry by a local sailmaker records her sailing on her first military expedition during the American Revolution, under the command of John Glover; the birth of what was to become the United States Navy.

[4] The ship was equipped with cannon and with provisions including the indigenous "Joe Frogger" molasses/sea water cookie.

The nautical backgrounds of the crew were instrumental in helping the colonists during various sea campaigns during the course of the war.