Hope no one is tired of the beauty of sea smoke captured on a truly arctic morning earlier this month. I had made it back to Castle Rock just before the sun rose and captured this image of Tom Moore Rock engulfed in sea smoke. The smoke-formed clouds served to reflect the light of the rising sun with pastel pinks to bring color to the scene.
As I worked on this image, I started to wonder about the history of Tom Moore Rock. The best I have been able to figure out is that it started off as Nanepashemet rock and was named after the last chief sachem of the Massachusetts federation of tribes. I contacted a number of historians in town but have yet to discover when the rock changed names or who Tom Moore was. If you know, please add a comment below.
Mystery of Tom’s Rocks is Solved!
Thank you to Pam Peterson and the The Marblehead Museum & Historical Society for this info from the Marblehead 101 series dated April 1, 2013:
“Tom’s Rocks form a long ledge, visible at low tide. In the 1600s Tom Moore of Salem got permission to set up fish flakes on Marblehead Neck, where he had a fish salting and drying operation. At some point on his way back and forth he smashed up against these rocks and was drowned. This was memorable enough to name the rocks after him.”