Attractions

A half-mile offshore, Bird Island occupies just a single acre of land. But the town-owned island gets major attention for being home to North America’s largest number of Roseate Terns, a federally protected endangered species. In the 1950s, up to 15,000 pairs of Roseate Terns nested on five Buzzards Bay islands. By the 1970s, the number had dropped to 1,500 pairs, all on Bird Island.  

With oversight from state wildlife officials, the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Marion community, the Roseate Terns returned to the state-owned Ram Island off neighboring Mattapoisett in the 1990s and have since also spread to Penikese Island in the Elizabeth Island chain. All three islands accounted for 7,000 terns as of 2004, making up more than 50 percent of the Northern Hemisphere’s population.

Built in 1819, the lighthouse is the only structure standing on Bird Island, which might surprise the light keepers who spent years rebuilding and trying to protect it from sea damage. The town acquired the beacon in 1966 and placed it under the watch of the Bird Island Preservation Society. The group achieved a long-anticipated goal of relighting it for a July 4, 1997 celebration. Though best viewed by boat, glimpses can also be had from the Point Road seawall.

Formed in 1963, the society was named for the Indian tribe that once inhabited the area. Its members are active in building restoration work in the community while its museum showcases exhibits on the town’s rich maritime history, town benefactor Elizabeth Taber and the community’s start as part of the Rochester land grant. The organization has several self-walking tour guides available upon request.

Winter hours: Sat. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Summer hours: Tues. and Thurs., 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and Sat. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Tabor Academy

The private high school encompasses 85 acres along Marion’s waterfront. As part of its curriculum of “the school by the sea,” the academy teaches oceanography and sailing in both Buzzards Bay and the Caribbean. 

Elizabeth Taber founded the academy in 1876 at age 85, after the death of her husband, New Bedford clockmaker and whaling investor Stephen Taber. His death left her alone as the couple’s three children had all died in infancy.

Taber named her school after Mt. Tabor in the Bible and it developed a seafaring focus in the early 1900s under headmaster Walter Lillard, who acquired much of school’s land along the water.

This Universalist church built in the 1800s startles many at first glimpse with its blue paint, but the hue is the flair of its current occupant, the Marion Art Center. The organization has been promoting and showcasing artwork for 50 years and also offers art programs for youngsters. Its two galleries and small theatre are open to the public at no charge and the theatre holds the collection of painter Cecil Clark Davis (1877-1955).

Davis and her family hailed from Chicago, but had a summer home in Marion. Well known for her progressive thinking, she married journalist Richard Harding Davis on May 4, 1999 in a lavish ceremony at St. Gabriel’s Church on Front Street, bringing international attention to Marion with guests like actress Ethyl Barrymore, her maid of honor. 

A student of John Singer Sargent at the Art Institute of Chicago, Davis painted portraits of many big names in her generation, including her father’s business partner, inventor Alexander Graham Bell, pilot Charles Lindbergh and actor Lionel Barrymore.

Open Tues. – Fri., 1 p.m. – 5 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.