Built on Cod Exhibit

In New England, cod was more than food; it was faith, fortune, and folklore. Legend held that cod was the fish of Jesus, feeding the multitudes, while haddock, marked by a dark line and “devil’s thumbprint,” was said to be his failed imitation.

From Beverly’s shores, salted cod connected the region to the world. The finest cuts went to places like Bilbao, Spain, traded for salt, silks, and wine; the lowest fed enslaved people in the southern colonies and Caribbean; and the rest sustained local families through harsh winters. These global trade routes later aided the American Revolution, supplying ships and goods that supported the war effort and shaping a social class called, sometimes mockingly, the “codfish aristocracy.”

Through cod, Beverly’s story reveals how global exchange, local enterprise, and legend intertwined to shape both community and class in early America.