Monthly Archives: December 2013

Found on the Web: Gap Head and Straitsmouth, 1888

This 1888 photograph is described as a view of Rockport Point with Straitsmouth Island in the background. This point is more commonly known as Gap Head or Straitsmouth Point. What is remarkable about this view is that it is before … Continue reading

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The Old Log Cabin, at the Foot of Cove Hill, Oldest House in Rockport, Mass.

The postcard identifies this house — which still stands at the corner of Mt. Pleasant Street and Atlantic Ave. — as the oldest house in Rockport. The plaque that is on the house now says it was built in 1680 … Continue reading

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Sailors Resting on the Wharf, Rockport, Mass., circa 1906

Sailors line the north side of T-Wharf as a small number of curious onlookers watch them. Behind them, a two-masted schooner is docked at the wharf, but I doubt the schooner had any relation to these sailors. More likely, the … Continue reading

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Blondon, Bay View, c. 1915 (In Honor of Barbara Erkkila)

I was sorry to learn about the death this week of Barbara Erkkila. A longtime journalist and historian, her 1980 book, Hammers on Stone: The History of Cape Ann Granite, is the definitive account of granite quarrying in Gloucester and … Continue reading

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Streets that Have Disappeared Around Marmion Way

In writing my last post about a Marmion Way cottage, I looked at a map of the area from 1899. I was surprised to see that it contained several streets that no longer exist. Compare the two views below, one … Continue reading

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Marmion Way Cottage, Rockport, Mass., circa 1912

This is a real-photo postcard printed directly onto photographic paper, not a commercially printed postcard. It shows a cottage on Marmion Way in Rockport. The handwritten inscription appears to say, “Camp House, Marmion Way, Rockport,” although the second word is … Continue reading

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