Vintage Rockport

On the site where formerly stood this inn, the town of Rockport is now building a park. This should be welcome news to Rockporters and visitors alike, because the views from here are spectacular.

The building was originally constructed around the turn of the century as a private mansion. For many years, it operated as the Cape Hedge Inn. It later became The Beaches inn and then The Sandpiper. It was still operating as The Sandpiper when it burned down in the late 1970s. (A recent Gloucester Daily Times article said it burned down in 1978 but a 1984 court decision involving the property said it was 1976 or 1977.)

Over the years, various attempts were made to rebuild on the property. In 1978, The Sandpiper’s owner, John Krenn, obtained a zoning variance to construct a two-story, 2o-room inn, but the variance lapsed when construction did not begin. In the 1980s, a subsequent owner was granted a variance to build a four-unit condominium on the site. A court later revoked the variance, ruling that the town should not have granted it.

For other postcards of this inn, see:

• The Beaches Inn (a/k/a Cape Hedge Inn), Rockport, Mass., circa 1965.
• The Original Cape Hedge Inn and Annex, Rockport, Mass., 1953.

This postcard was published by the Rockport Photo Bureau. There is no date on the reverse side. Based on the similarity of the printing on the reverse side to other cards I have, and judging by what can be seen of the cars in the picture, I estimate this to be around 1939.

This is a real-photo postcard showing a house with a woman and her dog standing at the gate. The house is not identified anywhere on the postcard. However, I have identified it as the house that still stands at 11 Broadway Avenue in Rockport. The card was mailed in 1911. There is a long note on the reverse side but it is illegible.

The same house as it looks today.

An 1884 street atlas of Rockport identifies this property as then belonging to “Levi Gott Heirs.” As far as I can determine, there was only one Levi Gott who ever lived in Rockport in the 1800s. He was a descendant of Samuel Gott, one of Rockport’s first settlers. He married Martha Tarr, a descendant of Richard Tarr, Rockport’s first settler. Levi died in 1876, which would comport with the 1884 atlas listing referring to his heirs.

Interestingly, the fathers of both Levi and Martha — John Gott and Jabez Tarr — fought at the battle of Bunker Hill.

Levi and Martha had two children: John S. Gott, born Dec. 2, 1843, and Susan Tarr Gott, born May 25, 1837. John died in 1928 and is buried at Beech Grove Cemetary.

A later 1899 atlas does not identify the owner of this property, but it shows the house next door as belonging to “J.S. Gott.” It may be, then, that Levi left this property and the one next to it to his children — or at least to John.

The back side shows that the card was mailed on Jan. 9, 2011.

The original Columbia off Gloucester in 1926.

The Adventure racing off Gloucester in 1926.

The new Columbia off Gloucester today.

The Adventure leaving Gloucester harbor today.

The Columbia and The Adventure preparing to race today off Gloucester.

In 1926, The Columbia and The Adventure competed in the Gloucester schooner race. Today, they competed again. It was an historic match-up in that both boats were more or less resurrected this year. Continue reading →

Here is a highly unusual postcard that was both printed for and sent by William E. Parsons, long known around Rockport as “Uncle Bill” or “Uncle Billy.” Parsons was postmaster of Rockport between 1898 and 1914 and also gained acclaim as half the theatrical team of Parsons & Pool, who traveled widely in the late 1800s putting on performances of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Continue reading →