Granite, Schooners and Fish: How Cape Ann Towns Made a Living

All excerpts were transcribed from a scan; spelling as printed. The dots ( ... ) show where words were left out. Excerpt A (Scientific American, 1878) "At the extreme point of Cape Ann, on the Massachusetts coast, is the small town of Rockport, where are situated the extensive granite quarries for which the region is noted." "The Rockport granite is noted for its superior quality, being very hard, durable, and free from iron or other substances which injure and discolor granite." "The Rockport quarries have furnished great quantities of granite for the dock improvements of New York; for the reservoir on Beacon Hill, Boston; for Forts Warren, Winthrop, and Independence, Boston Harbor ..." "A notable enterprise in connection with the quarries is the construction of a breakwater, which enables shipping to approach the quarries at all stages of the tide and in all sorts of weather. Before it was built it was only in fair weather, when the sea was smooth, that vessels could come near." Excerpt B (federal census report on building stones) "Cape Ann was the next district opened to work. ... The lack of harbors near the quarries has been met by the construction of breakwaters built from the waste stone ..." Excerpt C (federal fisheries report, 1887) "At Rockport and at some of the outlying villages of Gloucester are large granite quarries which were opened many years ago by parties from Quincy. These now give employment to a considerable number of men." Excerpt D (same report, about two villages in Gloucester) "At both Bay View and Lanesville breakwaters have been built, making small harbors, used principally for the shelter of stone sloops, that are constantly employed in transporting granite from the extensive quarries situated here." Word helper quarry: a place where stone is cut out of the ground durable: lasts a long time breakwater: a wall of stone built out into the sea to block waves waste stone: leftover pieces of stone that were not sold stone sloop: a sailboat used to carry stone parties from Quincy: people from Quincy, another Massachusetts town with granite

All excerpts were transcribed from a scan; spelling as printed. The dots ( ... ) show where words were left out. Chebacco was the old name for Essex. Sandy bay was the old name for part of Rockport. Excerpt A (Henry Hall, 1884, about the Chebacco boat) "First used in fishing at Sandy bay, these boats soon came into general use, the majority of them being built in the village in which they originated." "These boats were often built in the woods, or, at any rate, a long way from the water, and as late as the revolutionary war fishing boats of from 10 to 20 tons were thus built and were dragged to the river by cattle. Though built in Chebacco (or Essex), the boats were chiefly owned in Gloucester ..." Excerpt B (Henry Hall, 1884, about Essex in 1880) "Essex has always lived by ship-building." "Nearly all the clipper fishing schooners of Gloucester are built at Essex ..." "The most profitable vessels that are built at Essex are sharp two- and three-masted schooners of from 150 to 260 tons register, as the river is not large enough to launch and float out a large hull." Excerpt C (federal fisheries report, 1887) "The Essex River is a narrow stream that runs from the village to Ipswich Bay, a distance of 2 or 3 miles, and has sufficient depth of water at high tide to float the largest fishing schooners from the ship-yards to the sea." "The principal industry of the people is ship-building, upwards of 1,200 of the best fishing vessels in the New England fleet having been built here during the past fifty years." Word helper schooner: a sailing ship with two or more masts clipper: built to be fast tons register: a measure of how much space a ship has inside launch: to slide a new ship into the water hull: the body of a ship sufficient depth: deep enough revolutionary war: the American Revolution, which began in 1775

All excerpts were transcribed from a scan; spelling as printed. The dots ( ... ) show where words were left out. Excerpt A (about all of Cape Ann) "The proximity of Cape Ann to the fishing grounds for cod and mackerel, and an excellent harbor for vessels of all sizes, has made this place famous in the history of the fisheries." "Only 150 miles off the coast lies George's Bank, famous as the best of cod-fishing grounds." Excerpt B (about Gloucester) "Gloucester, the chief fishing port of the United States, is situated on Cape Ann, about 30 miles northeast of Boston. The harbor is one of the largest and safest on the whole coast ..." "With the exception of the granite quarries, there is no important industry carried on in Gloucester that is not dependent upon the fisheries." Excerpt C (about Folly Cove, a village in Gloucester with a rocky shore) "At Folly Cove the boats are hauled high up on the rocks on inclined platforms, where they are safe from the dashing waves." Excerpt D (about Gloucester's population) "There has been a steady growth in population from 7,786 in 1850, to 19,329 in 1880." Word helper proximity: closeness fishing grounds: places in the ocean where many fish live cod and mackerel: two kinds of fish chief: most important industry: a kind of business or work dependent upon: needs something in order to work inclined platform: a wooden ramp that slopes up

This table shows only some of the places on Hall's list. The last row adds up all the other places he names, which are in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. Annisquam is a village in Gloucester.

Cape Ann is a rocky piece of land that sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean north of Boston. Four towns share it today: Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea. Rockport is at the eastern tip of Cape Ann. It was part of Gloucester until 1840, when its two villages, Sandy Bay and Pigeon Cove, became a town of their own. Much of the land there is hard granite. Essex is on a narrow river that runs out to Ipswich Bay. It became its own town in 1819, when it split from Ipswich. Forests of oak once grew all around it. Gloucester is the largest of the three. It has a big, deep harbor, and some of the best fishing grounds in the Atlantic are a few days' sail away. In the 1870s and 1880s, government writers traveled to towns like these and wrote reports about how people earned a living. Your expert card has their words.