8 N ORTH 
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MOTHER ANN—WONDERFUL FREAK OF NATURE 
BY MARY TAYLOR FALT 
LTHOUGIL Kast Gloucester has not many local 
privileges to view the works of great sculptors 
yet ‘‘Mother Nature’’ and ‘‘Old Father Time,”’ 
as the years have passed, have hewn out in the 
massive ocean rocks, which outline the rugged coast 
of East Gloucester, statues more wonderful than the 
works of the great masters of sculpture and _ their 
‘Museum of Fine Arts’’ is a most interesting place for 
study and entertainment. One of their creations is 
‘“Mother Ann.’’ This wonderful freak of nature was 
discovered by the late William Thompson, a wealthy 
resident of Salem, Mass. This gentleman was accus- 
tomed to spend his summers at East Gloucester. Grad- 
ually, as the people of the town became more acquainted 
with him, oddities and eccentricities in his make up 
became very noticeable. One oddity was the unusual 
departure of establishing his summer home in an unused 
building on one of the fish wharves at East Gloucester, 
going to a great deal of expense to fit it up suitable for 
cecupation. 
The old codgers and wharf hands, who frequented 
this wharf, were prone to discuss his advent and abode, 
very vigorously and quickly formed their opinion of 
the ‘‘queer stranger.’’ When the old gentleman had 
his fine span of horses and carriage brought down to 
the wharf for his daily drive or his fast sailing boat 
for his morning sail was in readiness and he was seen 
issuing from the picturesque old building, then the 
same incredulous looks would pass between the by- 
standers and such remarks would be heard as ‘‘ Why 
don’t the rich old codger board at a hotel?’’ “T'was 
or one of his daily drives that Mr. Thompson made his 
discovery. A party of Salem friends was being enter- 
tained and one of the daily drives embraced Eastern 
Point for their entertainment. This drive gives one an 
opportunity to study the quaintness of the East Glouces- 
ter streets, to obtain a view of the white canopied 
wharves, to eventually reach the heart of the summer 
hotel centre, to pass by the ivy draped Gate Lodge 
where Niles’ Beach and its boulevard come into view 
iz all their beauty. The outer Gloucester harbor 
spreads before one’s gaze also the wooded shores of 
Magnoha and the Reef of Norman’s Woe. 
Along the boulevard one notes tract after tract of 
beautiful moorland dotted here and there with the fine 
residences. of the wealthy summer residents, many of 
the sites of their summer homes being built on historie 
ground such as the ‘‘Old Fort’’ upon which is located 
the former Rouse mansion, ‘‘The Ramparts.’’ 
The fort, which was built during the Civil War was_ 
a ‘‘Bloodless monument of carnage, Bloodless monu- 
ment of fray, Shrine of Flora’s fondest homage, Crum- 
bling slowly to decay,’’ before the late Henry C. Rouse 
restored it and built his mansion, The Ramparts, in its 
enclosure. Continuing the drive, eventually looms up 
the sentinel of the deep, the Eastern Point Lighthouse, 
and on the rise of the road, in a huge cliff is the re- 
cumbent form of ‘‘Old Mother Ann,’’ the discovery of 
Mr. Thompson. “T'was just such a drive as here des- 
cribed that Mr. Thompson took the day he made his 
discovery. Asking the driver to stop, he gazed long 
and searchingly at a certain, huge cliff very near the 
rise of the road and to the left of the lighthouse. He 
then asked if any of the party saw a face in the eliff— 
in fact, did they see a reclining form of a woman? Evy- 
eryone of the party were unanimous in agreeing to its 
existence and corroborated Mr. Thompson’s statements 
in regard to the wonderful nature of the discovery. 
“he local papers then heralded the discovery. It was 
nost amusing to see how these same critical wharf hands 
shook their heads mysteriously and whispered to one 
another, ‘‘Didn’t we say the old gent up their in the 
fish shed want right?’’? But those who jump at conelu- 
sions are often times equally as inquisitive. It was but 
a very short time before these same credulous ones 
were tramping to the lighthouse to see ‘‘the old gent’s 
old woman in the rocks,’’ and were convinced. 
Thousands of tourists have visited her and have 
nade frequent inquiries of the stoic ‘‘old lady’s’’ 
history. She has brightened the rather monotonous life 
of the light keeper, her neighbor, and has aided ma- 
terially in giving renown to the North Shore. 
SOME INTERESTING TRADITIONS OF HAMILTON 
BY MARY TAYLOR FALT 
This noted inland resort of the North Shore, the 
pleasure ground of a President of the United States 
aud the summer residence of two personages of note in 
national affairs, Secretary of the United States Navy, 
Ceorge von L. Meyer, and Congressman A. P. Gardner, 
the rendezvous of wealth and distinction for hunting 
and golf has likewise a traditional charm which adds to 
its natural attractiveness. 
Its broad, fertile and picturesque farm lands and 
hills, which now embrace the beautiful estates of people 
of social prominence, were first settled by Ipswich col- 
onists, of which town Hamilton was once a part. 
Prior to 1787, Hamilton was known as Hamlet, but 
during that year, Rev. Dr. Cutler, pastor of the Hamlet 
church, agitated a new name and his suggestion that 
the hamlet be called after Alexander Hamilton was 
universally favored. 
Hamilton colonists played an important part in the 
building up of the West, for it was through the migra- 
tion of a number of her colonists that Marietta, Ohio, 
was founded. 
Sagamore Hill, Hamilton, has a particularly inter- 
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