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Vol. XIV 
ORTH SHORE BREEZE 
AND REMINDER 
Manchester, Mass., Friday, August 11, 1916 
No. 32 
Driving About Old Cape Ann 
By ALEX. G. TUPPER 
WitHout doubt, the most beautiful drive filled with 
a variety of scenery and interest to be found any- 
| where on the North Shore, is that stretch of land, East 
Gloucester, lying to the east and south of Cape Ann, like 
a great promontory, the great surges of the Atlantic beat- 
ing upon one side, the calm and peaceful harbor being 
located on the other. 
It takes one who is thoroughly acquainted with this 
beautiful country, one who knows of its early history, its 
people, its every nook and cranny, delightfully prcturesque 
and romantic, to give to the tourist a faithful pen picture 
and story of this famous resort. 
Our last drive took us as far as the Gloucester cus- 
tom house and postoffice. We proceed along the Main 
street turning to our left from the postoffice, until we 
reach Eastern avenue, where the trolley turns to go to 
We keep to our right and here begins East 
Main street. A little way on our right we reach an open 
space where a fine view of the harbor can be had, giving 
us a good idea of the extent of wharfage and the number 
of fishing craft either at anchor or tied up along the sides 
of the wharves. The small island a short distance be- 
yond is Five Pound Island, while farther out lies Ten 
Pound Island with Norman’s Woe and the Magnolia 
shore in the distance. The islands derived their names 
from the fact that the government purchased the tracts 
of land from the Indians for five and ten pounds, respec- 
tively. 
The first hill we ascend is “Point Hill,” so named 
the early settlers because it was really the entrance 
which is the fami- 
b 
Fou to East Gloucester or “the point” 
liar name applied to the colony. 
Several old houses may be seen along the road, but 
perhaps the most interesting is the old Sayward house, 175 
years old, down over the other side of the hill. There 
are two ways to get a glimpse of this interesting land- 
mark, One is secured by glancing down the little road 
‘to the right of the Wheeler engine place or garage and 
another is through the open space to the right, between 
the big garage and the Gorton Pew Fisheries plant. 
Through this open space we also get a beautiful view of 
the inner harbor. 
_ The next object of interest on our way is the exten- 
sive Slade Gorton branch of the Gorton-Pew Fisheries 
Company. Visitors are privileged to go over the entire 
establishment and a guide will show you how excellently 
the fish food is prepared for the trade, from the drying 
and cutting to the packing in cans, bottles and boxes. 
It is a most interesting process and to one who is espe- 
cially interested in the chief industry of the city, the op- 
portunity of inspecting the plant should not be allowed 
to pass. 
Continuing our drive along East Main street, follow- 
ing the trolley car track, we are really skirting the edge 
of the harbor. We pass many residences and buildings 
with an occasional glimpse of the water front, but vir- 
tually back of them are the old wharves and fish houses 
where the fishing industry of Gloucester began so many 
III 
years ago. It was from these Parsons, Wonson, Say- 
ward, Haskell and Tarr firms that great fleets of vessels 
sauied with their sturdy crews, building up a valuable in- 
dustry that made Gioucester famous as the biggest fishing 
port in the country and the second largest in the world. 
If a visitor chances to meet an “old salt” on one of these 
wharves, one who is familiar with the early fisheries, no 
doubt that visitor would arch his eyebrows high with 
u.prise at the activities of the early years, related to him 
by the salt.” Things haye changed. “The larger amount 
41 the business is now on the ‘town’ side,” the old salt will 
say to you, and he will quickly add “its mostly summer 
boarders now.” } 
As we continue along East Main street we come to 
the old ferry landing, a long pier, picturesque with its 
all piling, the subject for many an artist’s brush. In the 
background can be seen a beautiful view of the harbor 
and the city buildings and tall spires against the sky. It 
was in this locality of the ferry landing, that in 1713, 
Capt. Andrew Robinson, the New England boat designer 
gave a new type of craft to the world. A radical change 
was made in the accepted modes of rigging and such a 
novel departure attracted a great deal of attention. At 
the launching of this new craft, the vessel glided so 
smoothly over the water as she left the ways, that a 
spectator cried, “See how she scoons!’”’ Capt. Robinson, 
alert for a name for the new model, immediately replied, 
“A schooner let her be’ and this name has continued in 
use. It was this locality where the schooner got its name. 
There is no mention of the word “schooner” in any 
marine work previous to this event. ; 
About a half century ago, the main road ended at 
this point near the ferry landing and there was but a 
foot path which led to Eastern Point and the lighthouse. 
In the early days, before the “omnibus” it was common 
to see people climbing a wall or passing through the old 
turnstile, on their way to “the point.’ Quite a change 
for now-a-days we see hundreds of the finest types. of 
scurrying automobiles and trolley cars passing about 
every fifteen minutes, with a steam ferryboat to our 
right conveying passengers across the harbor every half 
hour, although it takes but seven minutes for the actual 
trip, when one is conveyed from the landing on the East 
side to the main street, of the city proper. There are 
several old houses in the vicinity of the ferry landing, 
across the street. They are the Douglass, Lunt, Brazier 
and Coas houses, all a century old with the exception of 
the latter. 
As we pass the ferry landing, we view the extensive 
Reed and Gamage branch of the Gorton-Pew Fisheries 
Company. The drying flakes (the racks on which the 
fish are dried) are of particular interest to sight-seers. 
As we draw near to the group of yellow buildings we 
note one of the pioneer fishing firms, that of John F. 
Wonson & Company, from which many fine fishing 
schooners sailed to the “Banks” and returned with splen- 
did trips of cod and other fish. 
Many picturesque scenes come to view as we pass 
