1623-2023
Story by David Leeco
GLOUCESTER’S 400 YEAR OLD HISTORY, COMMEMORATING ITS PAST, CELEBRATING ITS PRESENT AND ANTICIPATING ITS FUTURE
FOUR CENTURIES AGO, a 50-ton ship from England, pursuing the lucrative cod, When the ship left in the fall of 1623, loaded with salted fish and bound for the markets of Spain, 14 “spare men” stayed behind. They were by no means the first to come here—the Algonquian people had long established settlements on Cape Ann to raise crops, harvest fish and clams and hunt game. The Viking sagas tell of Thorwald Ericsson coming here in 1004. The explorer Samuel de Champlain dropped anchor in the harbor in 1606, naming it Le Beauport. But the arrival of those 14 men created an arc of history, as a tide of newcomers joined the community over the next four centuries, drawn by the opportunities and the beauty, bringing their own values, culture, their own food, and together
creating the community’s vibrant character. Next year, on the anniversary of that 17th-century settlement, the Gloucester community will commemorate its past, celebrate its present and look toward its future as it marks its 400+ years of history. While the final plans for the quadricentennial are still in the works, details and updates can be found on the Gloucester400+ Organizing Committee’s website, gloucesterma400.org. Visitors can also stop by G400+ Central, the downtown headquarters at the corner of Main and Hancock Streets. Main Street in downtown Gloucester at roughly the time of the 300th anniversary. Today, the storefront on the far left is serving as the center for the Gloucester400+ commemoration.
DiscoverGloucester.com
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COLLECTION OF ARLEY PETT
arrived at Cape Ann and established an outpost on the western shore of the harbor.
