Gloucester

Sister cities

• Tamano

History

The boundaries of Gloucester originally included the town of Rockport, in an area dubbed "Sandy Bay". The village separated formally from Gloucester on February 27, 1840. In 1873, Gloucester was reincorporated as a city. Native Americans inhabited what would become northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to the European colonization of the Americas. At the time of contact, the area was inhabited by Agawam people under sachem Masconomet. Evidence of a village exists on Pole's Hill in the current Riverdale neighborhood. In 1606, Samuel de Champlain explored the harbor, and produced the first known map of Gloucester harbor titling it le Beau port. This map suggests substantial Native American settlement on the shores of the harbor. In 1614 John Smith again explored the area, identifying the indigenous inhabitants as Aggawom. In 1623 men from the Dorchester Company established a permanent fishing outpost in the area. At the Cape Ann settlement, a legal form of government was established, and from that Massachusetts Bay Colony sprung. Roger Conant was the governor under the Cape Ann patent, and as such, has been called the first governor of Massachusetts. Life in this first settlement was harsh and it was short-lived. The area was abandoned around 1626, and the people removed themselves to Naumkeag (in what is now called Salem, Massachusetts), where more fertile soil for planting was to be found. The meetinghouse and governor's house were even disassembled and relocated to the new place of settlement. At some point in the following years (though no record exists), the area was slowly resettled by English colonists. The town was formally incorporated in 1642. It is at this time that the name "Gloucester" first appears on tax rolls, although in various…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American herring gull, Smithsonian Gull

  Larus smithsonianus Coues, 1862 · Aves
  55,384
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  47,794
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  45,878
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  44,401
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  42,252
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  41,869
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  38,711
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  37,889

Largest nearby schools

• Gloucester High
  High · Gloucester · 804 students · 10.3:1 ratio
• Ralph B O'Maley Middle
  Middle · Gloucester · 622 students · 10.7:1 ratio
• Ipswich High
  High · Ipswich · 502 students · 10.2:1 ratio
• Hamilton-Wenham Regional High
  High · South Hamilton · 450 students · 11:1 ratio
• Manchester Essex Regional High School
  High · Manchester · 416 students · 10.1:1 ratio
• West Parish
  Elementary · Gloucester · 374 students · 12.9:1 ratio
• Winthrop
  Elementary · Ipswich · 373 students · 9.6:1 ratio
• Miles River Middle
  Middle · Hamilton · 371 students · 9.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.8 — 2025-01-27
  9 km SE of York Harbor, Maine
• M 2.7 — 2023-12-23
  5 km SW of Chichester, New Hampshire
• M 2.6 — 2021-12-07
  38 km SE of Old Orchard Beach, Maine
• M 2.7 — 2018-02-15
  0 km SE of East Kingston, New Hampshire
• M 2.9 — 2010-06-07
  29 km SE of York Beach, Maine
• M 2.8 — 2008-03-09
  25 km SE of York Beach, Maine