The places we inhabit have their origins in the past. Cities were towns, towns, villages. Before shopping malls were fields and farmland. There is a connection back in time to the first settlements, and beyond. But there are places that are different, that had no future. Places that were abandoned, and eventually forgotten. Dogtown is one such place, which I learned about only after I had moved to Gloucester. As it turned out, the edge of Dogtown was in my very own backyard.
Over the past twenty years I have spent hundreds of hours exploring the old roads and trails, stonewalls, and cellar holes of Dogtown, abandoned granite quarries in Lanesville and Pigeon Cove, rock ledges of Poles Hill and Red Rocks, and even a few spots along the coastline, just off shore. The following articles describe the amazing places I have discovered (or rather rediscovered) in and around Cape Ann, a place I am grateful to call home.
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The Story of Dogtown from a Satellite’s Perspective
Dogtown’s historical and cultural resources were documented in a 2018 survey performed by the Public Archaeology Laboratory as part of the failed National Registry application. Although its natural features were mapped in 1985 under the direction of the Dogtown Steering Committee, Dogtown has never been studied from a remote sensing perspective. Valerie Pasquarella and colleagues at…
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The Future of Dogtown
Previous groups such as the Dogtown Advisory Committee and Friends of Dogtown offered visions for the future of Dogtown. Disagreements and misunderstandings leading up to the failed 2019 National Registry nomination have resulted in what some perceive as a current lack of vision for Dogtown. Lacking a clear vision, many are worried that Dogtown could one…
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The Two Towers: A Closer Look at a Historical Landscape
Fitz Henry Lane’s The Babson Meadows at Riverdale depicts an open pastoral landscape long since lost to residential development and expansion. Lane’s 1863 painting captures a number of historical landmarks including the Riverdale Methodist Church on Washington Street, the Riggs School, torn down in the 1950s, Riverdale Mills, now a convenience store, and Poles Hill. …
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Turtle Rocks: Another Possibility?
Haskins Park is at the top of Summit Avenue in Rockport. Under a tree, there are two rock piles side by side. Most say they were left behind after the Leander Haskins house which had become a small hospital at the top of Summit Avenue was torn down in the early 20th century. A few…
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Discover Dogtown – The First Digital Map of Dogtown
Soon after moving to Cape Ann in 2003, I began mapping cellar holes, trails, stone walls, and other features I encountered in Dogtown. In 2007 I published a map and guidebook based on the GPS data collected and cross-referenced to historical sources. In 2015 the Friends of Dogtown received a grant from the Awesome Gloucester…
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There’s an iPhone at the Bottom of the Sea: Experiments in Underwater Time-Lapse Photography
Unlike most people, when I first moved to Cape Ann, I was attracted to Dogtown and its forested interior, not the coastline. I applied my knowledge of satellite imaging and GPS mapping with an interest in local history to create maps that tied the history of Dogtown and other places to what we see today…
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A Place Called Gloucester
The Boulevard along Gloucester Harbor is one of the most iconic places on Cape Ann. Many thousands of people visit each year to see the Fisherman’s Memorial, “They That Go Down to The Sea in Ships,” and other sights along the Esplanade. It is our favorite vantage point for watching the 4th of July fireworks…
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Now and Then: Changes in the Landscape
Our understanding of a place is limited by the relatively short time we experience it. We often forget that places have a history. It may not always be significant but it is often interesting. Imagining what existed in the past is a kind of mental exercise that gets us into the mode of thinking about…
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The Island Woods of Cape Ann
Most people naturally associate Cape Ann – the other cape along the Massachusetts coast, with the sea, with seafood restaurants, scenic vistas, sailing, scuba diving, and surfing. Few are aware of the mysteries that lie hidden in the middle of the Cape. Hiking through the woods one encounters all kinds of interesting things: gigantic boulders,…
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