Kettle Cove Fish Market, circa 1900

12 thoughts on “Kettle Cove Fish Market, circa 1900”

1. the picture is not showing up on this posting. I am dying to see it as my grandparents built their
   summer home on Kettle Cove in 1900 (still there) and I remember an old shack on the marsh
   from my childhood.
   I am a photographer & ceramic artist myself, and would love to meet you.

   LikeLiked by 1 person

   Reply
2. Hi Wendy- I emailed EJ, who puts up my posts, about the missing photo. If you want to see it, come into the gallery! 82 Main Street.

   LikeLike

   Reply
   1. Photo now showing. It looks very much like the shack I remember but since it is on the marsh side of street, Coolidge Pt could not be in the background.
      I will try to get in to see it, Fred. Thank you.

      LikeLiked by 1 person

      Reply
3. Wow – I overlook B&W beaches from my house on Summer St, and walk the Ocean St. loop daily, and this is very cool! There was a fish shack which was torn down (though it was more recently than the 70’s, since I remember it being there through all of my childhood, and I went off to college in ’86), and this does look quite a bit like it. It was owned by a woman who lives down the street and it was named “Crow Shack” which I assume is a dig at the estates nearby called Crowhurst and Crow Island. When she tore it down, she donated the little plot it had been on to the town for conservation land…and that shack WAS on solid earth next to the marsh, and this building appears to be hanging out over water/marsh, so this probably isn’t it.

   However, just lately, I noticed some old broken pilings on the marsh side right next to the bridge where the ocean enters the marsh under the road, and wondered what had been there (amazing I had never noticed them in my previous 40 years – maybe my brain waited to show them to me until you were ready to post this photo), so I’m guessing that it was this building or dock behind it (I think I see a dock back there) that rested on them.

   Also, as a point of clarification, if this building is facing Ocean St. with its back to the marsh, then it would have to be Crowhurst behind it, not Coolidge Point, since the latter property sits out on the east side of the mouth of Kettle Cove and would be behind the photographer’s right shoulder from this perspective.

   My family moved into the Summer St. house in 1970 when I was 2, so I’m guessing that it was torn down before I had a chance to remember that it was ever there. Thanks for posting!!

   LikeLike

   Reply
   1. I agree about the orientation of the shack. Wonder if it could have been filled in underneath after
      this photo was taken? Appears to be solid ground on the right.
      My grandparents house (in the middle of Kettle Cove, overlooking the cove) was named Crowhaven. I knew there was Crow Island, but wasn’t aware of a Crowhurst too.
      We used to play Pooh sticks at the bridge just beyond the shack.

      LikeLiked by 1 person

      Reply
   2. This is indeed Crow Shack, and formerly the Heath’s fish market. (The Heath family fished the area waters, but also had a sizable chicken and egg business on Summer Street. There was a pier on Black Beach that led up to the fishing shack. At low tide, you can still see the original wood piling a) It was not torn down in the 70s, but in the late 90s. It was owned by Adele Irving, who lives on Black Beach. Coolidge Point would be opposite the shack, looking out beyond the water. The background in the photo would be the marsh and part of lower University Lane.
      The Shack was torn down because it did not comply with modern septic systems, and rather than disturb the surrounding property to accommodate a septic system, Adele donated the land to the conservation commission, and had the shack torn down. She loved that building as much as all of us who grew up in the cove. When it was being torn down I stopped to ask if I could take a few shingles as mementos. I did a water color of the building and gave it to Adele.

      LikeLike

      Reply
4. Thanks Allison. The more people who are familiar with the area comment, the more we can all learn about the Fish Market and other historical locations.

   LikeLike

   Reply
5. I’m going to have to print this picture out and take it down there and try to do a comparison to the land behind it. It will be a bit different – the houses on Summer St. that back up to the other side of the marsh, of which mine is one, were all built in the 1950’s, so they wouldn’t be there for reference, and I’m not sure if the house seen in the upper right in the distance is still there, but the overall contour of the marsh and hills shouldn’t be that different. I’ll report back!

   Wendy, it sounds like Crowhaven is the square-ish house that now sits closest to the channel? I feel like I should name my house Crow-something now. 🙂

   LikeLike

   Reply
   1. Allison, Crowhaven is the big house which sits up on a bluff overlooking Kettle Cove, with the pond on the other side of it. It was reshingled in the past several years. There used to be seven large oaks (my mom was one of 7 kids) planted on the embankment, and a tree house in the lowermost one. Storms & erosion have taken out most of them. Strangely, several large rocks we used to play on have disappeared from the beach too. I guess a lot of storms have changed the whole cove.
      The house was sold out of the family in the late ’70’s, much to my great sorrow, but I still drive and walk around the area and take my nieces & nephew there.

      LikeLiked by 1 person

      Reply
6. Oh, that one, yup. You know, I believe it’s on the market right now, if you wanted to buy it back INTO your family…

   LikeLike

   Reply
   1. just a wee bit over my price range!

      LikeLike

      Reply
7. Pingback: Kettle Cove Fish Market | GoodMorningGloucester