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By Jude Seminara

Gloucester Harbor’s importance as a safe harbor was established early in the history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  The passage around Cape Ann was perilous in heavy weather, as the loss of several vessels on our rocky shores in the 1630s can attest.  As early as 1638, the leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony considered opening a canal through the marsh at the head of the Annisquam River.  The General Court designated three men to determine whether the marsh could be cut through efficiently, yet no work was initiated for five years. 

Richard Blynman, the minister then at Gloucester, was given permission in 1643 to dig a canal through the beach and to maintain the passage through to the harbor.  Passage was free.  Blynman’s canal was wide enough only for small shallops with bulkheads of field stones and spanned by a bridge which swung on a pivot.  The canal was a great convenience to the masters of small vessels spared from making the sometimes treacherous passage around the cape.

After Blynman’s removal to New London, responsibility for maintaining the Cut passed to William Stevens. Apparently, vessel operators were remiss in their obligation to close the bridge, much to the disdain of land-bound travelers.  As a result, in 1704 a fine of six shillings was imposed upon those who failed to close the bridge.  This issue was moot a few years later, however, after a storm and the attendant high tide filled the canal and rendered it unnavigable.  Nathaniel Coit owned the Cut at this time, and he neglected the clearing of it until compelled to do so until compelled by the General Court.  He charged a six shilling toll for its use.

Again, in 1723, a storm and attendant high tide (recall that the harbor did not have the protective bulwark of the Dog Bar Breakwater to prevent southerly swells until 1905) again filled the canal with sand.  Again, the owner, now Samuel Steven, Jr., neglected to have it cleared out; and again, a resolution to the controversy fell upon the government.  The townspeople threatened a lawsuit in 1727, and the selectmen discussed whether the town should pay for the upkeep of the canal but this was voted against.  In 1728, the town gave liberty to any person who cared to clear and maintain the cut.  This must have been a daunting undertaking, since no person came forth, and the canal remained unnavigable for the next 95 years.

The early nineteenth century saw a marked increase in coastal commerce as well as the advent of steam power. Coupled with the depredations of the Royal Navy which ravaged New England’s maritime trade during the War of 1812, these factors inspired the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to enter into a contract with the stockholders of the Gloucester Canal Corporation.  In 1822, the stakeholders in opening the canal raised $13,500: the Canal Corporation’s stockholders provided $600 each, which was matched by the United States Government. The Commonwealth provided $1500.  Work on clearing the canal and installing the drawbridge was completed in August 1823.  The canal was two hundred feet in length and twenty-five feet wide. William Pearce, one of the wealthiest men in town, was first to pass over the bridge; to commemorate the occasion, he held a celebration with cheese, bread, and liquor for the spectators.

Six years later, in 1829, on its passage around Cape Ann, the “Tom Thumb” became the first (and only) steam vessel to pass through the canal. The vessel barely fit between the bulkheads.  Despite the large investment of money and effort, the canal was too narrow and too shallow to be of any use to the vessels of the day, and it once again fell into disuse.

The following year, a fixed bridge replaced the drawbridge, and in 1848, after the construction of the fixed railroad bridge near Dunfudgin rendered the canal useless, it was filled in altogether to make a solid roadway.  Four citizens of the town received land abutting the Cut as compensation for their efforts.  The Cut remained that way for the next two decades until the Aberdeen Granite Company, then working the quarry at Wolf Hill, had it reopened.

In the 1880s, following troubles with the City water supply which inspired the use of the West Gloucester ponds, a water main from the Bond Hill reservoir was installed under the canal.  A hand-cranked drawbridge (which opened upriver) was built in 1900.  Increased pleasure boat traffic on the Annisquam resulted in the dredging of the river, and the canal was deepened and widened from Hangman’s Island (the mainland embankment of the railroad bridge) at Dunfudgin to the harbor.

From 1643 until 1953, the Blynman Canal bridge was the only road into Gloucester until the A. Piatt Andrew bridge brought Route 128 into Gloucester.  The Joan of Arc statue in front of the Legion Building attests to this — modern travelers using Rte 128 approach the horse rump-first; travelers before the opening of the highway would have come into town up Middle Street from Western Avenue (once Canal Street).  Interestingly, the Cut, used by hundreds of boaters each day in the summer, spanned by one of the busiest drawbridges in the country, was closed for almost two hundred years of its existence.

Sources

Babson, John. History of Gloucester

Copeland & Rogers. Saga of Cape Ann

Garland, Joseph. The Gloucester Guide

Pringle, History of Gloucester

I knew this delay of the whale watching season was coming, but it still hurts. Good to know Cape Ann Whale Watch staff is on top of the sightings and planning for a great season! I can’t wait to get back out there! Here’s the update from the Cape Ann Whale Watch Facebook page:

Happy Thursday, folks! We have some good news & bad news….

The good news first: We have been receiving first hand reports from our fisherman friends that there are plenty of Humpback whales in the area!! Capt. Mike Tupper aboard the F/V Fremantle Doctor, reports “several Humpbacks frolicking around Thachers Island” – just a few miles off the coast of Rockport! Another report from Capt. Joe Jurek from the F/V The Mystique Lady, “Humpbacks & Finbacks feeding up off the coast of Ipswich Bay”, which if you remember correctly, is up toward Jeffreys Ledge! And one last report from our friend, Capt. Mike Ring aboard the F/V Stanley Thomas, reports seeing Humpbacks, dolphins & even some Pilot Whales on Saturday, just 8 miles off Gloucester!!

The building on the corner of Commercial St. and Fort Square has been demolished this week.  I am not sure what will be going in there. I hear perhaps condos but I do not have this confirmed yet.  Moody sky and rain soaked debris seemed to match the mood.  Sure is going to change the look down there!

Good day Bluefin Blowout fans, sponsors, supporters and of course our amazing captains and crews:

With much deliberation, Cidalia, Drew and I have decided to cancel this year’s Bluefin Blowout for one year. This is very difficult for all of us as we are so proud of what has been accomplished over the last 9 years. Amazing amounts of money, goodwill and fun have driven our love for Gloucester and the tournament. The party atmosphere that surrounds the three days of entertaining, fundraising, dining and fishing has made this the best tournament in New England year after year. I have always said the captains and crews are our athletes and we just simply supply the venue. When the mighty bluefin tuna cooperate, it makes it even better. To think we raised $366,500 for the Alzheimer’s Association last year was a fete that I simply never thought could be accomplished.

With the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, we all have more on our minds these days. Good health, a safe environment and getting back to work seem far more important right now. To our captains and crews thank you for your participation and helping grow this event. For all our advertisers, your donations and your spirit for helping us find a cure was the motivation that helped drive this event. To all the fans of the Blowout who come from near and far, a great big thank you and we will be back. Thanks to Rob and Drew for your vision, spirit and personalities that are another driving force for what is fun and special in Gloucester. A very special thanks to the Cape Ann Marina and Resort for supplying such a perfect venue and providing a staff that helped put this event on the map. Mayor Sefatia, your participation and inspiration for what is good for this community also drives all of us to over-achieve.DJ Scottie Mac keeps playing the platters that matter as you are the voice of the Blowout. And never last, the organizers of the Bluefin Blowout, Cidalia and Kruti who both work tirelessly year after year planning, recruiting, selling and creating the best tournament around. We all love them dearly.

As mentioned, we will be back. The Blowout provides far too much for it to be forgotten. The record donation, the recognition for the Alzheimer’s Association, and the wealth of support and knowledge for this dreaded disease are just some of the attributes of the Bluefin Blowout.

We wish you all well and hope that you and your families get to enjoy some warm and sunny days on the water this summer. This city of Gloucester is a very special home for our tournament. Support your local fishing guides, merchants, hotels and restaurants as they open up very soon.

Thank you and stay safe team Bluefin Blowout,

Warren Waugh

Some Rocky Neck scenes taken last weekend.  I highly recommend following @Todd_in_Isolation on Instagram for incredibly interesting pictures taken with an armchair. Yes, I know how that sounds but everything in quarantine is sounding pretty strange anyhow.