Annisquam then and now | DPW and Greenbelt team up at Lobster Cove new land preserve to solve access at narrow and blind corner on Leonard Street

annisquam village circa 1901

In 2017, donations of $650,000 were secured to preserve four acres of Lobster Cove acquired by Essex County Greenbelt Ed Becker and Dave Rimmer working with the city staff (DPW Mike Hale, Ken Whittaker, Community Development) and many in the community. The property is co-owned by Mt. Adnah Cemetery.

Wilman Trail

Recently DPW teamed up with Greenbelt to scrub out trees, rocks, earth and stone to grade a pedestrian path along its Leonard Street stretch at the landing past Annisquam Church. Widening Leonard Street because of its variable and intermittent scale would be a very expensive and perhaps unwelcome project. This quick jaunt seems like a thoughtful solution to support safe access and property exploration in a tricky spot.

 

Essex County Greenbelt Annisquam Wilman Trail Lobster Cove Gloucester MA _20180702_©c ryan (5)

‘Squam rock has some practice boulders

No longer hidden by overgrowth, beautifully balanced granite outcroppings were exposed. If you look just so you might see the lines of a baby shorebird under wing or is that just me? Hmmm… Mother Ann, Squam Rock and baby Bird Rock.

Annisquam nestled bird rock_20180702_054907©c ryan

 

Did you know? Roger Babson

E.J. Lefavour  writes-

Did you know?

That Roger Babson, founder of Babson College, and the philanthropist millionaire who hired unemployed stonecutters after the Great Depression to carve messages on the boulders scattered throughout Dogtown, was also instrumental in the formation of the Squam Rock Land Trust? This Trust maintains and protects the large tract of rolling meadow, boulders (including Squam Rock) and trails that lead from Walnut Street down to Lighthouse Beach, from development in perpetuity. Sarah Hackett, 84-year-old Annisquam native, remembers when Babson came to her grandfather’s house to impress upon him the importance of protecting this land from the rich who would build their mansions on it and block the village residents’ access. Those of you who know Squam Rock, can you tell what is wrong with this picture?

Answer: (Squam Rock is not actually carved on Squam Rock, but on the granite block at Squam Rock Road and Walnut Street)

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E.J. Lefavour Khan Studio www.khanstudiointernational.com