Ravenswood Park
Gloucester, Massachusetts
- Address: Western Avenue (Route 127), Gloucester, MA
978-526-8687 - Hours: Year-round, daily, sunrise to sunset. Allow a minimum of 2 hours.
- Admission: Free to all. On-site donation welcome from nonmembers.
- Website: www.ttor.org
- Map:
Map - Trails:
Long treasured by residents of Gloucester and neighboring towns, Ravenswood Park offers a tranquil wooded setting for walking, cross-country skiing, or snowshoeing along almost ten miles of trails and carriage paths. Visitors may enjoy the overlook to Gloucester Harbor and traverse a boardwalk through the Great Magnolia Swamp, home to native sweet bay magnolias (Magnolia virginiana). A plaque marks the spot in the woods where naturalist Mason "The Hermit" Walton built his cabin in the 1880s.
The history of Ravenswood Park begins in the late nineteenth century with Samuel Sawyer's plan to preserve woods in Gloucester. Over many years, Sawyer, a noted businessman and philanthropist, purchased woodlots, old pastures, and swamp near his home on Freshwater Cove. Upon his death in 1889, Sawyer left the land -- by then more than twenty-six parcels -- to a board of trustees to be turned into a park. Sawyer included an endowment and instructions that the park "be laid out handsomely with drive-ways and pleasant rural walks" and required that it be named Ravenswood, for the castle in Sir Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor. Over the next twenty-five years, the Trustees of Ravenswood Park carried out Sawyer's vision and continued to acquire adjacent parcels of land. In 1993, the Trustees of Ravenswood Park transferred the property to The Trustees of Reservations.
Nearby Area Sites
- Beauport, Sleeper-McCann House
Containing unique collections form the colonial era, the house is the work of designer Henry Davis Sleeper and is arranged by color and light. - Cape Ann Historical Museum
The museum exhibits the largest collection of paintings and drawings by Fitz Hugh Lane, the Gloucester native is recognized as one of America's most important 19th Century artists. - Schooner Adventure
Built in 1926, the 121' schooner is a National Historical Landmark due in part to its vital role in the early days of the nation when Gloucester was one of the busiest fishing ports in the country. - Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center
Occupying nearly 2 acres overlooking Gloucester Harbor, the center features the oldest continuously operating marine railway in the country. - Ravenswood Park
Long treasured by residents of Gloucester and neighboring towns, Ravenswood Park offers a tranquil wooded setting for walking, cross-country skiing, or snowshoeing along almost ten miles of trails and carriage paths. - Sargent House Museum
Once the home of sea merchants, American patriots and religious and community leaders, the home is a fine example of Georgian architecture built in 1782. - Schooner Thomas E. Lannon
The wooden 65' schooner was built to look like a traditional 1903 fishing schooner and takes day trips out of Gloucester Harbor. - Stage Fort Park and Welcoming Center
The Welcoming center is officially designated as an ENHC Visitor Center; here visitors can find a wealth of information about Gloucester and the surrounding area.
- Atlantic Yankee Whale Watch and Deep Sea Fishing
- 1-800-WHALING, 75 Essex St. Gloucester, MA 01930
Exciting whale watching and deep sea fishing for over 60 years. Whale watches fully navigated. Guaranteed sightings. "Must see. One of the outstanding reasons to visit New England." -- Yankee Magazine
- Cape Pond Ice Company
- 866-766-3423, 104 Commercial St. Gloucester, MA 01930
Cape Pond Ice is located on the working waterfront. Tour this historic ice house and learn more about the 160 year old history of the company.
Gloucester Farms
ENHA Farm Guide
- Goose Cove Gardens 26 Gee Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930
- Marshall's Farm Stand 120 Concord Street, Gloucester, MA 01930
Gloucester History
Gloucester's coastal location and its dramatic landscape features — harbor, rivers, uplands and shoreline — were instrumental in shaping the history of the community from the earliest Native American use of the land to the present day.
Prior to English settlement, Gloucester was inhabited by members of the Pawtucket group, who traveled along the rivers and coastline, and also established inland trails. Although few pre-historic archaeological sites are known for the Gloucester area, the presence of Native Americans is well documented by early explorers and settlers.
Cape Ann was used for seasonal fishing until 1623 when the Dorchester Company established a year-round fishing settlement on what was later known as Fisherman’s Field, now Stage Fort Park. Settlement remained sparse until 1642 when the population was sufficient to merit incorporation. Around that time the center of town moved from Fisherman’s Field to near the First Parish Burial Ground and later to the area of present day Grant Circle along Route 128. By the 1740’s the harbor was assuming more importance. Annisquam, Sandy Bay (now part of Rockport) and the Riverdale Mills area were also important early villages. Gloucester's early settlers were mostly farmer/fisherman/carpenter combinations, with a large transient population. Around 1800, trade with European and Asian ports became an important industry. Fishing did not become the primary industry until after the war of 1812.
Major fires in 1830 and 1860 destroyed much of the downtown area. Throughout the 19th century commercial fishing continued to prosper, there was an active granite industry and tourism emerged as an important part of the local economy. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries there was an influx of people from the Canadian Maritimes, the Azores, Finland and Sicily. Gloucester was incorporated as a city in 1873.
The year-round population remained relatively stable between 1915 and 1990, at just over 28,000. The most densely populated areas occur in the central business and downtown, particularly around Gloucester Harbor, as well as in the villages of Magnolia, Lanesville, Annisquam and East Gloucester. Gloucester is also a seasonal tourist community, whose summer population increases by about 40%.
From Gloucester Reconnaisance Report, Essex County Landscape Inventory, Massachusetts Heritage Landscape Inventory Program (pdf document)