Gloucester , a city and port of entry of Essex co., Massachusetts, on the peninsula of Cape Ann, 30 m. N. N. E. of Boston, with which it is connected by a branch of the Eastern railroad. It formerly comprised the whole of Cape Ann, and was 8 m. long by 5 broad; but in 1840 the N. E. portion of the peninsula was formed into the town of Rockport. The city contains six distinct villages, each having a post office, viz.: East Gloucester; Annisquam, or Squam, on the 1ST. side of the cape, which has a safe harbor much resorted to by fishing vessels; Bay View and Lanesville, noted for their fine granite quarries; West Gloucester, formerly known as West Parish, which has a beach 2 or 3 m. long, of white sand, of which large quantities are exported; and lastly, Gloucester village, or "The Harbor," on the S. side, which has one of the best ports on the coast, capacious, safe, easy of access, and with sufficient depth of water to admit the largest vessels. The harbor is formed by a peninsula, known as Eastern point, jutting out from the main body of Cape Ann in a S. W. direction, and opens into Massachusetts bay. On the extremity of the point is a fort mounting 10 guns. Gloucester was a place of importance prior to 1800. It increased slowly until 1850, since which its growth has been rapid.

The population in 1790 was 4,912; in 1800, 5,313; in 1810, 5,901; in 1820, 6,384; in 1830, 7,513; in 1840, 6,350; in 1850, 7,786; in 1860, 10,904; in 1870, 15,389, of whom 4,007 were foreigners. The principal portion of the city, in the vicinity of the harbor, is handsomely and compactly built, and very beautifully situated, with extensive and picturesque sea views, and is a fashionable summer resort for bathing and sea air. The city hall is an elegant brick building, erected in 1870 at a cost of $115,000, and two of the school houses are large and handsome structures. Gloucester is mainly noted for its cod and mackerel fisheries, far surpassing any other port in the country in the number of vessels and men employed, and in the value of the catch. In 1865 the number of vessels engaged was 341, having an aggregate tonnage of 24,-450, and employing 4,590 men; capital invested, $1,865,700; mackerel caught, 154,938 barrels, valued at $2,190,562; cod and other dry fish, 113,028 quintals, worth $706,425; value of cod-liver oil sold, $90,420. The value of all fishery products was $3,319,457. In 1873 the catch, with the value of each item, was as follows: codfish, 460,000 quintals, $2,070,000; other fish, 25,000 quintals, $50,-000; fresh fish, including halibut, 9,000,000 lbs., $310,000; oil, 275,000 gallons, $165,000; mackerel, 86,544 barrels, $1,125,000; herring, 5,000 barrels, $23,000; shell fish, 18,000 barrels, $18,000; miscellaneous, $40,000; total value, $3,800,000. The number of vessels belonging to Gloucester engaged in fishing in 1873 was 375, with about 3,500 men, of whom but a small proportion are residents of the city.

The business is attended with great risk, 236 vessels and 1,200 lives having been lost since 1830. The losses in 1873, the heaviest experienced in any year, comprised 31 vessels and 174 lives. The customs district includes the adjoining towns of Essex, Manchester, and Rockport. The value of foreign commerce for the year ending June 30, 1873, was: exports, $1,512; imports, $60,735. The number of vessels cleared was 127, of 13,365 tons; entered, 117, of 17,771 tons. In the coastwise trade the entrances were 131, with an aggregate tonnage of 9,807; clearances, 54, of 7,977 tons. On June 30, 1872, there were 524 vessels, of 27,537 tons, belonging to the district; engaged in the cod and mackerel fishery, 448, of 22,174 tons, of which 41, of 497 tons, were each less than 20 tons; built during the year, 13 vessels of 823 tons. The tonnage of the district on June 30, 1873, was 28,565; number of vessels (nearly all schooners), 517, of which 420 were employed in fishing, 90 in the coasting trade, 6 in foreign commerce, and 1 in yachting. A line of steamers from Gloucester runs daily to Boston. The manufactures are almost exclusively confined to articles pertaining to the fisheries, embracing anchors, ice crushers, bait mills, ships' blocks, masts and spars, boats, leads, fish guano, etc.

There are six marine railways and 70 wharves. The extensive granite quarries on the N. side of the cape furnish stone which is mostly used for paving, but a considerable quantity is also prepared for other purposes. The new post office in Boston is built of Gloucester granite, and the base of the Scott monument in Washington, an immense block weighing nearly 100 tons, is of the same material. The city contains three national banks, with an aggregate capital of $570,000, and three marine insurance companies. It is divided into eight wards, and is governed by a mayor, a board of aldermen of 8, and a common council of 24 members. There is a police court, an efficient police force, and a well organized fire department. The assessed value of property in 1873 was $7,714,520; taxation, $161,352; debt, $218,000; value of property belonging to the city, $330,785. It is lighted with gas. The principal charitable associations are the Gloucester fishermen's and seamen's widows' and orphans' aid society and the ladies' charitable society. There are 24 public schools, viz.: 1 high, 7 grammar, 12 primary, and 4 ungraded, attended by about 3,000 pupils, and supported at an annual cost of about $40,000. Two weekly newspapers are published. The Sawyer free library contains about 4,000 volumes.

The number of churches is 12, viz.: 2 Baptist, 2 Congregational, 1 Episcopal, 3 Methodist, 1 Roman Catholic, 1 Unitarian, and 2 Universalist. Besides these, there is a society of Swedenborgians who do not possess a church edifice. - The Indian name of Gloucester was Wingaersheek. It was occupied as a fishing station in 1624, being the first place settled by the English on the X. side of Massachusetts bay. In 1642 it was incorporated as a town under its present name, some of the principal inhabitants having come from Gloucester, England. The first schooner ever constructed was built here in 1713 by Capt. Andrew Robinson. The British sloop of war Falcon, Capt. Lindsay, assailed the town Aug. 8, 1775, bombarded it for several hours, and attempted to cut out some vessels in the harbor, but was driven off by the inhabitants. In the second war with Great Britain, Sept. 8, 1814, Gloucester was attacked by the British frigate Tenedos, which, however, did no serious damage. In both of these wars the town sent out swarms of privateers, and contributed largely to the manning of the navy.

It became a city in January, 1874.

Gloucester #1

Gloucester , a city and municipal and parliamentary borough of England, one of the county towns of Gloucestershire, on the left bank of the Severn, 95 m. W. by N. of London; pop. in 1871, 18,330. The chief public edifice is the cathedral, originally the church of a Benedictine abbey. It was built and added to at various periods from the 11th to the 15th century, and is one of the most celebrated English cathedrals. It is remarkable for the perfection of the styles of architecture which indicate the different periods of erection and addition, and the choir is considered one of the finest examples of florid Gothic in the world. It contains many monuments, among others those of Robert, son of William the Conqueror, Edward II., Bishop Warburton, and Dr. Edward Jenner. The city also has several handsome parish churches, a college, blue-coat and free grammar schools, the county hall, hospitals, etc. The handsomest portion of the town is at the S. end, around a spring of saline chalybeate water discovered in 1814. The staple manufactures are pins, hardware, gloves, saddles, canvas, cutlery, ropes, and soap; and some ship building is carried on. A bell foundery was established prior to 1500, but it has recently been removed.

Since the completion in 1827 of the Berkeley ship canal, by which vessels of 500 tons burden can come up to the city, the com-mercial importance of Gloucester has greatly increased. The city is probably of British origin. It became a Roman station under the name of Colonia Glevum, and under Claudius received the name of Claudia Castra. The Saxons called it Gleau-ceaster, and it flourished during the heptarchy. In the 17th century it was strongly fortified, and took a conspicuous part against the royalists. The bishopric of Gloucester was instituted by Henry VIII., and was joined to Bristol in 1836.

Gloucester Cathedral, from the Southeast.

Gloucester Cathedral, from the Southeast.