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Historical Materials

Historical Materials  »  Cape Ann Locales  »  Annisquam River

Annisquam River

View related Fitz Henry Lane catalog entries (3) »

Technically not a river but a saltwater tidal estuary, the Annisquam (or "Squam") River almost cuts off Cape Ann from the rest of the world. Its constantly flowing tides, and the gleaming expanse of marshes surrounding it, inspired several of Lane's paintings. Marsh hay was harvested along its tidal inlets and provided subject matter for Lane's depiction of this ancient occupation, and the traditional craft associated with it, the gundalow. The Annisquam is connected to Gloucester Harbor by The Cut, also known as the Blynman Canal, which was first dug in the seventeenth century, filled in and opened again to complete the more direct inland passage between the harbor and open ocean.

Related tables: Cut, The (Stacy Blvd.) »  //  Gundalow / Scow »  //  Pole's Hill »  //  Salt Marsh Hay / English Hay »

photo (historical)
Annisquam River
E. G. Rollins
1870s
Cape Ann Museum Library & Archive

This view is taken from Bellevue Heights, Governor's Hill, and shows Poor Farm, City Home, Emerson Avenue, and the railroad bridge over the Annisquam River with the Little River in the center. 

photo (historical)
Clammers in marsh behind Wingaersheek Beach
Martha Hale Harvey
1890s
4 x 5 in.
Cape Ann Museum Library & Archive
#10159

Rare view of a marsh gundalow, being used on the Annisquam River for harvesting salt marsh hay. 

Also filed under: Gundalow / Scow »

map
1851 Map of the Towns of Gloucester and Rockport (detail of Annisquam River)
H. F. Walling
1851
44 x 34 in.
Henry Francis Walling, Map of the Towns of Gloucester and Rockport, Essex Co. Massachusetts. Philadelphia, A. Kollner, 1851
Cape Ann Museum Library & Archive

"Map of the Towns of Gloucester and Rockport, Massachusetts. H.F. Walling, Civil Engineer. John Hanson, Publisher. 1851. Population of Gloucester in 1850 7,805. Population of Rockport in 1850 3,213."

photo (historical)
Cape Ann Scenery: No. 6 from Bellevue (Governor's Hill) looking west, showing Annisquam RIver
Procter Brothers, publisher
1870s
Stereograph card
Cape Ann Museum Library & Archive

Also filed under: Historic Photographs »

map
1851 Map of the Towns of Gloucester and Rockport (Fresh Water Cove)
H. F. Walling
1851
44 x 34 in.
Henry Francis Walling, Map of the Towns of Gloucester and Rockport, Essex Co. Massachusetts. Philadelphia, A. Kollner, 1851
Cape Ann Museum Library & Archive

"Map of the Towns of Gloucester and Rockport, Massachusetts. H.F. Walling, Civil Engineer. John Hanson, Publisher. 1851. Population of Gloucester in 1850: 7,805. Population of Rockport in 1850: 3,213."

chart
Chart of Ipswich Bay with Davis Neck inset
US Coast Survey preliminary chart of Ipswich Bay, 1855

Also filed under: Davis' Neck »

Postcard of Riverdale, Annisquam
Hugh C. Leighton, Portland, Maine, publisher
c.1900
Postcard
Cape Ann Museum Library & Archive

Also filed under: Riverdale / Town Parish »

map
U.S. Coast Survey Chart: Ipswich and Annisquam Harbors
1857
Survey of the Coast of the United States, Washington, D.C.
Collection of Erik Ronnberg

Also filed under: Maps »

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Citation: "Historical Materials." Fitz Henry Lane Online. Cape Ann Museum. http://fitzhenrylaneonline.org/historical_material/index.php?section=Annisquam+River (accessed December 9, 2024).
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