On Thursday, October 30 from 5:00 to 6:00 pm the Sawyer Free Library welcomes Andrew DeFranza, Executive Director, and Nancy Sanchez, Advocacy & Education Manager at Harborlight Homes to discuss their role in the Dirty Deeds Project.
The Dirty Deeds Project is a collaboration between Harborlight Homes, the NAACP North Shore Branch, and the Mapping Prejudice Project at the University of Minnesota Libraries. Together, the partners examined property records in Southern Essex County and identified 407 deeds containing racially restrictive covenants, later confirmed as 390 after duplicates were removed.
Racial covenants were once a widespread practice used to exclude people from homeownership based on race, ethnicity, or religion. These clauses were written directly into property deeds and included language such as:
“The granted premises shall not be sold, mortgaged or leased to or occupied by persons of negro blood.” — Marblehead
“Said premises shall not be conveyed to or occupied by a colored person.” — Beverly
“The premises … shall not be owned or occupied by any person of Negro, Jewish, Italian, Greek, Polish or Armenian blood.” — Nahant
Although no longer enforceable, the presence of these covenants in the historical record continues to send a harmful message to those they targeted.
The project not only documents this discriminatory history but also advances solutions. Harborlight Homes and its partners are supporting Senator Lydia Edwards’ bill (HD.4087/SD.720, An Act Providing for the Removal of Void Restrictive Covenants), which seeks to remove such language from property records across Massachusetts.
By uncovering and addressing this history, The Dirty Deeds Project works toward building more inclusive and equitable communities.
Join Gloucester native and writer Maria Millefoglie as she uncovers a little-known chapter of local history in her presentation Italian Immigrant: A Story of Allegiance, Loss, and Belonging in World War II.
Drawing on archives, historic newspapers, and community stories, Millefoglie reveals how World War II reshaped Gloucester’s Sicilian and Italian immigrant families. While hundreds of young men proudly enlisted in the Army, Navy, and Coast Guard, others in their households were labeled “enemy aliens,” banned from the waterfront, and stripped of their livelihoods. During this time, the U.S. Navy requisitioned some of Gloucester’s finest fishing vessels for minesweeping and patrol duty, even as German U-boats prowled the Atlantic.
Through storytelling, timelines, and photographs, Millefoglie brings to life the sacrifices of fishermen pressed into naval service, the struggles of families torn between loyalty to their new country and ties to their homeland, and the resilience of women who held households together amid fear and loss.
This presentation not only pays tribute to the past but also offers timely reflections on how history echoes in today’s debates about immigration and belonging.
This event is the first project under Preserving Cape Ann’s Ethnic Cultural Heritage, part of the broader Down the Fort: A Documentary and Archive Project, which works to capture and honor the immigrant and ethnic experiences that have long shaped Cape Ann’s cultural fabric.
The Sawyer Free Library is located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester. For details on all the Library’s services and upcoming programming visit: sawyerfreelibrary.org.
The Gloucester 400+ and Gloucester Celebration Corp have made a $20,000 investment in the Sawyer Free 2025 capital campaign. This generous gift will fund the innovative Gloucester Timeline touchscreen wall located in the Library’s new Local History Research Center. The Local History Research Center will connect residents and visitors with our local history through compelling special and circulating collections, expert assistance, engaging programs and thought-provoking exhibitions.
“On behalf of Gloucester 400+ and Gloucester Celebration Corp, I am pleased to announce a $20,000 gift to Sawyer Free Library’s Local History Research Center for the Gloucester Timeline interactive touchscreen wall,” said the organization’s Executive Director Elsje Zwart. “We are thrilled to be able to participate in this important space within the newly renovated and expanded Sawyer Free Library, where people can come and explore not only the hundreds of stories about the people of Gloucester collected over our quadricentennial plus year and continue to add to them, but also to research Gloucester history and the people who lived and worked here for 400+ years.”
“We are grateful to the Gloucester 400+ organization and the Gloucester Celebration Corp for their generous $20,000 donation to the 2025 Sawyer Free Library,” said Mern Sibley, President of the Sawyer Free Library’s Board of Trustees. “The Library’s Local History Research Center will be a groundbreaking resource for our city, revolutionizing how we preserve, curate, and access our historical treasures. The interactive touch screen wall, funded through this generous donation, will be a signature feature of the center, providing an innovative and engaging way for residents and visitors to connect with Gloucester’s 400+ years of heritage. We are honored that our longstanding community partner, who shares our same commitment to preserving and sharing Gloucester’s rich history, is now a part of the Library’s transformative building project.”
The centerpiece of the Local History Research Center is the 85-inch interactive digital touchscreen wall, designed to enhance research through the Gloucester Timeline. This online research tool chronicles the city’s history. Launched in January 2024, the Timeline already boasts over 1,500 entries covering notable events, people, and places that have shaped Gloucester’s identity. Accessible both in the Library and online, the Timeline has attracted more than 21,000 visitors, providing a captivating and comprehensive resource for historians, scholars, and residents alike.
The new touchscreen wall in the Local History Research Center will make exploring Gloucester’s past a more engaging and collaborative experience. Visitors can interact with the Timeline, searching through categories, subcategories, and keywords to uncover stories of Gloucester’s history over the past 400+ years.
In addition to historical records, the Gloucester Timeline features the Digital Gloucester 400 Stories Project, bringing a modern, dynamic element through personal narratives and oral histories that reflect the strength and diversity of Gloucester’s people. These stories, compiled during the city’s 400th anniversary, ensure that Gloucester’s evolving history remains inclusive and vibrant for future generations.
The Gloucester Timeline is a living online resource that chronicles the key events and figures that have defined the city. Covering everything from art and literature to Gloucester’s vital maritime heritage, the Timeline weaves together stories from over four centuries. It draws from various assets, including photographs, videos, newspaper articles, and other historical documents, serving as an invaluable research tool.
The 2025 Sawyer Free Library historic renovation, expansion, and modernization project began last September and is now halfway completed. With two-thirds of the $29 million fundraising goal already reached, community engagement remains strong. However, there is still much more to raise, making this significant investment from the Gloucester 400+ and other local businesses and community organizations essential to the project’s success.
Expected to open in 2025, the newly renovatedSawyer Free Library will feature a 14,000-square-foot addition, beautifully restored buildings, and sustainable design elements, all of which will support the greater Cape Ann community.
The renovated Gloucester Public Library will offer current and emerging public technology, diverse collections, engaging programs, and new dedicated spaces for collaboration, learning, and relaxation. It will feature a 100-seat Community Room, meeting rooms, study rooms, a digital learning lab, a teen room, an expanded children’s room, an enhanced Matz Art Gallery, and ample space for its book collection.
The Library invites the community to learn how to get involved and support this vital project at 2025.sawyerfreelibrary.org.
The Gloucester 400+ Tri-chairs Bob Gillis, Bruce Tobey, and Executive Director Elsje Zwart were with Sawyer Free Library Director Jenny Benedict and Board Trustee John Day to present a $20,000 donation to the Sawyer Free 2025 Capital Campaign at the Library’s temporary location, ahead of the organizations’ co-sponsored event, Gloucester 400 Storytellers: New Discoveries and Mysteries about Leonard Craske, featuring James F. Clark.
Cape Ann Community 