Genesis of Gloucester Harbor: 1690–1715
Saturday, December 20 | 2:00–3:00 PM
Community Room | Sawyer Free Library, 2 Dale Avenue, Gloucester

Before Gloucester rose to fame as a world-renowned fishing port in the 1800s, the Inner Harbor was already a bustling center of overseas trade. But this transformation didn’t happen overnight. In the 1600s, Riverdale and Annisquam were the centers of activity, while the Harbor remained a quiet, lightly settled corner of town. So how — and why — did the Harbor evolve into Gloucester’s commercial heart?

Join the Sawyer Free Library for an illustrated talk with author and historian Robert Booth, who will explore the people, businesses, and turning points that sparked the Harbor’s development between 1690 and 1715. Booth will also discuss the methods and historical clues that help us understand this pivotal era.

This presentation draws from research for Booth’s upcoming book. A respected local historian educated at Harvard and Boston University, Booth is curator emeritus of the Pickering House in Salem, former director/curator of the Manchester-by-the-Sea Museum, and a consultant on historic restoration and interpretation. He is the author of several acclaimed works, including:

• Boston’s Freedom Trail (1982)
• Salem: Place, Myth, Memory (2004)
• Death of an Empire (2012), a Boston Globe best-seller and “Best Book of New England History in 2012”
• Mad For Glory (2015)
• The Women of Marblehead (2016)

Please register at sawyerfreelibrary.org.

We hope you’ll join us for this fascinating look into Gloucester’s early maritime beginnings.