July, 2009 & 2010 Summer Institute Workshop
Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, Gloucester, Mass.
Schooner, Thomas Lannon, Gloucester, Mass.

Documents for the Fishing and Maritime Work in Essex County (.pdf) Lesson

This lesson will allow students to examine documents, images and reproductions to better understand the crucial role that fishing and maritime work played in Essex County, Massachusetts. Initially founded as a fishing area, Cape Ann has always been at the forefront of that craft. In fact the coastal towns counted fishing as their initial reason for settlement. The harvesting of cod and later other fish was well known in Essex County and highly profitable. Fishing as an industry went through several changes in the years from the 1600s through the mid 1800s. Even as the region turned to manufacturing and trade with the world, fishing continued to be a vital occupation in this area. Students should understand that this line of work helped to shape not only the economy, but also the culture and identity of the region. And today the legacy of this profession can be seen throughout the region.

Internet Resources

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• Excerpts from Peter Gott, the Cape Ann Fisherman, 1856
• Chapter 1 available at; http://www.archive.org/details/petergott00reynrich
• This fictional story of a young boy beginning his fishing career graphically illustrates the steps experiences of fishing which harkens back to colonial practices as well. The story is well detailed and lends itself well to having students "draw what they hear".

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• Primary Source Materials from NOAA Photo Library, Historical Fisheries, website
• Drawings and illustrations available at; http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/nmfs/index.html
• These images help students understand the methods involved in catching and processing fish. Some of these processes have been in place since the 1600s and 1700s and can serve as a visual resource - especially for younger students. Line drawings; Georges Bank, Cod Gill Net (Ipswich), Dories on Cape Ann, Dressing Cod, Fish House in Rockport, Gloucester Fish Flakes, Lobster Dories, also - View of Newburyport (1841), Nahant Hotel in Lynn (1841), View of Beverly (1841), View of Gloucester (1841)

Documents based on Information from the Wikipedia Site

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• Information from the Wikipedia site on Dories
• Information about size shape and history of the development of the boat known as a "dory ", which was first built in Amesbury .

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• Information from the Wikipedia site on the Swampscott Dory
• Dories used later for racing were developed in Swampscott

Primary sources from... National Archives & Record Administration, Waltham, Mass.

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• Beverly, Fishing Journal, A.N. Clark, 1853
• Transcript (pdf)
• This journal of the fishing boat, A.N. Clark out of Beverly chronicles the fishing season from April to September in 1853. The excerpts offered here show the amount of fish caught each day and how they are allotted per person.This file is large; so it is broken into the title pages , part A and part B. In addition to this set of fishing papers, documents from the Eliza, Madison and Shackleford voyages are available from the National Archives.

Primary sources ...from the Beverly Historical Society, Beverly, MA

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• Foster Fishing Journal, Schooner Andes, 1846
• This set of pages from a fishing journal lists the costs associated with putting together a fishing boat and the money to be made. It also has some nice drawings of a horse, etc.

Additional Resources

• Excerpts from...The Cod’s Tale - Mark Kurlansky , G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 2001
• This book is the children's companion to Kurlansky's adult book,Cod. The lesson utilizes the illustration on the cover as well as the“Introduction,” “The Codfish,” “Life Cycle,” and “Enemies.” sections.

...Web links for Related Subjects - web links current as of May 2011

Lowell's Boat Shop, Amesbury, MA --Their mission is to preserve and perpetuate the art and craft of wooden boat building and promote the history of Lowell’s Boat Shop and its environsin Amesbury, MA.

Essex Shipbuilding Museum The Essex Shipbuilding Museum tells the extraordinary story of a small New England village that built more two-masted wooden fishing schooners than any other place in the world.Features include antique shipbuilding tools, photographs, documents, exhibits portraying the shipbuilding industry, and the schooner Evelina M. Goulart.

Jas Townsend -reproduction fish hooks are available from this site