Gloucester 400+

Gloucester 400+ Gloucester 400+ is a city-wide, year-long celebration and recognition of our 400+ years of history.

Through education, research, and celebration, Gloucester 400+ aims to bring to life the stories that shape our amazing community. Preserving yesterday, celebrating today, and inspiring tomorrow.

The last box of paperback ‘Our People, Our Stories: 2023 Gloucester400+ Official Commemorative Book’ was just dropped of...
12/17/2025

The last box of paperback ‘Our People, Our Stories: 2023 Gloucester400+ Official Commemorative Book’ was just dropped off to The Bookstore of Gloucester! Once these copies are sold out from The Bookstore, plus the remaining books at Cape Ann Museum & Dogtown Books, they will be completely sold out.

We also discovered one final box of hardcover books - they are at The Bookstore as well! Thank you for the sales and support of this special book. If you haven’t purchased a copy yet, now is your chance!

🇺🇸❤️Today's event at the Sawyer Free Library was heartfelt and full of meaningful moments. Speaker Reggie Santos describ...
11/09/2024

🇺🇸❤️Today's event at the Sawyer Free Library was heartfelt and full of meaningful moments. Speaker Reggie Santos described his uncle's (Joseph Mattos, Jr.) life and loss during WWI; Dawn Carpenter told us about her experiences in the Army as a female (the good, the bad, and the ugly); and George Story told us about the WWII related photos he found in his attic and his quest to identify the folks in the photos. All entertained questions from the audience.

The event was an important reminder that so many people from Gloucester have sacrificed and served in the military in the past, and their service should not be forgotten. A connection was made between an audience member (Joyce Vaccaro) and speaker Dawn Carpenter. Joyce asked Dawn if her name was a part of the Military Women's Memorial in Arlington Virginia. When Dawn said no, Joyce offered to assist Dawn in making sure her name gets included on the Memorial. ❤️

All three speakers had their stories told in some fashion by the Gloucester400+ Stories Project. Thank you to the Sawyer Free Library for hosting this event. Thank you to the speakers. And thank you to Terry Weber Mangos and Julie Travers for coordinating the event with the Library, and thank you Terry for MC'ing the event. And of course, thank you to the attendees.

To read about the mysterious photos found in George Story's attic, click here: https://www.gloucesterma400.org/wp-content/uploads/g400-stories-photos-in-the-attic-wwii.pdf

You can find both Reggie Santos's story about his uncle Joseph Mattos and Dawn Carpenter's story in the Gloucester400+ commemorative book. Soft cover copies may still be available at the The Bookstore of Gloucester, Dogtown Books and the gift shop at the Cape Ann Museum.

🇺🇸🇺🇸DON'T FORGET TO PRE-REGISTER! Please join the Sawyer Free Library and the 400 Storytellers tomorrow (Friday), Nov 8...
11/07/2024

🇺🇸🇺🇸DON'T FORGET TO PRE-REGISTER! Please join the Sawyer Free Library and the 400 Storytellers tomorrow (Friday), Nov 8, for a special event. Capt. George Story will talk about some mysterious WWII photos he found in his attic. Reggie Santos will talk about his uncle Joseph Mattos who made the ultimate sacrifice in WWI, and Dawn Carpenter will speak about her personal experiences as a woman in the military. There will be opportunity for discussion and light refreshments served.

Pre-registration is required via the Sawyer Free Library Calendar: https://sawyerfreelibrary.org/calendar/
EVENT DETAILS:
TOMORROW FRIDAY, NOV 8
1:00 PM
SAWYER FREE LIBRARY
21 MAIN STREET
GLOUCESTER
NO FEE BUT PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED

❤️90-year-old artist Walt Evans is a faithful follower of our page and supporter of our Stories Project. He has...
10/25/2024

❤️90-year-old artist Walt Evans is a faithful follower of our page and supporter of our Stories Project. He has praised and encouraged many of our writers and offered his own insights to each story. It is time for Walt to share his own story! Walt was born in Gloucester in 1933, and his life is a tale of chance encounters, travel, and pursuit of a career in art. Story here: https://tinyurl.com/mrxu8bhj

🔥PLEASE BE SURE TO BROWSE THE PHOTO GALLERY AT END OF STORY to see some vintage Gloucester-focused photos, samples of Walt’s art, and a rare photo of sculptor Walker Hancock spending time with Walt’s family. Anyone who grew up in the Riverdale section of Gloucester or is familiar with the 1940’s-1950s art scene here might also be interested in this story. https://tinyurl.com/mrxu8bhj

This story and gallery also represent a long overdue thank you to Walt. Thank you Walt, for your support and your story. Thank you as well to our Stories Project Leader, Terry Weber Mangos, for writing the story. We appreciate you.

Full link to story:
https://www.gloucesterma400.org/wp-content/uploads/the-life-of-walt-evans-by-terry-weber-mangos.pdf

💙💙We were saddened to hear of the passing of Mary Ellen Lepionka, 81. Mary Ellen was a beloved mother, family leader, hi...
10/24/2024

💙💙We were saddened to hear of the passing of Mary Ellen Lepionka, 81. Mary Ellen was a beloved mother, family leader, historian of Native Peoples, and so much more.

In 2024, Mary Ellen was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gloucester Historical Commission, recognizing her “dedicated, scholarly historic research and preservation of Gloucester history and indigenous populations of Cape Ann as well as her Decisive and focused leadership at Gloucester Historical Commission, 2015-2019.”

Mary Ellen generously shared her knowledge and passion with the community in many ways. She served as a panelist in the Gloucester400+ Indigenous Heritage Film Festival, contributed a story to the Gloucester400+ Commemorative Book, and served as a storyteller in Stories Project holiday event: “Oh Starry Night”. That evening, we were delighted by Mary Ellen’s heartwarming and humorous holiday story, which she shared with a twinkle in her eye.

Thank you Mary Ellen, for raising awareness about Indigenous peoples of the past, and present. Thank you for your support of the Gloucester400+. You should be proud that your efforts inspired others to keep researching and telling the stories of Gloucester from 400+ years ago until now.

(The photo is from a Stories Project event, "Oh Starry Night" which Mary Ellen participated in during 2023.❤️)

🇺🇸Please join the Sawyer Free Library and the 400 Storytellers for a special event on Nov 8. Three storytellers will sha...
10/21/2024

🇺🇸Please join the Sawyer Free Library and the 400 Storytellers for a special event on Nov 8. Three storytellers will share their stories about veterans, including personal - sometimes mysterious - experiences. The storytellers are local folks: Capt. George Story, Reggie Santos, and Dawn Carpenter. There will be opportunity for discussion and light refreshments served.

Pre-registration is required via the Sawyer Free Library Calendar: https://sawyerfreelibrary.org/calendar/

EVENT DETAILS:
FRIDAY, NOV 8
1:00 PM
SAWYER FREE LIBRARY
21 MAIN STREET
GLOUCESTER
NO FEE BUT PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED

🔥A few intriguing questions and long forgotten secrets of the Fishermen’s Memorial were discussed last night at the Glou...
09/27/2024

🔥A few intriguing questions and long forgotten secrets of the Fishermen’s Memorial were discussed last night at the Gloucester400+ talk held at the Sawyer Free Library. Speaker Jim Clark presented recent findings of his research about the statue and its sculptor, Leonard Craske. *Read the article here: https://tinyurl.com/3wyz4nrp

Amongst the items that were discussed were the ‘rediscovery’ of a long-forgotten message that Leonard Craske inscribed into the top of the statue’s wheelbox where no one could see it. See the accompanying photo; please note the photo is enhanced so you can read it. (The actual inscription on the statue is quite weathered and hard to read). The rediscovery of this inscription begs the question, who is “Jimmy”? This question is being investigated now, but the public is invited to share information that they may know.

The discussion also brought to light that there may be another inscription on top of the Fisherman’s Sou’wester style ‘hat’. A member of the audience claimed to have seen it in his previous ‘explorations’ of the statue. Further investigation may prove its existence, or not. https://tinyurl.com/3wyz4nrp

Another discussion centered around whether or not a full-scale model of Craske’s version of the Fisherman’s Wife statue could still be stored in someone’s barn. According to a Gloucester Daily Times article, one of their reporters claimed that in 1949 Leonard Craske said his full-size model is stored in a barn. The location of said barn was not disclosed. We invite you search your barns! 😊 The statue, if it exists would be of significant size – possibly 8 feet tall, and should not be confused with the smaller scale model already on display at CAM.

The details of these findings and claims can be found in the Gloucester Daily Times article and future stories. https://tinyurl.com/3wyz4nrp/

Our appreciation goes to the Sawyer Free Library (SFL) for hosting this event, particularly Director Jenny Benedict, and Local Historian Julie Travers – we thank the SFL for also being a terrific Gloucester400+ partner; to presenter Jim Clark who continues to do amazing research work to uncover the Statue’s ‘secrets’ and details about its sculptor’s life. You held the audience's attention with your presentation. Last but not least, we thank Terry Weber Mangos, our Gloucester400+ Stories Project Leader who is also one of Jim’s research partners and played an integral part in the research and development of the Craske story, and related discoveries. Thank you Terry!

If you have any further insight or thoughts as to the questions raised, please don’t hesitate to send us a private message here or email [email protected].
https://tinyurl.com/3wyz4nrp

***You should be able to access the entire Gloucester Daily Times article online for free if you have not already exceeded your free views of the GDT. If you have exceeded them, you can drop by your local grocery or drug store to pick up a paper copy today. You can also sign up for the “Day Pass” option online which is actually less expensive than the paper edition.

If you have trouble accessing the article, please let us know.

Full length link to article: https://www.gloucestertimes.com/news/monument-mysteries-explored/article_394ee46a-7c34-11ef-847a-932381d9361b.html

🎉❤️Lots of important and wonderful things happened at last night’s event at the Sawyer Free Library (SFL) and we can’t e...
09/27/2024

🎉❤️Lots of important and wonderful things happened at last night’s event at the Sawyer Free Library (SFL) and we can’t even fit it all into one post! We’ll start with the good news of the Gloucester400+ donating $20,000 to the SFL in support of the Library’s new Local History Research Center!

On hand to present the check from the Gloucester400+ were Elsje Zwart, Executive Director; Bruce Tobey, Tri-Chair; and Bob Gillis, Tri-Chair. From the Library, Director Jenny Benedict and Board of Trustees member John Day received the check.

Just prior to the event, the above-named group toured the renovation progress at the Library including where the new Local History Center will be. According to Bruce Tobey, it will be “amazing” and something the community can all be proud of and benefit from.

If you would like to donate to the Library’s renovation project, click here: https://sawyerfreelibrary.org/about/2025-sawyer-free-library/2025-sawyer-free-library-donation/

And stay tuned for another post about last evening’s event!

🔥🔥DON'T FORGET- LIMITED SEATING AVAILABLE - For "Old Mysteries and New Discoveries about the Fishermen's Memorial & Leon...
09/23/2024

🔥🔥DON'T FORGET- LIMITED SEATING AVAILABLE - For "Old Mysteries and New Discoveries about the Fishermen's Memorial & Leonard Craske", presented by James F. Clark. It's this Thursday, Sept 26 at the Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street. PLEASE PRE-REGISTER TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT HERE: https://sawyerfreelibrary.org/calendar/ (Just scroll down on calendar to find the event on the 26th.)

DETAILS
Date: September 26
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Sawyer Free Library, 21 Main Street Gloucester
Fee: None BUT your seat must be reserved by pre-registering.

🔥🔥You are invited on September 26 to hear about old mysteries and new discoveries regarding the Fishermen's Memorial and...
09/14/2024

🔥🔥You are invited on September 26 to hear about old mysteries and new discoveries regarding the Fishermen's Memorial and sculptor, Leonard Craske. The speaker is James F. Clark of Gloucester. More information to come shortly.

**SEATING IS LIMITED. PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Please register at https://sawyerfreelibrary.org/calendar/.

Thank you to the Sawyer Free Library for hosting this event, and the City of Gloucester for its support. Thank you also to speaker Jim Clark for his amazing research and to Weber Writing and Research for its partnership. More info to come!

💙Known to spend summers in Gloucester, Ambassador Walworth Barbour eventually retired here in the early 1970s, with Glou...
09/04/2024

💙Known to spend summers in Gloucester, Ambassador Walworth Barbour eventually retired here in the early 1970s, with Gloucester resident Barry Pett serving as his driver beginning in early 1979. But Barry was more than just the Ambassador’s driver; he was a friend and confidant. Story: https://tinyurl.com/4zsnn5uj

Ambassador Barbour was a reserved man, perhaps best known for serving 12 years as the United States Ambassador to Israel, beginning in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy appointed him to the position. Because of his connection to Israel, notable Israeli leaders like Prime Minister Golda Meir visited Gloucester. Story: https://tinyurl.com/4zsnn5uj

Our thanks go to Michael Johnson for researching and writing this important story; Julie Travers, the Local History Librarian at the Sawyer Free Library, for research assistance; Jacob Burte, who authored a Senior Honors Thesis about the Ambassador; Rabbi David Kudan of Temple Ahavat Achim in Gloucester and his staff for providing access to relevant materials; and finally, Barry Pett for his initial story idea, insights, and for sharing important documents and photos of the Ambassador. Story: https://tinyurl.com/4zsnn5uj

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Gloucester, MA
01930

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Gloucester 400: Mission

Gloucester 400 is a city-wide celebration of events and festivities commemorating our first European settlement in 1623. Throughout the year 2023, programs and events will highlight Gloucester’s rich history and heritage. These programs will lift and illuminate four centuries of our extraordinary art and culture, remarkable industrial achievements, and stellar natural resources. All this will be presented by a diverse cross-section of the community that comprises the City of Gloucester.