Gloucester
a city and port of entry of Essex co., Mass., and Massachu setts Bay, near the extremity of Cape Ann, and on the Boston and Maine railroad; 32 miles N. E. of Boston. It is one of the most important fishing ports and fish markets in the world, having over 5,000 men engaged in the fisheries.
Cod, haddock, halibut, herring, and mackerel are the principal catches. The Cape Ann granite quarries employ nearly 2,000 men, and supplied the granite for the postoffices at Boston and Baltimore and the East River bridge. The city is a popular summer resort, and has considerable historical interest. It was founded in 1623, principally by settlers from Gloucester, England, from which it received its name; was incorporated as a town in 1642; and became a city in 1874.
It has the oldest Universalist Church in the United States, founded in 1770. There are the Sawyer Public Library, electric lights and street railroads, the Gilbert Hospital, Gilbert Home, Huntress Home for Aged Women, high school, daily and weekly newspapers, waterworks, and 2 GLOUCESTER CITY National banks. Pop. (1910) 24,394; (1920) 22,947.