Rockport, Massachusetts Rockport, Massachusetts Rockport inner harbor showing lobster fleet and Motif #1 Rockport inner harbor showing lobster fleet and Motif #1 Official seal of Rockport, Massachusetts Location in Essex County and the state of Massachusetts.
Location in Essex County and the state of Massachusetts.
Website Town of Rockport, Massachusetts, Official Web Site Rockport is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States.
The populace was 6,952 at the 2010 census. Rockport is positioned approximately 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Boston at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula.
Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Rockport.
The region that is now Rockport was simply an uninhabited part of Gloucester for more than 100 years, and was primarily used as a origin of timber especially pine-for ship assembly.
In 1743, a dock was assembled at Rockport harbor on Sandy Bay and was used for both timber and fishing.
By the beginning of the 19th century, the first granite quarries were developed, and by the 1830s, Rockport granite was being shipped to metros/cities and suburbs throughout the East Coast of the United States.
Rockport had consisted primarily of large estates, summer homes, and a small fishing village while Gloucester was becoming increasingly urbanized.
Rockport was set off as a separate town in 1840 as its inhabitants desired a separate enclave with an identity of its own, and was incorporated in 1840. As the demand for its high-grade granite interval amid the Industrial Revolution, the quarries of Rockport became a primary source of the stone.
Although the demand for granite decreased with the increased use of concrete in assembly amid the Great Depression, Rockport still thrived as an artists colony which began years earlier due in part to its popularity as a vacation spot known for its rocky, boulder-strewn ocean beaches, its history as a prominent fishing harbor, and its mentions in media like that of Rudyard Kipling's Captains Courageous.
A red fishing shack on Bradley Wharf in Rockport, known popularly as "Motif Number 1", has for years been one of the most famous sites on Cape Ann as the subject of hundreds of paintings and photographs, and is visited by aspiring artists & tourists alike from all over the world.
Rockport is the home of the Rockport Art Association.
In 1856, a gang of 200 women led by Hannah Jumper swept through the town and finished anything including alcohol in what is called "Rockport's revolt against rum" and banned alcohol from the town. Except for a reconstructionin the 1930s, the town remained one of 15 Massachusetts dry towns.
In 1933, the Rockport American Legion Post.
Today Rockport is primarily a suburban residentiary and tourist town, but it is still home to a number of lobster fishermen and artists.
According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town has a total region of 17.5 square miles (45.4 km2), of which 7.0 square miles (18.1 km2) is territory and 10.5 square miles (27.3 km2), or 60.14%, is water. Rockport lies at the far easterly end of Cape Ann and is surrounded on three sides by water.
There are three islands, Straitsmouth Island, Thacher Island, and Milk Island, which lie off the coast of Rockport and are part of the town.
The town's shore is mostly rocky north of Lands End, but is somewhat less so south of there, as three of the town's five beaches are on this 1-1/4-mile stretch of shoreline.
Rockport Harbor and Old Harbor furnish deeper water for boats to dock in, both near the center of town.
The town's highest point is up on Pool Hill, which is surrounded by the town forest.
The town's other protected areas include Halibut Point State Park & Reservation, the Thacher Island National Wildlife Refuge, and the Knight Wildlife Reservation on Milk Island, as well as a lesser area just south of Halibut Point run by the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
Rockport's only neighboring town is Gloucester.
Rockport is approximately 20 miles (32 km) east-northeast of Salem and 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Boston.
There are no highways inside town, but two state routes, Route 127 and Route 127 - A pass through town.
Bus service in Rockport is provided by the Cape Ann Transportation Authority.
Rockport is also the last station on its eponymous branch of the Newburyport/Rockport Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail, providing service along the North Shore to Boston's North Station.
Source: United States Enumeration records and Population Estimates Program data. In the town, the populace was spread out with 21.3% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older.
Rockport Art Association; established in 1921, the RAA is one of the earliest and most active art organizations in the country.
Thacher's Island, an island off Rockport which has twin lighthouses Rockport Music, Shalin Liu Performance Center is a state of the art performing arts facility.
Rockport is served by thirteen weekday commuter trains to Boston as one end of the MBTA Newburyport/Rockport Line.
Daniel William Potter (1896 1971) President/Owner of Boston Woven Hose and Rubber Company, owned Rockports Old Stone House all historic contents Rockport Art Association "Rockport Chamber of Commerce".
"Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Rockport town, Essex County, Massachusetts".
"Rockport, Massachusetts".
"Rockport A Seacoast Village of Cape Ann".
"History of Rockport, Massachusetts".
"Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Rockport town, Essex County, Massachusetts".
"TOTAL POPULATION (P1), 2010 Enumeration Summary File 1".
"Massachusetts by Place and County Subdivision - GCT-T1.
"1990 Enumeration of Population, General Population Characteristics: Massachusetts" (PDF).
"1980 Enumeration of the Population, Number of Inhabitants: Massachusetts" (PDF).
"1950 Enumeration of Population" (PDF).
"1920 Enumeration of Population" (PDF).
"1890 Enumeration of the Population" (PDF).
"1870 Enumeration of the Population" (PDF).
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rockport, Massachusetts.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Rockport, Massachusetts.
Town of Rockport official website Interviews and Conversations with Rockport Artists Municipalities and communities of Essex County, Massachusetts, United States
Categories:
Rockport, Massachusetts - Populated coastal places in Massachusetts - Populated places established in 1623 - 1623 establishments in Massachusetts
|