Tides & Towns
North Shore and New Hampshire · MA

Gloucester

America's oldest seaport, on Cape Ann.

Population
29,729 (2020 census)
Settled
1623
Motto
America's Oldest Seaport
Tides
Two highs, two lows a day

Then

  1. 1623

    Men from the Dorchester Company set up a permanent fishing outpost.

  2. 1642

    Gloucester formally incorporates as a town.

  3. 1713

    The first schooner is reputedly built here.

  4. 1849

    John Pew & Sons is founded. It becomes Gorton's of Gloucester.

  5. 1926–1929

    Inventor John Hays Hammond Jr. builds Hammond Castle to house his collection of Roman, medieval and Renaissance pieces.

  6. 1991

    A great storm takes the lives of Gloucester fishermen, a story told in the book and film The Perfect Storm.

Now

Gloucester's harbor is watched over by the Man at the Wheel, the Fisherman's Memorial, dedicated to “They that go down to the sea in ships.”

Rocky Neck, on Smith Cove, calls itself the oldest art colony in the country. St. Peter's Fiesta, put on by the Italian-American community the last weekend in June, is the city's biggest event.

On the water

From NOAA's predictions for Gloucester Harbor, MA over the next 365 days. Heights are in feet above mean lower low water (MLLW).

Pattern
Two highs and two lows a day, close in size
Typical daily range
9.3 ft
Biggest swing
12.9 ft on Dec 25
Smallest swing
5.8 ft on Oct 19
Highest high
11.2 ft, Jul 6 at 1:05 AM
Lowest low
−1.8 ft, Jan 23 at 5:48 PM

5 tide stations around Gloucester

Sources