Essex National Heritage Area
The Sargent House Museum
Gloucester, Massachusetts
  • Address: 49 Middle Street, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930
    978-526-8687
  • Hours: The Sargent House is open for guided tours Memorial Day to Columbus Day, Friday through Monday, 12:00PM to 4:00PM. The Museum is also open for tours Thursdays, 12 to 4:00, during the months of July and August. Programs and events are held throughout the year.
  • Admission: $7.50 adults $5.00 senior citizens over 65. Museum members and children under 12 are admitted free
  • Website: SargentHouse.org
  • Map: Map
  • Trails:


The Sargent House Museum was the home of sea merchants, American patriots, religious and community leaders. A fine example of Georgian architecture, it was built in 1782 for writer and activist Judith Sargent Murray, this country's earliest champion of women's equality, education and economic independence, and shared by her husband, Reverend John Murray, the founder of Universalism in America.

Today, the house is displayed as it might have looked in 1790 - elegant winding staircases, period furnishings, gilt mirrors, glass, silver, textiles, oil portraits and personal items that create a real-life historical setting.

Visitors will see Judith Sargent Murray's dictionary and her published series, The Gleaner; and works of art by American painter John Singer Sargent, Judith Sargent Murray's great-great nephew and an original founder of the museum.




Nearby Area Sites

  • Beauport, Sleeper-McCann House
    Containing unique collections form the colonial era, the house is the work of designer Henry Davis Sleeper and is arranged by color and light.
  • Cape Ann Historical Museum
    The museum exhibits the largest collection of paintings and drawings by Fitz Hugh Lane, the Gloucester native is recognized as one of America's most important 19th Century artists.
  • Schooner Adventure
    Built in 1926, the 121' schooner is a National Historical Landmark due in part to its vital role in the early days of the nation when Gloucester was one of the busiest fishing ports in the country.
  • Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center
    Occupying nearly 2 acres overlooking Gloucester Harbor, the center features the oldest continuously operating marine railway in the country.
  • Ravenswood Park
    Long treasured by residents of Gloucester and neighboring towns, Ravenswood Park offers a tranquil wooded setting for walking, cross-country skiing, or snowshoeing along almost ten miles of trails and carriage paths.
  • Sargent House Museum
    Once the home of sea merchants, American patriots and religious and community leaders, the home is a fine example of Georgian architecture built in 1782.
  • Schooner Thomas E. Lannon
    The wooden 65' schooner was built to look like a traditional 1903 fishing schooner and takes day trips out of Gloucester Harbor.
  • Stage Fort Park and Welcoming Center
    The Welcoming center is officially designated as an ENHC Visitor Center; here visitors can find a wealth of information about Gloucester and the surrounding area.


  • Atlantic Yankee Whale Watch and Deep Sea Fishing
  • 1-800-WHALING, 75 Essex St. Gloucester, MA 01930
    Exciting whale watching and deep sea fishing for over 60 years. Whale watches fully navigated. Guaranteed sightings. "Must see. One of the outstanding reasons to visit New England." -- Yankee Magazine
  • Cape Pond Ice Company

  • 866-766-3423, 104 Commercial St. Gloucester, MA 01930
    Cape Pond Ice is located on the working waterfront. Tour this historic ice house and learn more about the 160 year old history of the company.

Gloucester Farms



ENHA Farm Guide

Gloucester History

Gloucester's coastal location and its dramatic landscape features — harbor, rivers, uplands and shoreline — were instrumental in shaping the history of the community from the earliest Native American use of the land to the present day.

Prior to English settlement, Gloucester was inhabited by members of the Pawtucket group, who traveled along the rivers and coastline, and also established inland trails. Although few pre-historic archaeological sites are known for the Gloucester area, the presence of Native Americans is well documented by early explorers and settlers.

Cape Ann was used for seasonal fishing until 1623 when the Dorchester Company established a year-round fishing settlement on what was later known as Fisherman’s Field, now Stage Fort Park. Settlement remained sparse until 1642 when the population was sufficient to merit incorporation. Around that time the center of town moved from Fisherman’s Field to near the First Parish Burial Ground and later to the area of present day Grant Circle along Route 128. By the 1740’s the harbor was assuming more importance. Annisquam, Sandy Bay (now part of Rockport) and the Riverdale Mills area were also important early villages. Gloucester's early settlers were mostly farmer/fisherman/carpenter combinations, with a large transient population. Around 1800, trade with European and Asian ports became an important industry. Fishing did not become the primary industry until after the war of 1812.

Major fires in 1830 and 1860 destroyed much of the downtown area. Throughout the 19th century commercial fishing continued to prosper, there was an active granite industry and tourism emerged as an important part of the local economy. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries there was an influx of people from the Canadian Maritimes, the Azores, Finland and Sicily. Gloucester was incorporated as a city in 1873.

The year-round population remained relatively stable between 1915 and 1990, at just over 28,000. The most densely populated areas occur in the central business and downtown, particularly around Gloucester Harbor, as well as in the villages of Magnolia, Lanesville, Annisquam and East Gloucester. Gloucester is also a seasonal tourist community, whose summer population increases by about 40%.

From Gloucester Reconnaisance Report, Essex County Landscape Inventory, Massachusetts Heritage Landscape Inventory Program (pdf document)

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