Cape Ann Mass

Ebenezer Pool House // c.1800

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Ebenezer Pool (1764-1842) was born in Sandy Bay, a village of Gloucester which later became Rockport. Ebenezer was a direct descendant of John Pool, the second settler of the area, who helped facilitate its beginnings from rocky coastline to vibrant town. Ebenezer was active in the establishment of the Baptist community in Sandy Bay, and his name heads the list of eighteen charter members who were organized into a Baptist Church in 1808 inside his own home, seen here. The Federal style home sits on a prominent lot in the village near Bearskin Neck and looks much like when it was built over 200 years ago.

Universalist Church of Sandy Bay // 1829

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This Unitarian Universalist Church in Rockport was built in 1829 after 23 founders came together to sign a compact to build a new church. The Gothic Revival church building was given its 93-foot steeple in 1867 and it has stood tall since! The church stands just off Main Street and has long been active in local and national events since its founding. The church’s website states, “In 1843, we prepared resolutions against slavery, intemperance, and war. In 1861, a person threw a smoking bomb through a window into our sanctuary, during an anti-slavery lecture by a noted abolitionist. The crowd evacuated, but later returned to hear the rest of the talk. In 1884, our Society hired its first female pastor, Lorenza Haynes, past Chaplain to The Maine Senate and House.“ Today, the church collaborates with the Cape Ann Slavery and Abolition Trust, which investigates and shares the role the slave trade played in Cape Ann’s families, industries, and economies and in the lives of enslaved people.