Halibut Point

Norwood-Babson Farmhouse // 1799

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Located in northern Rockport, Massachusetts, you will find this charming Colonial-era farmhouse set amongst the backdrop of ocean cliffs and granite quarries. At the tip of Pigeon Cove, adjacent to the present-day Halibut Point State Park, James Norwood purchased land and would erect this house by 1799 for his family (possibly built from an older dwelling formerly on the site). After James’ death, the property was willed to his daughter and son-in-law and sold a few times until 1820, when it was purchased by David Wallis Babson who raised his family here. As granite-quarrying became a lucrative trade in Rockport by the early-mid 19th century, David’s son Joseph bought twelve of the Babson Farm acres from other family members to organize a stone cutting business here. The property would leave the Babson Family decades later, but retained the family name until today. Edwin Canney would purchase the remaining 70-acre Babson Farm, selling it to the Rockport Granite Company. For the next thirty years, industrial-scale mining and shipping would redefine Halibut Point over the next thirty years. The quarries are now a State Park, and the former Norwood-Babson farmhouse remains intact as a significant piece of the town’s earlier history.

Gott House // 1702

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Halibut Point State Park in Rockport is one of the most enchanting places in Massachusetts and it has so many layers of history! Before white settlement, Halibut Point was used seasonally by the Pawtucket people who came to harvest its wild fruits, fish and game on the land. In 1702, Samuel Gott (1677-1748) purchased eight of the 6-acre lots on Halibut Point. At the time, there were no roads to Halibut Point, but Samuel built this house on the land, and he began to farm here. The property passed down the family line and was later owned by Joshua (1754-1846), who came of age just as the War for Independence began. Joshua enlisted with the Revolutionary Army as it was being formed in Boston, and in 1776, he joined General Washington’s forces in the unsuccessful defense of New York. He returned home to lead a long and useful life as farmer and fisherman and was known as Captain Gott. As of the 2010s, the property remained in the same family, handed down through the generations from Samuel Gott over 320 years to today. How cool!

Halibut Point Coastal Defense Tower // 1942

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Located in the center of my favorite State Park of Massachusetts, Halibut Point State Park, this odd tower emerging out of a house caught my eye. Upon closer inspection and research, the building was constructed as Boston Harbor Defense Station #136, one of over 20 observation towers along the coast of Massachusetts.

In 1942, the United States Government took two acres of land on high ground of what is now Halibut Point, to construct an observation tower and barracks to defend the New England coast from foreign invasion shortly after entering the WWII arena. The concrete tower was constructed to scan the ocean and bay for enemy submarines. Twenty men were housed in the barracks dormitory on the second floor, office and kitchen were located on the first floor. The building sits overlooking the old Babson Farm Quarry and beyond it, the Atlantic Ocean. After the conclusion of the war, the building was converted to a fire tower. By 1982, the entire 56-acre parcel of land was purchased by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to be utilized as a the Halibut Point State Park.