Bearskin Neck facts for kids
Bearskin Neck is a small piece of land that sticks out into the ocean in Rockport, Massachusetts. It's part of a bigger area called Cape Ann. This special spot was very important during the War of 1812. Today, Bearskin Neck is a super popular place for visitors. People love to explore its unique shops, art galleries, and yummy restaurants. You can find cool jewelry, local art, and fresh seafood here!
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The Story of Bearskin Neck
Rockport started way back in the 1600s. It was known for fishing and for its granite quarries. Quarries are places where big rocks are dug out of the ground. The strong granite from Rockport was sent all over the world! Bearskin Neck was a busy harbor. It helped the town grow by being a perfect spot for ships to load and unload goods.
How Bearskin Neck Got Its Name
There's a cool local story about how Bearskin Neck got its name. A long time ago, a man named Ebenezer Babson was attacked by a bear! He only had a knife. Ebenezer bravely fought the bear all the way to the water's edge. He kept fighting until he won! After the fight, he took the bear's skin and laid it out on the rocks for everyone to see. Fishermen passing by saw it and started calling the place "Bearskin Neck."
Bearskin Neck and the War of 1812
Bearskin Neck was a very important lookout spot during the War of 1812. Soldiers called the Sea Fencibles lived in barracks there. About sixty men stayed in these barracks.
A big event happened on September 8, 1814. British soldiers from a ship called the Nymph quietly landed on Bearskin Neck. They managed to capture fourteen American soldiers. But the people of Rockport quickly realized what was happening! Alarms rang out from the bells of the Congregational Church. The British tried to stop the bells by firing a cannonball. You can still see that cannonball stuck in the bell tower today!
The local fighters used the land around Bearskin Neck to their advantage. They pushed the British out of the bay and made them go back into the ocean. Today, the old barracks, now called the Old Stone Fort, still stands at the very tip of Bearskin Neck.
Motif Number 1: The Famous Red Building
Motif Number 1 is a famous red building right in the middle of Bearskin Neck and Rockport Harbor. It was built in the mid-1800s to store fishing gear. But this little red building has become a symbol of Rockport! Artists love it so much that it's known as "the most often-painted building in America."
The original building was destroyed in a big storm in 1978. But the town loved it so much that they built an exact copy! This building is so iconic that it has even been moved to different places for parades. A float of Motif Number 1 won first prize at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933!
Granite Shipping from Rockport
Rockport got its name because it was a natural port for shipping granite. Ships would come to Bearskin Neck to load up with huge pieces of granite. There are many granite quarries in Rockport, like Steele Derrick and Johnson's Quarry.
Steele Derrick is not used for mining anymore. Water filled the quarry after miners hit a natural spring. Now, it's a private swimming area for people who live there. Johnson's Quarry is still owned by the Johnson family and they still mine granite the old-fashioned way. They use stakes to split the granite into pieces.
Bearskin Neck in Movies
Bearskin Neck is so pretty that it has been used as a background for several movies! One movie filmed there was The Proposal in 2009. It starred famous actors like Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, and Betty White.
