1879 Rogers / Daniels View of Cape Ann, Boston, North Shore

A delightful 1879 bird's-eye view of Cape Ann and the North Shore of Massachusetts by Frank Kimball Rogers and John H. Daniels. While emphasizing Cape Ann's maritime significance, it also highlights important landward development, such as urbanization and railroad connections.

A Closer Look

This view is oriented towards the southwest, with Gloucester and Rockport in the foreground and Salem, Lynn, Marblehead, Swampscott, Danvers, and Boston in the background. Seven insets appear around the main view: at right is the Plum Island Lighthouse off Newburyport, while at bottom-left are the Isles of Shoals along the maritime border of Maine and New Hampshire, Thacher (Thacher's) Island, Eastern Point Lighthouse in Gloucester, Norman's Woe Rock or Reef off the coast of Gloucester, Half-way Rock (not to be confused with another rock of the same name in Casco Bay, Maine) sitting halfway between Boston and Cape Ann, and Egg Rock (also known as Elephant Rock, not to be confused with the Egg Rock in Bar Harbor, Maine) in Nahant Bay.

In the distance, Boston is depicted as nearly an island, the Shawmut Peninsula, only connected with the mainland by a narrow 'neck' of land to Dorchester and a milldam across a portion of the Charles River. In the years immediately following this view's publication, massive land reclamation projects would give the city its modern shape, greatly expanding South Boston, creating the Back Bay and Kenmore-Fenway, and filling in additional land in other parts of the city.

Another noteworthy feature is the prevalence of railroads, which developed into a dense network around New England by the mid-late 19th century. Many of these lines have been incorporated into the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Commuter Rail system, terminating at North Station in Boston.

Publication History and Census

This view was drawn by Frank Kimball Rogers and lithographed by John H. Daniels in 1879. It is listed in the OCLC among the holdings of the Boston Public Library, the New York Public Library, the Boston Athenaeum, and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Scarce to the market.