In 1927, the Babson family handed down and bought land in the southern section of the Cape Ann heartland known as Dogtown, encompassing parts of both Gloucester and Rockport that included sites rich with the history of a now-vanished colonial settler community – but also rich with prior Indigenous history. Click here for a 48-minute video of a presentation that was posted on December 15, 2022.

Presenter Mary Ellen Lepionka of Gloucester is an independent scholar researching the Indigenous history of Essex County from the last Ice Age to around 1700 for a book on the subject. Some chapters have been published on capeannhistory.org.  The location of Dogtown appears in a map of the Gloucester and Rockport Area.

Lepionka began her presentation by talking about Roger Babson who acquired the property in 1927 and Roland Wells who has done extensive archaeological work in the area. (Above, right) One of the many ceremonial stones in the property was described by Lepionka.

Lepionka goes on to talk about the many petroforms and projectile points that have been found on the property that have been attributed to the Indigenous people who occupied the area for eons.