Halibut Point State Park
Encyclopedia
Halibut Point State Park is a uniquely beautiful coastal seascape. Looking seaward on a clear day, the view stretches from Crane Beach
in Ipswich to Mount Agamenticus in Maine and the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire
.
Formerly the Babson Farm granite quarry, the park is managed for scenic, historic and conservation purposes by the DCR
and the Trustees of Reservations. An adjacent property, Sea Rocks, is owned by the Town of Rockport and open for public use. Here you can explore the park's trails and tidepools, picnic on its rocky ledges, enjoy its sweeping views, and learn about Cape Ann's historic granite industry.
Halibut Point itself is made of sheets of 440 million year-old granite
that now descend from rocky headland to the tidal pools below. As a result of the shallow soil, constant exposure to onshore winds, and a history of frequent fires, the vegetation includes few trees. Catbriar, bayberry, blueberry, arrowwood, shadbush, and an assortment of wildflowers grow among the ledges. Each winter, many species of seabirds, including loons, grebes, ducks and an occasional puffin, feed in the rich offshore waters.
Beginning in the 1840s, granite was quarried from this area, first on a small scale and primarily along the coast, and then on a much larger scale when the Rockport Granite Company acquired the Babson Farm quarry and expanded its operation. Shortly after the Cape Ann granite industry collapsed in 1929, 17 acres on the eastern side of the quarry were purchased and given to the Trustees of Reservations. The remainder of the area sat unused until late in World War II when a fire control tower (now the park's Visitors Center) was constructed to provide aiming information for the massive coastal defense guns that guarded Boston and Portsmouth Harbors.
Crane Beach
Crane Beach is a conservation and recreation property located in Ipswich, Massachusetts, immediately north of Cape Ann. It consists of a four mile long sandy beachfront, dunes, and a maritime pitch pine forest...
in Ipswich to Mount Agamenticus in Maine and the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
.
Formerly the Babson Farm granite quarry, the park is managed for scenic, historic and conservation purposes by the DCR
Department of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts)
The Department of Conservation and Recreation is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. As of May 24, 2011 the Commissioner of the DCR is Edward M. Lambert, Jr...
and the Trustees of Reservations. An adjacent property, Sea Rocks, is owned by the Town of Rockport and open for public use. Here you can explore the park's trails and tidepools, picnic on its rocky ledges, enjoy its sweeping views, and learn about Cape Ann's historic granite industry.
Halibut Point itself is made of sheets of 440 million year-old granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
that now descend from rocky headland to the tidal pools below. As a result of the shallow soil, constant exposure to onshore winds, and a history of frequent fires, the vegetation includes few trees. Catbriar, bayberry, blueberry, arrowwood, shadbush, and an assortment of wildflowers grow among the ledges. Each winter, many species of seabirds, including loons, grebes, ducks and an occasional puffin, feed in the rich offshore waters.
Beginning in the 1840s, granite was quarried from this area, first on a small scale and primarily along the coast, and then on a much larger scale when the Rockport Granite Company acquired the Babson Farm quarry and expanded its operation. Shortly after the Cape Ann granite industry collapsed in 1929, 17 acres on the eastern side of the quarry were purchased and given to the Trustees of Reservations. The remainder of the area sat unused until late in World War II when a fire control tower (now the park's Visitors Center) was constructed to provide aiming information for the massive coastal defense guns that guarded Boston and Portsmouth Harbors.
External links
- Halibut Point State Park at the Department of Conservation and Recreation website
- Mass DCR http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/halb.htm Department of Conservation and Recreation