Dogtown is an abandoned town in Gloucester covering an area of almost 3600 acres. Located on Cape Ann in Massachusetts is an abandoned inland village. Dogtown was earlier known as Common Settlement. Dogtown was divided between the city of Gloucester and the town of Rockport. The development of this area was banned by the municipality as it is a protected watershed. Today this place is known for its dense jungle, which is the hikers' foremost preference. 

History of Dogtown

Dogtown was founded in 1693, and according to the tales the town gets its name because the settler's women kept dogs, while their husbands fought in the war. Dogtown was an ideal location to protect from pirates and outside enemies. In early 1700 the land opened for individual settlement and it had been used as common land for cattle and sheep. In its peak time, Dogtown had hardly 60-70 homes. In the mid of 1700, 100 homes were standing on Dogtown. The inhabitants settled there until the American Revolution. But in later years this place has a high risk of coastal bombardment.

Decline of Dogtown

There were many reasons for the decline of Dogtown. One of the main reasons was a rivalry between the fishing industry from Gloucester Harbor after the end of the American Revolution. The building of new coastal roads was another reason for Dogtown's demise. As the new roads were built through Gloucester, which was at that time condemning. But after constructing the new roads, farmers of Dogtown started to move there and abandoned this place.

After the war of 1812, most of the farmers were moved away from here. And this area became a risk for coastal bombardment. After all, this Downtown gets a bad reputation and the last residents of Dogtown were suspected of practicing witchcraft. One such resident of Dogtown named Thomazine "Tommy", known as "Queen of the witches" by Thomas Dresser. The last resident of Dogtown was found in 1830, who lived in a cellar. After that, the whole town was abandoned.

Current Status of Dogtown 

Today the Dogtown is still abandoned. Nowadays this old town attracts many travelers who visit this old abandoned town to look back at the old times. It is also one of the favorite places for hikers,  cross country skiers, nature lovers and geologists, and historians.

Today Downtown is a part of 3000 acres of a park, where anyone can visit the old abandoned town of Massachusetts. The park authority left the remaining old houses intact to attack the visitors. The northeastern area of Dogtown is well known as the Norton Memorial Forest. This place is named after the famous NASA physicist and MIT professor Frederick Norton. He and his family own 121 acres of land in Dogtown.