Mapping Memory: Gloucester’s Oral History Project
Mapping Memory: Gloucester’s Oral History Project
Our Neighborhoods. Our Stories.
The Local History Research Center at the Sawyer Free Library is launching the Mapping Memory: Gloucester’s Oral History Project, a new community initiative to collect, preserve, and share the personal stories that define Gloucester’s neighborhoods.
This project will gather first-hand accounts from longtime residents, community leaders, and underrepresented voices through recorded oral history interviews. Mapping Memory will build a digital archive of interviews, transcripts, and mementos documenting life in Annisquam, Bay View, Downtown, East Gloucester, Folly Cove, Lanesville, Magnolia, Riverdale, Riverview, and West Gloucester from the 20th century to today.
We invite you to be part of this effort.
We are seeking community members to:
- Share your story – If you have lived, worked, or grown up in Gloucester, your experiences are part of the city’s history. We welcome stories big and small—from daily life and neighborhood traditions to moments of change.
- Nominate someone to be interviewed – Help us connect with longtime residents, elders, and community voices whose stories should be preserved.
- Contribute photographs and mementos – Family photos, letters, and other materials help bring these stories to life and will be carefully digitized and returned.
- Partner with us – We welcome collaboration with local organizations, community groups, and cultural institutions to ensure this project reflects the full diversity of Gloucester’s neighborhoods.
By participating, you are helping to ensure that Gloucester’s history is not only told through official records, but through the lived experiences of the people who shaped it.
Email localhistory@sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5525 with questions.
Interested in volunteering? Fill out this form.
Interested in participating as a narrator? Fill out this form.
