Commemorating Gloucester's link to the sea, the Fisherman's Memorial was commissioned as part of the celebration of Gloucester's 300th anniversary. Also known as The Man At The Wheel, the memorial is considered sculptor Leonard F. Craske's finest work. The 90 year old monument is a tribute to the hard working fishermen and a salute to all the sailors that never returned to port. Becoming a symbol of the city, thousands come to see the seaside memorial and enjoy America's oldest seaport.
   Founded in 1623 by the Dorchester Company, this settlement would become the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Once Gloucester's forests were cleared of timber, residents turned to the sea. Offshore, some of the best fishing sites lie off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and the town became entrenched in shipmaking and fishing. Along with the unforgiving seas of the North Atlantic came tragedy. Estimates of seamen lost range between 8000 and 10,000 since 1623 when the Massachusetts Bay Colony was first established.
   Visitors will find this familiar bronze statue of a seaman dressed in his oil skins on Gloucester's scenic Stacy Boulevard. This permanent memorial is popular stop on the promenade which circles the shoreline of Gloucester Harbor. Out in the inner harbor, Ten Pound Island is marked with a 30 foot lighthouse. The Ten Pound Island Light, housing America’s first Coast Guard Station, has been completely restored by the Lighthouse Preservation Society and creates another picturesque element to this charming seacoast town.

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