H I S T O R Y
Not only is Halibut point a great restaurant, the building has a bit of historic importance.
The building was built in 1900 by Howard Blackburn a local Gloucester legend.
Howard Blackburn is most noted for his dramatic voyage;
"The giant Nova Scotian rowed sixty miles into Newfoundland with the frozen body of
his dorymate, five days without food or water, after they were separated in a gale
from the Gloucester schooner "Grace L. Fears" in the winter of 1883. Howard in his dory,
which was used for everthing from lobstering to fishing.
Blackburn survived but lost all his fingers by frostbite;
he returned to Gloucester to keep a saloon....In 1899 he sailed the sloop
"Great Western" singlehanded, in spite of his disability, from Gloucester to
England...and the next year, in 1901, he repeated his astounding feat in the t
wenty-five-foot sloop "Great Republic,".
CLICK HERE-For more on Howard Blackburn
CLICK HERE-For more on Gloucester history
Halibut Point has a extensive collection of Howard Blackburn artifacts on display. Ship logs,
photographs, and the orginal cash register from the Blackburn tavern are just a
few items of note.
Howard Blackburn's register
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