In 1626 Conant was chosen as the first governor of the English settlers on Cape Ann (who soon moved from Gloucester to Salem) and was replaced in 1628/9 by Gov. John Endecott. This was the first permanent settlement in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and it was here that the first legal form of government was established in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Conant initially lived in a "great house" in what is now Stage Fort Park in Gloucester. Governor Endecott had the house moved to Salem in 1628. An old fort in Gloucester was renamed from Stage Fort to Fort Conant in his honor during the Civil War.