On Nov. 11, 1620, the Mayflower arrived in Provincetown Harbor. Four hundred years later, we — most of us, anyway, on the Outer Cape and all across the nation — […]
History
MAYFLOWER HISTORY, PART 1
For Indigenous People, a Different Kind of Mayflower Story
‘You can’t create a colony without creating people who are colonized’
PROVINCETOWN — On Nov. 11, 1620, 130-odd sea-weary Brits stepped off the Mayflower and onto Provincetown’s sandy shores — into a new world, barely inhabited and ripe with possibility. Then […]
EASTHAM 400
Indigenous Artifacts Found at 1869 Schoolhouse Museum
Rediscovered objects reveal land was ‘intensely’ inhabited 3,500 years ago
EASTHAM — While working to create a display as part of this year’s 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s arrival on Cape Cod, volunteers at Eastham’s 1869 Schoolhouse Museum unearthed a […]
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
Turnip Time in Eastham
The lowly crucifer and its legendary local growers
EASTHAM — As the nights chill, the leaves fall, and the holidays approach, our thoughts turn to, yes, the turnip — that ancient crucifer that has, for too long, been […]
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
A Gathering of Riches
The Rich Family Association, with Truro origins, numbers in the tens of thousands
TRURO — In June 1872, John Fairfield Rich, a journalist living in Ware, in central Mass., realized the fulfillment of a dream he had had a decade earlier, when he […]
OLD BUSINESS
A Campground for Camaraderie
After 71 years, Maurice’s is still a family tradition in Wellfleet
WELLFLEET — Back in 1949, Maurice and Ann Gauthier of New Bedford were in search of a better lifestyle for their growing family. They eventually found it in the woods […]
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
John Y. Newcomb, Wellfleet’s Most Famous Oysterman
Thoreau’s visit with the Rabelaisian resident of Williams Pond
Even before there was a written Wellfleet history, there were Wellfleet oysters. We know that indigenous peoples savored them raw, smoked, roasted, steamed, and dried, because of the massive shell […]
PAST PERFORMANCES
Discovering Thelma Given, Provincetown’s Paganini
A rare recording is a window into another era
It begins with the crackling sound of vinyl. The violin strums its highest strings, then tunes to the piano. An audience member coughs. These are the opening sounds of a […]
PEOPLE OF THE FIRST LIGHT
Eastham Looks to Set the Record Straight at 400th
Campfire series invites Indigenous historians to shift the storytelling
EASTHAM — Since 1620, the English side of the story of the Pilgrims’ landing at First Encounter Beach, and then Plymouth, has been the version most people learn in these […]
CANDY
The Chocolate Sparrow Flies Away
A beloved store is now a sweet memory
WELLFLEET –– On Main Street, there isn’t much to do if you’re under 10 years old. Sure, there are art galleries, coffee shops, and clothing stores, but those are pretty […]
LOCAL LORE
On Outer Cape Cod, Legends Buzz
A review of three of the most enduring tales
From pirate ships to alien sightings, folklore is part of life on the Outer Cape. The tales have long traveled from person to person, and it’s a tradition to bring […]
HISTORY UNMUDDLED
Before 1620: Who Was Here?
Wellfleet Historical Society will reopen with new Wampanoag exhibit
WELLFLEET — On the official seal of the town of Wellfleet, a party of pilgrims rows ashore in a dinghy as a crowd of indigenous people wait on the beach. […]
TRURO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Highland House Serves Up History on a Plate
Designs tell a Truro story from many points of view
TRURO — A new virtual exhibition opening Friday, July 17, at the Highland House Museum celebrates Truro’s history through paintings on a surprising kind of canvas: ceramic plates. “Looking Back, […]
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
The Lost Crew: A Truro Mystery
Secluded Pine Grove Cemetery and its haunting secrets
Residents of and longtime visitors to Truro are surely familiar with a grisly, dark chapter of the town’s recent past involving Pine Grove Cemetery. Even now, decades later, just reading […]
THE BANANA MAGNATE
Wellfleet’s Most Famous Son and a Fateful Partnership
How Lorenzo Baker’s United Fruit Co. became ‘the octopus’
On a July day precisely 150 years ago, a Wellfleet sea captain unloaded a cargo that would shape the course of history. By bringing the first bananas into the U.S., […]
