NEW BEDFORD — Herman Melville’s Ishmael certainly must have scuffed his soles on the cobblestones of Johnny Cake Hill. I know he arrived thinking “…whenever it is a damp, drizzly […]
History
ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY
How Puritan Beliefs Shaped Cape Cod’s Landscape
At John Doane’s Eastham home, evidence of rapid deforestation but no wild meat
EASTHAM — Somewhat surprisingly, given that Cape Cod is an enormous glacial sandpile, the first European settlers to build permanent homes on the Outer Cape were in search of dirt. […]
ARCHAEOLOGY
A Dig Reveals the Ways of One of Eastham’s Early Settlers
John Doane was wealthy, pious, and industrious and may have feared witches
EASTHAM — John Doane, who emigrated from England to the Plymouth Colony sometime between 1628 and 1632, became the patriarch of one of the first seven families that settled in […]
PRESERVATION
At Nauset Light, the Chance to Live (a Little) Like a Keeper
Preservation society and Park hope rentals will help maintain the historic residence
EASTHAM — The small house on the edge isn’t everyone’s idea of a dream vacation home. There’s no air conditioning, and a constant stream of visitors crowds the front lawn, […]
OLD COLONY
Riding the Rails and Rallying the Resolute
That time 150 years ago when Ulysses S. Grant took the train to Provincetown
PROVINCETOWN — Preident Ulysses S. Grant’s visit to Cape Cod and the Islands in late August 1874 was more than a mere celebration. Ostensibly, Grant was here to commemorate the […]
PHILATELY
One Small Impression at a Time, a Big Picture of American History
Hugh Daugherty’s ‘chockablock full’ stamp collection
Hugh Daugherty lingers under the low doorjamb of his 19th-century house in Eastham on a sunlit afternoon before he turns and leads the way through his office — what used […]
HISTORY
At Race Point, a Shipwreck Rescue Relived
Remembering the surfmen who saved lives with cannons, hawser lines, and breeches buoys
PROVINCETOWN — It was a dark Thursday afternoon with a squall moving in, the kind of conditions that might set the stage for the dramatic rescue of shipwrecked mariners but […]
HISTORY
At Race Point, a Shipwreck Rescue Relived
Remembering the surfmen who saved lives with cannons, hawser lines, and breeches buoys
PROVINCETOWN — It was a dark Thursday afternoon with a squall moving in, the kind of conditions that might set the stage for the dramatic rescue of shipwrecked mariners but […]
MONUMENTS
Inside the Quest for a Provincetown Fishermen’s Memorial
After nearly 50 years, a new committee hopes that a sculpture’s time has come
PROVINCETOWN — It has been nearly 50 years since the select board approved the idea of a memorial statue dedicated to local fishermen lost at sea. It’s a monument that […]
ERRATICS
Go Ahead, Climb the Rock That Holds a Place in Eastham’s Heart
‘No Climbing’ sign at Doane Rock will be removed by Park Service
EASTHAM — For at least the last couple of hundred years, the boulder near Coast Guard Beach known as Doane Rock has been a popular spot for rock climbers and […]
OBJECT LESSONS
Mind the Raincatcher
Beneath a door at the Wellfleet Historical Society and Museum, an ingenious sill kept wind-driven water at bay
Curious objects that tell stories of the past fill the displays at the Wellfleet Historical Society and Museum. More are stacked in boxes in the basement awaiting the completion of […]
ON THE MARSH
Of Settlers and Silt
How the invasive earthworm came to shape the Outer Cape’s landscape
The measured opening of the 115-year-old Herring River dike is front and center in a decades-long restoration project aimed at bringing back some of the Wellfleet estuary’s original tidal flow. […]
IMMATÉRIEL
Marconi Beach Was a Shooting Range; Now It’s Just a FUDS
The Army Corps plans a final cleanup at Camp Wellfleet
WELLFLEET — Above Marconi Beach, passersby may come across a strange concrete object nudged into the umber dunes, entirely out of place against its pristine natural backdrop. Every morning at […]
SEAFARING FREEDOM
In Whaling, Blacks Had Power, at Least When at Sea
Stevenson and Shorey, who sailed out of Provincetown, became whaling captains
PROVINCETOWN — Whaling was a difficult and dangerous way to make a living and generally not a very profitable one for members of the crews, who had to face typhoons […]
SEAFARING FREEDOM
In Whaling, Blacks Had Power, at Least When at Sea
Stevenson and Shorey, who sailed out of Provincetown, became whaling captains
PROVINCETOWN — Whaling was a difficult and dangerous way to make a living and generally not a very profitable one for members of the crews, who had to face typhoons […]
