Cape Cod, Day 1

To get to Cape Cod you have to cross one of two bridges. Here we are about to cross the Bourne Bridge.

The bridge spans the Cape Cod Canal. The canal connects Cape Cod Bay with Buzzards Bay, making it faster for boats since they no longer have to travel all the way around the arm of the cape.

I put Nan in charge of researching things to see, and she did a fine job. Here we are, already off the beaten path in quest of our first point of interest.

If Nan hadn't done the research, we would never have known this place was here.....there are no signs on the main tourist route. Unfortunately we were here on Sunday, a day it is not open for tours. Fortunately, we were the only ones here, so there was plenty of room to park.

The house was built in 1641. The Wing Fort House is recognized as the oldest home in New England continuously owned by the same family. Stephen Wing either purchased the homestead from the town of Sandwich, or the town granted him the property, around the time of his first marriage in 1646. His descendants continued to live in the home until 1942, when the last resident (Miss Cora M. Wing) sold the home to the Wing Family of America, Inc.

Tradition states the home was at one time a fort to protect the earliest settlers from the Native Americans. The exterior of the "Old Fort" Room (which is the oldest part of the current structure) is composed of a double wall, which may have been filled in at one time. As the Cape Indians were found to be friendly, the town did not need any fort for protection. The Fort House is now a museum, privately operated by the Wing Family of America, Inc.

Stephen, with his brother Daniel, embraced the new Quaker faith around 1658. He was repeatedly fined for his beliefs, but not to the same level that his brother faced. After the Quaker percecution ended Stephen became the Town Clerk for Sandwich. Stephen was probably the last surviving original settler of Sandwich. He died on 24 APR 1710. He almost certainly lies in an unmarked grave at the original Friends' Cemetery at Sandwich.

 Stephen married Osheah [Oseth] Dillingham in the fall of 1646. The time of his marriage has been determined by the fact he and his wife appeared in court in March 1646/7 and fined for having a child (Nathaniel) born "at an unseasonable time after their marriage." While Osheah had other children, only Nathaniel lived to reach maturity and Osheah herself died on 29 APR 1654. A little more than ten months later, Stephen was married to Sarah Briggs, the orphan daughter of John and Katherine Briggs of Sandwich. 

(We peeked in the windows.)

We put the camera lens up to the window.

An upstairs bedroom. Nan is probably going to be scratching her head wondering how I got this photo.

A red-tailed hawk(?) flew overhead.

On our way again, we happened upon a popular local swimming hole. These kids were jumping off the bridge on both sides.

Our next stop was in Barnstable where we found a nice shady parking spot behind the old courthouse.

The cannons in front had quite a history.

A local Patriot, famous for his "Writs of Assistance" speech.

And another Patriot.

I just liked this 3-story house.

The Crocker Tavern and House, 1754.

So many old houses, too many to photograph them all.

The Old King's Courthouse was being painted. It is now headquarters of Tales of Cape Cod, Inc., whose mission is to preserve historic places on Cape Cod.

Across the street is an old church (Episcopalian, I think) with a lovely garden and an invitation to stroll through it.

A former pastor started the garden which is now maintained by volunteers. This is a rose garden.

A place to sit and meditate.

Even an herb garden.

Around town we saw a lot of hitching posts,

and cobblestones,

and flowers.

Some of the signs were interesting. This shop is "shut" Another one was "locked."

I think their sign was homemade too. The ice cream was good on a hot afternoon.

In the town of Dennis we stopped to stroll through an old cemetery.

Where we learned how the town came by its name.

Josiah Dennis was pastor of the church in Yarmouth.

THis old barn with a thatched roof was interesting.

The Stony Brook Gristmill was in operation from 1663 to 1873. Today it was closed.

So we walked along the paths by the millstream. 

Good thing we didn't see any herring or I'd have been tempted to play with them.

We did see this family of Mallard ducks.

Mama said, "duck!"

I was hoping they were catching herring, but it was the slimy green things they were after.

Back on the tourist's route, there was no more parking, especially for an RV, so most of my pics are "fly bys."

Chatham Lighthouse on the fly.

Maybe they use these old cars for tours?

A widow's walk where wives watched for their husband's ships to come back from sea.

Bass River Boat Works

Ah, a factory tour?

Yes, but not today...we are too late.

We got in line with all the others to go back across the bridge.

And got to watch a lovely Cape Cod Sunset through the power lines and traffic.

Next up, day two with more of Cape Cod, including the National Seashore.