USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts : a guide to its places and people > Part 67
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On a small plot near the Bridgewater Inn is a boulder of native sandstone containing a Fossilized Paleozoic Tree Branch.
The Washburn House (private), facing the Common, is a two-and-a-half- story gabled weather-beaten structure, built in 1700, and now surrounded by an iron fence. On either side of the wooden walk are bent trees, grown old with the house. A wooden sign identifies this building as the home of Colonel Edson, a Tory, from whom it was confiscated.
The Unitarian Church of the Congregational Society on School St., built in 1845, has a fine Christopher Wren type spire.
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Directly across the street is the modern red-brick Georgian style admin- istration building of the Bridgewater Teachers' College, established in 1840, and accommodating 500 students, mostly women. A group of paintings, prints, and objects of art are housed in the main building and in the Massachusetts School of Art building.
I. Right from Bridgewater on Broad St., at 0.9 m. is the junction with High St., right on High St. is (L) the Deacon Joseph Alden House (1700) (private), 1.5 m. The structure, built by the grandson of John Alden, is a two-and-a-half-story salt-box type, with unstained shingles, a large central chimney, and an open 'breeze-way' connecting the main house with a store shed. At the rear of the building are the original well and an iron-ribbed barrel, fed by a wooden trough. Except for the roofing and a few minor interior and exterior repairs, the house is unchanged from Colonial times.
2. Left from Bridgewater on an unnumbered road that unites with State 106, on which (R) is HALIFAX, 6 m. (town, alt. 84, pop. 817, sett. about 1670, incorp. 1734). Its former Indian name, Monponsett ('Near the Deep Pond') is the name of the twin lakes in the district. There were two Indian settlements in Halifax, one of which was captured by Colonel Benjamin Church during King Philip's War. A family of six banished Acadians was cared for here from 1760 to 1763. The church, dedicated in 1734, claims to have established the first Sunday School in New England. The town is a station for the uncommon chain fern Woodwardia areolate, and also grows unusually fine hothouse roses.
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At 30.4 m. is the junction with US 44 (see Tour 10) which unites with State 28 to 31.4 m., where State 28 turns right through open stretches of uninteresting country, with occasional thick pine groves to a junction with US 6 (see Tour 6) at 48.8 m.
State 28 and US 6 unite to BUZZARD'S BAY, 52.3 m. (alt. 17; Town of Bourne), the trading center of the town. The Administration Building at the State Pier, 0.5 m. southeast of the Center, was completed in 1932 to meet the needs of increased shipping through the canal.
At 53.8 m. is the Bourne Bridge, completed in 1935, spanning the Cape Cod Canal (see Tour 6, SAGAMORE). This simple and beautiful con- tinuous-truss structure cost more than $1,500,000 and has a clearance of 135 feet at the central span. Cram and Ferguson were the consulting architects on this structure, which was planned and constructed by the engineering firm of Fay, Spofford, and Thorndike.
BOURNE, 55 m. (town, alt. 19, pop. 3336, sett. about 1640, incorp. 1884), originally the village of Monument in the Town of Sandwich, was named for its most prominent citizen, Jonathan Bourne. The making of freight- cars was an important industry here until 1928. In 1935 the Federal Government bought and dismantled the plant to make way for the enlargement of the Cape Cod Canal. Hundreds of the '40 and 8' box- cars made here were shipped to France during the World War. Catering to visitors, cranberry-growing, and dairying today form the inhabitants' principal occupations.
A reproduction of the Aptuxcet Trading Post (open; 25g adm.), is off Shore Rd. The cellar walls and hearthstones of the original structure, built in 1626, have been incorporated in the new building, a one-and-a- half-story unpainted structure with tiny diamond-paned windows and
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steep gable roof. The trading post was established by the colonists to facilitate barter with the Indians of the Narragansett country and with New Amsterdam, now New York City.
Right from Bourne, 1 m. on Shore Rd., is Gray Gables Inn, once the summer White House as the home of President Grover Cleveland. It has a newel post at the foot of the stairs on which the former President cut notches to mark the increasing height of his children.
TOUR 19 A : From ORLEANS to BOURNE, 61.8 m., State 28.
Via Chatham, Harwich, Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mashpee and Falmouth. N.Y., N.H. & H. R.R. services this area.
Hard-surfaced roadbed.
STATE 28 following the southern shore of Cape Cod passes through some of the most pleasant shore resort towns in the State. Delightful Cape Cod style cottages in gay dooryards rub shoulders with pretentious summer homes set in well-groomed lawns. Occasional groves of scrub pine hide from view the otherwise continuous panorama of Nantucket Sound and its numerous beaches, bays and rivers.
From its junction with US 6 (see Tour 6) in Orleans, State 28 runs south, skirting Pleasant Bay (L).
At 2.7 m. (R) is the Kenrick House, an admirable example of the Cape Cod cottage, built in 1792 by Jonathan Kenrick, a cousin of the adven- turous Captain John Kenrick to whom the building of the cottage is often incorrectly attributed.
At 6.8 m. (R) is the RCA Marine Station (private), equipped with the most modern devices for transmitting and receiving commercial messages. At 8.3 m. is the junction with a crossroad.
Left (straight ahead) on the Chatham Shore Drive, bordered by stately homes, the route provides a marvelous view of the harbor, the shoals, and the ocean beyond. The Summer Home of Joseph C. Lincoln (private), the popular Cape novelist, (L) at 0.9 m., is a gambrel-roofed house behind a well-kept privet hedge.
At 1.5 m. are the Chatham Light (open) and Mack Memorial Shaft. The monu- ment was erected in memory of a life-saving crew, commanded by Captain Mack, that set off in heavy seas to rescue the crew of a wrecked fishing vessel. All but one were drowned and old-timers say that he was so ashamed of being rescued that he would neither discuss the tragedy nor accept commendation. A sunrise service is held every Easter morning on the bluffs by the lighthouse.
CHATHAM, 9 m. (town, alt. 59, pop. 2050, sett. 1665, incorp. 1712), is a seaside town which numbers Justice Louis D. Brandeis among the sum- mer residents. Although Chatham passed resolutions forbidding the use
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of tea during the pre-Revolutionary crisis, it voted against the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The industries of Chatham have been fishing, whaling, and shipbuilding, saltworks and shoe factories; but today all but fishing have been discontinued.
At the Center, on the corner of Main St., is the Congregational Church, built in 1830 (open daily), a fine example of early architecture, containing two unusual modern murals of local religious concept by Alice Stallknecht Wight. One represents a Chatham fisherman preaching from a beached dory. The other depicts a church supper, at which all the participants are Chatham people, neighbors of the artist.
Left straight ahead from State 28 on an unnumbered road to Oyster Pond, 0.2 m., beside which is a cluster of fishermen's shacks. At 0.7 m. (L) is the Old Atwood House (open), built 1752, now the headquarters of the Chatham Historical Society. It has a gambrel roof, central chimney, and gray shingled walls. The interior has fine paneling and H and L hinges.
The Old Windmill (1797) at 0.8 m. was in operation for 110 years and is one of ten remaining on the Cape. The settlement here lies on high land overlooking the har- bor and Monomoy Point which extends ten miles out into the Atlantic Ocean. This point, a wild and lonely spit of sand dunes, covered with beach grass, heather, and wild plum, is one of the most beautiful spots on the Cape, and is much painted by artists. At the tip is Monomoy Point Coast Guard Station. Public cars with balloon tires make daily round trips from Chatham in summer, traveling by the hard sand beach. The trip by private car is dangerous.
At 13.3 m. is the junction with Depot Ave.
Right on Depot Ave. to the Songless Aviary (open), 2 m., the home of manufacturers of wooden decoys.
SOUTH HARWICH, 13.6 m. (alt. 39; Town of Harwich), has a large summer colony and a good beach.
HARWICHPORT, 15.2 m. (alt. 18; Town of Harwich), is also a summer resort. Wychmere Harbor provides a scenic anchorage for pleasure craft. Along the shore are Remnants of the Horse Race Track, once the sporting center of the Cape, but inundated by a terrific storm in 1884.
Harwichport has an annual 'mutt show' which provides great amusement for lovers of dogs as dogs, without benefit of pedigree.
At 16.3 m. is JOHNSON JUNCTION at the junction with State 24.
Right on State 24 is HARWICH, 1.3 m. (town, alt. 80, pop. 2373, sett. after 1670, incorp. 1694). Queen Elizabeth called the English village for which it was named 'Happy-go-lucky Harwich,' a term that can be applied to this charming namesake. Embedded in the pavement at the entrance to Exchange Hall is an inscribed flagstone, the gift of the borough of Harwich, England. Harwich is generally con- sidered the 'Harniss' of the novels of Joseph C. Lincoln.
In its early days, Harwich was a whaling and shipbuilding center, but in the 19th century cod-fishing largely supplanted whaling. Many of the former small in- dustries have disappeared, superseded by the cultivation of cranberries and cater- ing to summer visitors, who now own 70 per cent of the town area.
The Old Powder House (private), at the Center, a small square stone building built in 1770, served as a storehouse during the Revolutionary War. Adjoining is the Brooks Library (open Sat. afternoons), a two-story yellow frame building contain- ing a permanent exhibit of American figurines by John Rogers, comprising 46 subjects.
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From Orleans to Bourne
WEST HARWICH, 17.6 m. (alt. 8; Town of Harwich), is a village whose beautiful homes are occupied the year round.
State 28 travels south and crosses Bass River at 21.1 m. with a view of the picturesque river and the handsome summer estates of the Bass River colony.
SOUTH YARMOUTH, 21.4 m. (alt. 37; Town of Yarmouth). An In- dian Burying Ground, about 0.5 m. east of the Center off Station Ave., contains a pile of unhewn stones with a chiseled inscription: 'On this slope lie buried the last of the native Indians of Yarmouth.'
At 22.6 m. is the junction with an elm-shaded street with well-kept lawns and summer homes.
Sharp left on this street at 0.1 m. (R) on side road to the Town Park and Beach, 1.8 m., facing Nantucket Sound. A large pine grove (picnicking) and a fine beach (bathhouses, small fee) make this a most attractive spot.
WEST YARMOUTH, 24.8 m. (alt. 13; Town of Yarmouth), is in a township that is one of the greatest cranberry-growing areas in the State.
Left from West Yarmouth 1 m. is Englewood Beach (public) on Lewis Bay.
At 26.2 m. is junction with East Main St.
Left (straight ahead) on East Main St. 1 m. is HYANNIS (Town of Barnstable), the summer business center of the Cape. Southwest of Hyannis is Sunset Hill, 2.6 m. from which there is a picturesque view of Centreville Harbor and the head- lands of Wianno and Poponesset.
At 30.1 m. is junction with a hard-surfaced road.
Left on this road 1 m. is CENTREVILLE (Town of Barnstable), a popular sum- mer resort. At 1.7 m. is Craigville Beach (public bathhouses), one of the finest in the country.
Passing between small patches of scrub pine and oak brush, State 28 comes to the junction with a road at 35.9 m.
Left on this road at 1.8 m. is COTUIT (Town of Barnstable), one of the summer recreation centers of the Cape.
At 36 m. is the junction with State 130.
Right on State 130 is MASHPEE ('Standing Water' or 'Great Pond'), 1.8 m. (town, alt. 51, pop. 380, sett. 1660, incorp. 1871), in an area with picturesque ponds, groves, streams, and stretches of woodland. It was originally inhabited by the Wampanoag tribe, which gave allegiance to Massasoit, and was later in the township of Sandwich.
The Mashpee Indians lived in rude shelters made of matting hung over bent saplings. Their religion centered about Kiehtan, the creator, and Habbamock, who governed health. Richard Bourne, a missionary, converted many of them and helped teach them self-government, managing in 1660 to have 10,500 acres set apart for them. In 1834 the area was incorporated under the supervision of a commissioner appointed by the State; in 1932, owing to the economic crisis, it was placed under a State Advisory Commission. Hunting and fishing, the chief oc- cupations of the inhabitants until 1834, were superseded by employment in the cranberry bogs, practically all of which belong to outsiders. At the beginning of the 19th century, the full-blooded Indians had died out, and the present popula- tion is a mixture of native Indian, African Negro, Cape Verdean, and Portuguese.
One of the oldest local legends concerns Ahsoo, a Mashpee girl, so ugly that no man would have anything to do with her, but with such a lovely voice that birds,
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beasts, and fishes paused to listen to her. Most entranced by Ahsoo's voice was the largest of all trout, so large that he could not swim up the creek to hear her sing. In his efforts to reach her, he burrowed his nose farther and farther into the beach each night and thus made the Cotuit River. Grateful for this engineering feat and sympathizing with the big trout's passion, the chief of a pygmy tribe changed Ahsoo into a trout and placed her in Santuit Pond. In his efforts to tunnel his way to the new home of his love, the big trout died from exhaustion, and Ahsoo of a broken heart. The Indians buried them side by side in a large mound, called Trout Cave, near the brook dug by the chief of the trout.
On the road between South Mashpee and Waquoit is a brush pile known as the Indian's Tavern (to the Indians 'tavern' meant a place in the woods where two roads met). By placing a piece of wood on a pile that accumulated there, a passer- by would indicate to his friends the direction he had taken. Today it is called a 'wishing pile'; the inhabitants, in passing, place sticks on it 'just for luck.'
At 37.6 m. is the junction with a dirt road.
Right on this road 0.1 m. are an Old Indian Church (services in summer) with box pews and organ gallery and a Burial Ground in which is a marker with a plaque bearing the following inscriptions: 'Old Indian Church, built in 1684, remodeled in 1717, rededicated in 1923. In memory of friends who labored among the Indians. The date of erection indicated is questionable.
A significant tale narrates how during an argument with the Rev. Richard Bourne the Indian pow-wow lost his temper and, chanting a bog-rhyme, mired Bourne's feet in quicksand. They then agreed to a contest of wits which lasted 15 days, during which Bourne was kept from thirst and starvation by a white dove which placed a succulent 'cherry' in his mouth from time to time. Unable to cast a spell upon the dove, and exhausted from his own lack of food, the medicine-man finally fell to the ground and Bourne was free. In the meantime one 'cherry' brought by the dove had fallen into the bog and had grown and multiplied. Thus the cran- berry came to Cape Cod.
At 38.2 m. is the junction with an unnumbered road.
Left on the unnumbered road to a fork at 2.7 m .; left at the fork; right at the next intersection, to Poponesset Beach 4 m. (bathing, camping; adm. 15€ per person dur- ing summer; nominal sum for trailers).
WAQUOIT VILLAGE, 41.4 m. (alt. 39; Town of Falmouth), is noted for its strawberries and asparagus.
At 46.5 m. is a junction with a good tar road.
Left on this road is FALMOUTH HEIGHTS, 1 m. (alt. 20, Falmouth), a well- known summer resort. From Great Hill the shores of Martha's Vineyard are clearly visible. Nantucket Island, 30 miles distant, is also seen on a clear day.
FALMOUTH, 47.4 m. (town, alt. 44, pop. 6537, sett. about 1660, incorp. I686), called Succanessett by the Indians, was settled by a group of Quakers led by Isaac Robinson. In 1779 the townspeople were obliged to repel attacks by British ships. During the War of 1812 the British again attacked this section, and one of their ships was captured. Agri- culture, shipbuilding, fishing, whaling, and the manufacture of salt and glass were important industries furnishing periods of prosperity.
Facing the Green is the Congregational Church. In the church belfry is a Revere bell with the popular inscription: 'The living to the church I call: Unto the grave I summon all.'
The Falmouth Historical Society Headquarters right of the Green on. Palmer Ave., is a large square Colonial house topped by a 'widow's walk.'
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From Stamford, Vermont to Winsted, Conn.
A Barn (open daily, except Wed. and Fri., 2-6), adjoining the house, is used for exhibition purposes.
At 16 Main St. is the Birthplace (open) of Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929), Professor of English at Wellesley College until her death, and author of 'America the Beautiful.'
Left from the Center on Locust St. (Woods Hole Rd.) is Fay Rose Garden, 3.5 m., where the rambler and other species of the rose were first cultivated. Old trees spreading their shade over green lawns and vari-hued blossoms make this a spot of delicate beauty.
At 3.6 m. is the junction with a road leading left 0.2 m. to the Buoy Yard and Government Wharf, where hundreds of bright-red buoys are piled ready to replace those brought in for reconditioning. From here is seen (L), the Nobska Light, which has been flashing its signal since 1828.
At 3.9 m. is WOODS HOLE (alt. 8, Falmouth town). The Woods Hole Oceano- graphic Institution, Main St., founded in 1930 and endowed $2,000,000 by the Rockefeller Foundation. Staffed by eminent scientists, it utilizes deep ocean waters and the continental abyss, as well as inshore waters, to study not only marine biology, but winds, ocean currents, temperature changes, and their effects. From this base the Institution operates the 'Atlantic,' a completely equipped floating laboratory.
The Clapp Marine Biological Laboratory (R), also on Main St., supplies facilities to qualified investigators for the study of marine life. Summer courses are conducted and the experimental work is stimulated by a library and a museum of local flora and fauna. An important study is now being made of the teredo, or shipworm, a bivalve that destroys wooden piers, piling, and boats. In front of the laboratory stands the Old Candle House (1836), one of the few relics of days when Falmouth was a center for the manufacture of candles from whale oil.
A branch of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries and an Aquarium are located at the corner of Main and West Sts. The Bureau of Fisheries here studies utilization of fish by-products, such processes as the extraction of oils and gelatines, and the habits and distribution of sea life for the purpose of regulation and conservation. It hatches some four million fish each year.
(ELIZABETH ISLANDS off Woods Hole, MARTHA'S VINEYARD and NAN- TUCKET, see Tour 14.)
North of Falmouth are numerous roads running west from State 28 to fine stretches of beach.
At 54.7 m. is the junction with Depot St.
Left on Depot St., straight ahead on County St. to Chester St., 0.5 m .; left here is Silver Beach, 3 m., famous for its smooth silvery sand and crystal clear water.
BOURNE, 61.8 m. (see Tour 19).
TOUR 21 : From VERMONT LINE (Stamford) to CON- NECTICUT LINE (Winsted), 68.6 m., State 8.
Via Clarksburg, North Adams, Adams, Cheshire, Dalton, Hinsdale, Washing- ton, Becket, Otis, and Sandisfield.
B. & M., B. & A. R.R.'s parallel the road at intervals.
Macadam road, frequently hilly and therefore slippery in winter.
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STATE 8 crosses the Vermont Line 2 m. south of Stamford, Vt., and winds through the delightful forested and rural country of the Berk- shire Hills, sometimes at an altitude of nearly 2000 feet. For the most part it crosses sparsely settled towns; with little traffic it provides a leisurely alternate to US 7.
At 0.1 m. is the Clarksburg Reservoir (boating).
BRIGGSVILLE, 2.8 m. (alt. 1000, pop. 1333, sett. 1769, incorp. 1798, Town of Clarksburg), is in an industrial section with small woolen mills where the workers are chiefly of Scottish descent. The village is perched on the watershed that annually sends down floods threatening the city of North Adams.
At 3.1 m. is the junction with a dirt road.
Right on this road 0.5 m. to the Natural Bridge of marble, hanging above Hudson's brook and spanning a ravine. Hawthorne described the grandeur of this spot in his 'American Notebook.'
At 3.9 m. is the junction with State 2, the Mohawk Trail (see Tour 2). NORTH ADAMS, 4.8 m. (see Tour 2).
The west entrance of the Hoosac Tunnel may be seen (L) at 6.5 m. ZYLONITE, 9 m. (alt. 726, Town of Adams), once a thriving settlement, received its name from a mineral deposit found here and formerly used in manufacturing. That industry is now gone, but some limestone is still quarried in the hills behind the old village. South of the village Mt. Greylock (alt. 3505), the highest mountain in the State, is visible (R).
RENFREW, 9.1 m. (alt. 752, Town of Adams), is a mill village. Here is Blue Lake, an artificial pond deriving its deep blue tint from the waste deposits of the limeworks.
ADAMS, 10.8 m. (town, alt. 799, pop. 12,858, sett. 1762, incorp. 1778). One hundred years after its incorporation the town of Adams, named in honor of Samuel Adams, Revolutionary propagandist, was divided into North Adams and Adams.
Adams has always contended that she is the Mother Town. The follow- ing story (for which, however, we do not vouch) illustrates the point: When the Mohawk Trail was opened in 1920, Adams felt slighted at having no share in that great event. Her indignation exploded when the City of North Adams erected a sign on the Trail, reading: 'This is the City of North Adams, the Mother of the Mohawk Trail.' The Town of Adams erected a sign at their joint boundary, reading: 'You are now leaving Adams, the Mother of North Adams and the Grandmother of the Mohawk Trail.'
Industrial development here began in the first half of the 19th century when William Pollock, who is said to have secured capital by selling an old horse for a lottery ticket that won a prize, built and operated the old stone mill now known as Broadly Mill. Paper and textile print works have long been the leading industries. Both lime and marble are quar- ried in the vicinity.
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From Stamford, Vermont, to Winsted, Conn.
The Friends Meeting House (open), at the corner of Friend and Maple Sts., erected in 1786 and continuously used for over 64 years, is a two- and-a-half-story gable-end structure that is still in an excellent state of repair. The two outer doors and the movable partitions, raised during regular services, provided privacy during separate meetings. No pro- vision was made for lighting. Women were allowed to sit on the left to receive more heat from the fireplace.
The Quakers, who were the first settlers here, maintained justice with a minimum of legal proceeding as exemplified by the case of two neighbors who quarreled over straying cattle. The difference was taken to the meeting for settlement. After a period of silent prayer and waiting, a member quietly remarked, 'Six railes and a rider make good neighbors.' The two parties to the dispute shook hands and departed amicably to put up better fences.
I. Left from Adams on Hoosac St. at 1 m. is the junction with East Rd .; right on East Rd. to the Birthplace of Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906), (open by permission), 1.5 m., a two-story buff frame dwelling with a pitched roof, built about 1810. Miss Anthony's favorite room is preserved intact with its furnishings. Beyond the house is the little schoolhouse (now a private dwelling) which the pioneer woman suffrage leader attended as a girl. It has a brick facing, unstained shingle roof, and small central chimney.
2. Right from Adams on Maple St. at 0.4 m. is the junction with West Rd., left on West Rd. (marked 'Thunderbolt,' 'Thiel Farm,' and 'Open Slopes') at 1.2 m., is a junction with the Thunderbolt Rd .; right on Thunderbolt Rd. at 1.9 m. is the lower end of the State-owned Thunderbolt Ski Run, one of the most. difficult runs in the East, used in several inter-collegiate meets annually. The run drops 2060 feet in 1.55 miles. At the bottom are slopes for amateur skiing and tobogganing; near-by is Thiel Farm with overnight accommodations.
At 13.3 m. the highway passes over an artificial hill, constructed in 1935 to eliminate a dangerous hairpin turn. This hill overlooks CHESHIRE HARBOR (Town of Cheshire), where slaves were 'harbored' during the days of the Underground Railroad.
Right from Cheshire Harbor is a road that is the end of the ancient Cheshire Harbor Trail up Mt. Greylock, popular with hikers and ski-runners, and a part of the Capes-to-the-Berkshires Bridle Trail.
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