The invention of the freeway in the 20th century made getting from Point A to Point B a breeze no matter the distance. Not very long ago, innovations like these were mostly science fiction. In the early 20th century life was slower. The new technology consisted of radio, vinyl records, motion picture theaters, and microwave ovens.

Weeks long ambles were the norm, giving time to soak in every blade of grass and grain of sand that existed. In the days before the Mid-Cape Highway connected the entirety of Cape Cod, vacations here were often spent in one location. The precursors to the modern hotel chains worked hard to make their property all-inclusive and unique, giving visitors their money’s worth even if they only saw a little of the Cape.

These are a few of those iconic Olde Cape Cod lodging choices that stood out from the rest for those looking for their own slice of paradise on the Cape.

Highland House: Truro

One of the originals of Cape Cod hospitality, the Highland House, began as a simple farmhouse in the shadow of Highland Lighthouse. Land originally owned by Isaac Small was passed down to his sons Joshua and James upon his death in 1816. It was James who built the farmhouse in 1835. 

Author Henry David Thoreau paid four visits to Cape Cod between 1849 – 1857. Thoreau would spend the night at the lighthouse keeper’s house with James Small and his family. During one stay, James remarked to Thoreau that his farmhouse had room for several boarders. Thoreau thought this a wonderful idea. Though not specifically advertising rooms for rent at the time, Highland House rather quietly opened in 1861.

Business saw tremendous growth though with the release of Thoreau’s “Cape Cod” along with the extension of the railroad line into Provincetown in 1873. Highland House was routinely filled throughout the summer season. Morton Small took over the property upon his father’s death in 1874. In 1876, a two-story wing was built on the farmhouse, doubling its size to take advantage of the increasing tourism.

With Highland House at only forty rooms, Morton Small decided in 1906 to have a new hotel, the Highland House Annex, constructed in time for the 1907 season. The original hotel was eventually moved to Old County Road in South Truro. The new Highland House had a large piazza where the dinner bell was tolled. Beach access became easier thanks to a staircase leading down the cliffs. The property even had a bowling alley.

Between 1898-1928 several cottages were built on the Small property with names including: Millstone, Rock, Beacon, Ship, Margaret Adams, Mayflower, and Pilgrim. With the increasing popularity of automobiles, stays at the hotel began to slow in the early first half of the 20th century. It remained in the Small family until 1947 when it was purchased by Eddie Mayo, Second Baseman of the Detroit Tigers and former Minor League baseball player Hal Conklin. The creation of the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1961 complicated the status of the Highland House. It remained a hotel and restaurant through the 1960’s. The building was saved from demolition when it was repurposed as the Truro Historical Society.

Aberdeen Hall: West Yarmouth

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the community of Great Island in West Yarmouth was open to the public. The centerpiece of the Great Island vacation experience was a high-class country club named Aberdeen Hall. Built by ornithologist Charles Cory using his inherited family fortune in 1902 the forty-five room property was frequented by fellow social elites by invite only. However, in 1905 Cory leased his country club to E.M. Guild for use as a first-class hotel. It was an immediate success.

In January 1909 Cory sold the entirety of Great Island including Aberdeen Hall to New York steel magnate Henry Phipps. Phipps immediately got to work improving Aberdeen Hall and heavily promoting it as the “only 1st class hotel on Cape.” Phipps had a large addition built in May 1909.

Offering private baths, fine dining, fishing, walks in the pine and oak tree groves, as well as rounds on the golf links, it was no wonder Aberdeen Hall was the place to be. For those not able to make it to the hotel via automobile or on foot a ferry service was put into place shuttling people over from the Ocean Street docks in Hyannis. 

Even after Rhode Island banker Malcolm Chace purchased Great Island in 1914, he kept Aberdeen Hall running smoothly. In fact, the hotel saw its greatest heights in terms of occupancy, including its most successful season of 1919 after Chace’s purchase. Sadly, a fire on August 3, 1924 put an end to the resort hotel and by extension ended Great Island’s public access. Nearly a century later, the vast majority of the property is owned by the Chace family and is one of the most restricted locations on all of Cape Cod.

Chequesset Inn: Wellfleet

The “Grand Hotel of the Outer Cape,” the “Hotel Over the Sea,” whatever its nickname the Chequesset Inn truly was a one-of-a-kind Cape Cod luxury resort. Wellfleet was predominantly known as a fishing village in the latter part of the 19th century. As the fishing industry wound down Captain Lorenzo Dow Baker wanted to increase the town’s appeal. He achieved this with the construction of the Chequesset Inn in 1886. The sixty-two room, four-story resort was built on the 400-foot long Mercantile Wharf near Mayo Beach. It quickly turned Wellfleet into a summer resort town.

The guests at the Chequesset Inn were treated to high end luxury in more than one area. Amenities there included both sea and freshwater fishing, boating, tennis, billiards, and bowling. The meals included music played by a live orchestra and vegetables grown from the inn’s own gardens. Guests could be taken to nearby ponds, or walk down Kendrick Avenue to soak up the sun at Mayo Beach. 

Chequesset Inn changed and evolved with the invention of electric power and then the development of the automobile. This helped it remain a huge success for more than four decades. However, harsh New England winters, which could create vicious icebergs, wreaked havoc on the wharf. After years of peril the sea claimed the Chequesset Inn. 

In early 1934, after a particularly frigid winter, Wellfleet Harbor was packed with ice. During a strong winter, storm chunks of ice became free and destroyed parts of the wharf, causing the partial collapse of the inn. Luckily, being a summer resort, nobody was hurt in the collapse. The Chequesset Inn never reopened and was dismantled in September 1934 bringing the era of Wellfeet’s “grand hotel” to an end.

The Pines: Cotuit

A village of Barnstable, Cotuit was home to an icon of Cape Cod hospitality: The Pines. It overlooked Cotuit Bay and lasted for six decades around the turn of the 20th century.

The story of The Pines began in 1808 with a homestead built in Brewster by carpenter Samuel Dottridge. When the family moved from Brewster to Cotuit the home was pulled by oxen to Ocean View Avenue. By 1848 the Dottridge property included a five-room home on forty-five acres of land and was passed down in the family. 

In 1891 Elizabeth Morse, Samuel’s granddaughter, opened a boarding house in the homestead. The following year Elizabeth and husband John built a three-story building with thirty-three rooms on the property. On June 17, 1893 The Pines hotel had its grand opening. 

Being family-friendly there was no alcohol or gambling. However, there was a private beach on Cotuit Bay, high quality food, an ice cream parlor, sailboats for rent, and even rides to nearby ponds. The Pines was an immediate hit allowing Elizabeth and John to enlarge the hotel itself at the turn of the 20th century. It continued with the purchasing of retired sea captains’ cottages which surrounded The Pines, adding rooms to the hotel without building an addition. 

The Pines was inherited by Elizabeth and John’s daughter Nita Crawford and her husband Calvin in 1910. In 1920 they purchased a neighboring home, renovating it into the Pine Tree Tea Room. This became another family attraction serving ice cream and sodas. 

Shortly after World War II a twenty-four room mansion known as Evergreen located near the resort was purchased and added to The Pines. The 1950’s brought the Mid-Cape Highway and marked changes for many hotels of the time. The Pines survived on its legacy until after sixty-five years the Crawfords brought the curtain down on The Pines in 1958. 

In an interesting full-circle story the cottages and the hotel itself were sold or dismantled after The Pines closed. The only remnant left standing for the public to visit is ironically the spot that started it all: The Samuel Dottridge homestead. Today it houses the Historical Society of Santuit and Cotuit. 

Cape Cod in the 21st Century is still home to many unique, iconic, and beloved resorts and hotels. These establishments of yesterday helped pave the way for them. They are a part of the history of Olde Cape Cod, the way things used to be in simpler times. Those days when hand-cranked automobiles, phonographs, and televisions were new and exciting are long gone but never forgotten.

Christopher Setterlund is the author of Iconic Hotels and Motels of Cape Cod and contributing writer for Cape Cod Life Publications.

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The Splendors of Yarmouth

Cape Cod’s heart and soul

Residing nearly smack-dab in the middle of Cape Cod, and stretching from Cape Cod Bay to the north down to Nantucket Sound to the south, the village of Yarmouth prides itself on its rich history and heritage. Established in 1639, it is comprised of the smaller villages of South Yarmouth, West Yarmouth, and Yarmouth Port. One of the most historic stretches of one of America’s most historic roads passes through Yarmouth, and though there is so much that makes up this town, its history is where its journey begins.

The Old King’s Highway, better known to many as Route 6A, runs for roughly 32 miles from Sandwich east through Orleans, before picking up again for a 9-mile run in Truro and Provincetown.  The tree-shaded road hugs the northern coast of the Cape and contains numerous historic homes, quaint shops, and celebrated restaurants. Three and a half of those scenic miles lie within the borders of Yarmouth.

The Yarmouth Port section of the Old King’s Highway contains several beloved Cape Cod landmarks. Heading west to east, we start with one of the finest lodging locations the Cape over, Liberty Hill Inn. The nine-room bed and breakfast, located inside a shipwright’s home built in 1825, is not only a four-time Traveler’s Choice winner through TripAdvisor, it is also regarded as one of the quintessential bed and breakfast spots in the entire country. It is a worthy home base for any visitor to Yarmouth.

Less than half a mile east is the iconic Hallet’s Store. It is a true throwback to the 19th-century glory days of the General Store. Originally built in 1889 by Thacher Taylor Hallet as an apothecary, it has remained in the Hallet family for more than a century, with Charles Clark as the fourth-generation owner. Serving homemade ice cream, sandwiches and old-fashioned sodas, the store has many fixtures inside, which remain from the original opening.

Simply step a few doors down for fresh sushi and more at Inaho. Though it began in Hyannis in 1989, Inaho, owned by Yuji and Alda Watanabe, soon after moved to its home on Route 6A. Their decades of delectable offerings have rightfully earned them loyal customers both near and far. Those who are not sushi eaters can venture only a quarter-mile down the road to dine at a spot nearly as old as Yarmouth itself. The Old Yarmouth Inn began its life as a stagecoach stop in 1696. It was christened Old Yarmouth Inn in 1948 after being known previously as Yarmouth Tavern. Though it has been a restaurant specializing in traditional American cuisine for more than half a century, it was in fact an inn in its former life. The building retains much of its charm from its early days, which makes dining there unique. 

Just before Route 6A crosses into the town of Dennis, you’ll find another well-patronized eating and drinking establishment, Oliver’s and Planck’s Tavern. Since 1983, the Ormon family has been serving lunch and dinner, slinging tasty drinks, and supplying varied entertainment all under one relaxed roof.

How about gifts? For the reader there is the delightfully unique Parnassus Book Service. Once known as Knowles General Store, the family-run bookstore has carried the traditional titles while also delving deep into rarities and antiques, many pertaining to Cape Cod history and genealogy, since 1959. The traditional gift-giver will find anything and everything they need at Just Picked Gifts.  Located where Willow Street meets Route 6A, it is a newer gift shop in the original Christmas Tree Shop building. Since 2011, Just Picked has been selling copious amounts of local ware from talented artisans, and it has become a destination in and of itself.

The one common thread as you drive along Route 6A through Yarmouth is that the landscape is dotted by sea captains’ homes. Known as Captain’s Mile, this collection of more than 50 homes formerly owned by sea captains is perhaps the most endearing and genuine connection Route 6A maintains to Cape Cod’s past. Each home is designated by an oval, black and gold schooner plaque, awarded by the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth. Some of the legendary captain’s homes in the stretch include those of Ansel Hallet, Bangs Hallet, Asa Eldridge, James Bacon Crocker, and dozens more.

The beauty of nature along the north side of Yarmouth cannot be understated. The unobstructed views of Cape Cod Bay are plentiful. Perhaps most frequented of these areas is the spot known as Bass Hole, officially known as Gray’s Beach. In addition to the boardwalk, which includes inscribed planks, there is a picnic area, playground, and numerous walking trails. Although you will see an abundance of wildlife hiking through the trails at Bass Hole, an even better spot for animal lovers is nearby Taylor-Bray Farm. The 22-acre farm, located on Bray Farm Road, is home to sheep, cattle, goats, donkeys and chickens. Richard and Ruth Taylor established the farm in 1639, and it remained in the Taylor family until 1896, when George and Willie Bray purchased it for $400. The grounds are open to the public and are free to visit, though donations are greatly appreciated.

On the south side of Yarmouth, there is a trio of excellent restaurants that have stood the test of time. First is The Riverway Lobster House, located at the intersection of Route 28 and North Main Street. One of the oldest restaurants on the Cape, it has been serving seafood, steaks and more classic fare in a comfy atmosphere since 1944. Captain Parker’s Pub, sitting two and a half miles from The Riverway, has been serving great food in a family-friendly environment for more than 30 years. Gerry Manning opened his beloved establishment in 1981, and it has remained open nearly every day since.  The pub’s greatest claim to fame, though, has to be their clam chowder, which has won numerous awards, including Cape Cod Chowder Fest’s top honor eight times. Then there’s the Skipper Chowder House, overlooking Parker’s River Beach. In operation since 1936, it has been serving classic Cape Cod seafood and its own award-winning chowder for generations of locals and visitors alike.

The recreational opportunities are numerous in Yarmouth. They include calm south-side beaches like Seagull Beach, which abuts the luxurious Great Island. There is also Bass River Beach, more commonly known as Smuggler’s Beach, at the mouth of Bass River. It combines sun and sand with a slice of history. It is on these shores during Prohibition that alcohol smuggling known as “rum running” took place, with some of the illegal booze making its way to the Casa Madrid speakeasy located only a quarter-mile away. That building still exists today on Run Pond Road.

For more exciting slices of history the entire family can enjoy, there is the Whydah Pirate Museum. Located on Route 28 in the former site of the ZooQuarium, Cape Cod’s newest museum is a celebration of Sam Bellamy and the Whydah pirate ship, which wrecked off the coast of Wellfleet in 1717. Considered the worst shipwreck along the Cape’s shores, the Whydah is remembered with stories and actual artifacts from the ship, including the world’s only authentic pirate treasure.

Yarmouth’s newest recreation option is one that connects the village to most of the remaining stretch of Cape Cod. The Cape Cod Rail Trail, which for decades ended at Route 134 in Dennis, was extended 3.7 miles west into Yarmouth. Construction began on the project in October 2015. The new leg of the Rail Trail, which includes bridges over Route 134 and Station Avenue in Yarmouth, was opened to the public officially in December 2018. There is a large parking area on Station Ave., and the Rail Trail now ends at Higgins Crowell Road—it is now possible for riders to park in Yarmouth and take the trail all the way out to Wellfleet. There are plans to extend it further into Hyannis near Mary Dunn Road, with a potential parking area on Independence Drive, already in the developmental stages. 

Occupying the center of Cape Cod and stretching from bay to sound, Yarmouth keeps its rich history front and center. Picturesque Route 6A provides an escape from the bustle of Route 28, giving drivers, riders and walkers a slower scenic trip into Cape Cod’s heart and soul. Filled with tried and true restaurants, entertaining attractions, quaint shops, and bordered by pristine beaches, the town of Yarmouth has something for everyone. It is at once a lively hub and a quiet throwback to simpler bygone days. It is a place to stay up late and a place for a peaceful afternoon stroll. Yarmouth’s village life is everything good about Cape Cod rolled into 24 square miles of land.

Visiting the Village

Barfield’s of Cape Cod

Barfield’s of Cape Cod, now in its 49th year, offers a vast array of high-quality silk, linen and parchment shades. Barfield’s also makes, on-site, a variety of custom shades and light fixtures, and will repair and restore fixtures, lamps and shades, whether to maintain the historic character of your piece, or update its appearance. Bring your creativity and come be inspired!

175 Main Street, Yarmouth Port. 508-362-4867

Design Works

Voted “Best Shop for the Home,” Design Works is a lifestyle boutique that celebrates both style and sensibility. With a carefully curated selection of original art, vintage goods, home accessories, clothing, jewelry, and kids’ merchandise, they have created a space that echoes the laid-back coastal lifestyle that Cape Cod is known for.
159 Main Street, Yarmouth Port. 508-362-9698. designworkscapecod.com

Harvest of Barnstable

Harvest of Barnstable is celebrating its 38th year in business, with 19 of those years in their historic location at 89 Willow Street. Known for their seasonal, in-house design creations in floral and shell-themed décor, they also sell unique gifts for the home, jewelry, and more! Custom designs are available for your home or workplace in the Yarmouth Port design center or their Main Street, Falmouth store.

508-362-4595. harvestofbarnstable.com 

Thirwood Place

The choice is yours! Award-winning Thirwood Place, Cape Cod’s premier senior living community in South Yarmouth, has multiple programs for apartment rentals. Resort-like amenities abound as well as fine dining, housekeeping, maintenance service and a full slate of activities and excursions. Stop by anytime for a casual tour of this beautiful community.

237 North Main Street, South Yarmouth. 508-398-8006. thirwoodplace.com

Wild Birds Unlimited

For almost 27 years, Wild Birds Unlimited of South Yarmouth has been bringing people and nature together, helping customers from all over enjoy the hobby of backyard bird feeding. Simply put, Wild Birds has the products, knowledge and experience to help you get the best out of your backyard.

1198 Main Street, South Yarmouth. 508-760-1996. southyarmouth.wbu.com

Yarmouth Pizza by Evan

Family owned and operated for over 20 years, Yarmouth Pizza by Evan offers a delicious menu of pizza, sandwiches and more. Conveniently located at 559 Route 6A in Yarmouth Port, Yarmouth Pizza by Evan has everything you need for a lunch, dinner or snack that the whole family will love. Save the fish and eat a pizza at Yarmouth Pizza by Evan!

508-362-7977. yarmouthpizzabyevan.net

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Perhaps no other village ties together modern chic and quintessential classic Cape Cod quite like Chatham. It still maintains its image as a hardworking fishing village while also laying claim to luxurious resorts and high-end shops on its picturesque Main Street. It is miles of pristine beaches and acres of fine golf courses. It is history and it is the future. When one asks where to go to feel all of what Cape Cod was in the “good old days” while also enjoying the luxuries the 21st century provides, there can only be one answer: Chatham.  

The town of Chatham includes smaller villages of North Chatham, South Chatham and West Chatham, bordered on the west and north by the town of Harwich, the south by Nantucket Sound, and the east by the Atlantic Ocean. It is the link to the sea that has defined Chatham and its residents for centuries. Whether it’s the fleet of fishing boats passing by Chatham Lighthouse at sunrise, or the crowds of sunbathers finding their own slice of paradise at popular beaches such as Harding’s Beach, Lighthouse Beach, Ridgevale Beach or Forest Street Beach, Chatham and the ocean are forever connected. 

Chatham’s slow evolution from a fishing village to seaside resort began at the end of the 19th century with the creation of the Cape’s first resort hotel. The concept of a resort hotel was brought to the forefront in 1889 by the Chatham Real Estate Trust, led by the future owner of Jordan Marsh, Eben Dyer Jordan, and Edward Taft, president of the New York & Boston Dispatch Express Company. The 30,000-square-foot appropriately named Hotel Chatham would open in July 1890 to much fanfare. Its first few seasons were booming with amenities like a large horse stable, bowling alley, an ice house, and bath houses, routinely filling the hotel to capacity. However, the Panic of 1893, coupled with the seclusion of the hotel that made it difficult to reach in the days before automobiles, spelled a premature end for Hotel Chatham. It sat in limbo for years before being torn down in 1910. In 1922 the grounds upon which the Cape’s first luxury resort sat would be redeveloped as the Eastward Ho Country Club, which is still in operation today.  

Chatham’s second attempt at a luxury resort would achieve much greater success. In 1914 Chatham Bars Inn would open on the beautiful Shore Road facing the Atlantic Ocean. From its roots as a semi-private hunting lodge for the wealthy elite of Boston, to the $100 million renovation by current owners Capital Properties upon purchasing the hotel in 2006, Chatham Bars Inn has seen as much change in its beloved hometown during its century in existence as it has inside its own walls.

Chatham as a whole has seen its coastline ravaged by erosion in some spots. This includes the barrier beach now known as North Beach Island—it was for decades a community of cottages accessible via oversand travel coming down from the north through Orleans. In January 1987 a Nor’easter tore through the barrier beach directly in front of Chatham Lighthouse, exposing the immediate coast to the ravages of the Atlantic Ocean. Twenty years later, in April 2007, another break occurred, this time south of the lighthouse, transforming North Beach into the island it is today.  Though the state of Chatham’s coastline might be in a constant state of flux, one can count on some things in this village to remain virtually the same.

Several longtime businesses lay a stone’s throw from the beaches along Chatham’s beautiful Main Street. For a day of prime shopping, one can step into stores like The Mayflower Shop, which first opened its doors in 1885. The Mayflower specializes in unique gifts for home and family, going beyond the typical. A few doors down is a Cape Cod original. Puritan Cape Cod opened its Chatham clothing store in 1925, and now in its third generation of management by the Penn family, it is an institution dedicated to earning its relationship with its customers. For the avid reader, Yellow Umbrella Books, also on Main Street, has been a purveyor of fine literature since 1980. Whether looking to create a fresh meal at home, or pick out a special Cape Cod gift for a friend, the Cape Abilities Farm Market on Main Street near Chatham Lighthouse is a great place to stop. It has tomatoes, greens, fruit, pies from Centerville Pie Company, hanging plants, clothing from local artisans like Cape Cloth, and is staffed by Cape Abilities participants.

When you’re done shopping, there is plenty of food and drink to be had. One does not have to even leave Main Street to grab a bite at the TripAdvisor top-rated Chatham Wine Bar. Conveniently located in the same building as the romantic 4-star Chatham Inn, this restaurant offers a thorough wine menu and seasonal outdoor dining on its terrace. For those desiring a pub atmosphere, the iconic Chatham Squire is only a few doors down on Main Street. Since opening in 1968, it has been known equally for its menu and entertainment. It’s the perfect place for a family meal, or a fun spot to dance the night away. A short trip west along Route 28 will bring the legendary Pate’s into view. This landmark restaurant, specializing in prime cuts of beef, seafood, and cozy décor, has been pleasing patrons since 1957.

Chatham is more than food and drink, though—the town boasts a thriving art scene. The nonprofit Cape Cod Creative Arts Center on Crowell Road has been nourishing the artistic sides of both young and old since 1969. Their piece de resistance is the annual Festival of the Arts, held at Chase Park on Cross Street during the third weekend of August. It features the work of more than 120 artists both local and national.    

A wondrous day of checking out Chatham’s Main Street would not be complete without splicing in a little history with one’s entertainment. The Chatham Orpheum Theater originally opened at 637 Main Street in 1916 during the silent era of film. The Orpheum captivated audiences with first-run movies until its first chapter ended in 1987. It closed and became a CVS. In November 2011, after CVS had left the building, a grass roots team raised the $1.2 million to buy the building, and then the $4 million to renovate the old theater into a modern cinema. The return of the beloved movie house has earned praise from locals and visitors, even legendary director Steven Spielberg. 

One would be truly missing out on the heart and soul of Chatham if they did not spend some time out in nature exploring. A perfect place to get lost among the untouched scenery of Cape Cod is at the Monomoy Wildlife Refuge on Wikis Way. Established in 1944 as a protective habitat for migratory birds, the refuge is 7,604 acres in total, although due to the shifting sands only 40 acres remain connected to the mainland, with the rest of North and South Monomoy Island lying just offshore. For those wishing to see the islands more closely, there are island excursions offered by companies such as Monomoy Island Ferry, based out of Stage Harbor, which has been in business since 1989.

There are also a number of other delightful options to enjoy the outdoors in Chatham. One can stop, sit, listen and enjoy the sights of the fishing fleets departing or returning with their catches at Stage Harbor or at the Chatham Fish Pier on the Barcliff Avenue Extension, where one can also enjoy a drink and a bite to eat at the Chatham Pier Fish Market. It was featured by CBS Boston as one of the best lobster shacks on Cape Cod in 2014, after all! One can also enjoy a pleasant day outdoors sitting on the sand at Oyster Pond, or cycling along the Old Colony Rail Trail, which begins at the intersection of Depot Road and Hitching Post Road. It is possible to ride the trail all the way north to Wellfleet, or west through Yarmouth.

Of course in order to truly appreciate all that Chatham has in the present one should take a look at some of the places where it all began. The Chatham Historical Society itself resides in the Atwood House & Museum on Stage Harbor Road—a restored 1752 home with exhibits and galleries inside celebrating Chatham’s past. Get up close and personal with history less than a mile from the Atwood House by visiting the Godfrey Windmill on Shattuck Place. Built by Col. Benjamin Godfrey in 1797, it is one of the oldest surviving wooden windmills on Cape Cod and was completely restored in 2012.

An intricate tapestry of modern chic and quintessential classic, Chatham is firmly standing in the 21st century while still holding on to its fishing village roots. Visitors may stay close to Main Street and be completely satisfied with their trip to the “elbow” of Cape Cod. They may also venture far off the beaten path to areas where cell phone reception is spotty at best and become lost in nature. Sunrises at Lighthouse Beach, seal cruises to Monomoy, a glass of wine at the Chatham Wine Bar, burgers at Mom & Pops Burgers, cycling the Old Colony Rail Trail, or swimming at Harding’s Beach, there is no shortage of ways that this village can enchant those who visit. Those who call it home already know of the magic of Chatham’s village life.

Atwood House & Museum

Celebrating 96 years of local history, culture and art, the Museum, near downtown Chatham, features 11 galleries and a gift store. New exhibits this year include “Main Street Cape Cod,” the historic NC-4 first transatlantic flight, and an archaeological dig. Enjoy interactive exhibits with fun for all ages.

347 Stage Harbor Road. 508-945-2493. chathamhistoricalsociety.org

Bungalow

With an ever-changing cache of one-of-a-kind consigned finds, Bungalow is the go-to shop in town for stylish home furnishings and décor. Stop by the store to experience a truly at-home feel. Bungalow’s design team also offers staging and consultation services to breathe new life into your home.

1291 Main Street. 774-316-4506. bungalowcapecod.store

Chatham Sign Shop

Stylish handcrafted quarterboards and house number signs in a variety of motifs feature durable marine enamels and 23-karat golf leaf. These unique home accents are truly delightful. Call for a free brochure. Chatham Sign Shop ships worldwide. These are wonderful gifts for all occasions.

40 Kent Place. 800-547-4467. chathamsignshop.com

East Wind Silver Co.

East Wind Silver Co., the Cape’s premier choice for sterling silver jewelry since 1999, closed its brick & mortar shop and now brings you the same beautiful jewelry online at www.eastwindsilver.com. East Wind makes the Chatham Hook and Chatham Fish Cuff bracelets; Cape Wave jewelry; and the new seabangles collection. It also stocks genuine Cape Cod Jewelry at unbeatable prices. The online shop in Chatham ships most orders within 24 hours.

508-945-2470

Fisherman’s Daughter

Taylor Brown, a local fisherman’s daughter and shellfisherwoman, has turned her passion for protecting the ocean into a thriving eco boutique business. Her Fisherman’s Daughter Collection features the softest handmade, eco-friendly clothing and accessories with charming nautical designs. The boutique also carries a curated mix of over 50 eclectic and ocean-inspired artisans and designers.

521 Main Street. 508-292-5463. @fishermansdaughter fishermansdaughtermarket.com

Mom & Pops Burgers

Open year-round, Mom & Pops Burgers has been voted Best Burger by Cape Cod LIFE readers in 2018 and 2019. Mom & Pops mission is to serve food they grew up on and love, sourcing only the highest quality, freshest ingredients. Beef butchered and ground in-house daily. Hand-cut fries. Every order cooked to order.

1603 Main Street. 774-840-4144. momandpopschatham.com

Wheelhouse Bike Co.

Wheelhouse Bike Co. is a full-service, Trek-authorized bike shop, located by the bike path entrance in Chatham. Wheelhouse has every kind of bike you need for your Cape Cod adventure, with the friendly service and local knowledge to help you explore more!

48 Crowell Road. 774-840-4156. Book your bike rental online at www.wheelhousebike.com.

Where the Sidewalk Ends Bookstore & Children’s Annex

Meet your favorite authors over a gourmet lunch! Where the Sidewalk Ends Bookstore hosts bestselling authors at the five-star Wequassett Resort. Visit the post-and-beam bookstore and children’s annex for books, educational toys and unique gifts. A breezy, covered deck, parking, and seating make this bookstore a favorite for all ages!

432 Main Street. 508-945-0499. booksonthecape.com

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Pictured here, the portion of the Atlantic coast of Outer Cape Cod from Truro to Provincetown. Photo by Paul Rifkin

Beginning in April 2015 and spanning 18 articles since then, Cape Cod LIFE has showcased many localities on the Cape and Islands that have been affected by shoreline change. The “Shape of the Cape” series has shined a light on the situation of places such as Town Neck Beach in Sandwich, Lewis Bay, the Monomoy Islands, Great Point on Nantucket, and many more.

If Cape Cod is shaped like an arm, the portion known as the Lower and Outer Cape would extend from the elbow up to the hand. This includes the towns of Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown. It also includes the entire 43,600-acre Cape Cod National Seashore. The Outer Cape perhaps more than any other area on the peninsula has changed extensively over time.

According to the 2015 “Guide to Coastal Landforms and Processes at the Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts—A Primer” by the USGS, Cape Cod’s history goes back about 15,000 years when the continental ice sheet originating in Eastern Canada retreated and left behind deposits of sand, granite, gravel and silt. In the years following that retreat the sea level rose by about 400 feet, which submerged much of what the ice had left behind. By 10,000 years ago the sea level had risen to such a point that it was beginning to submerge previous land masses. This included Stellwagen Bank, an area stretching 19 miles north-northeast off the coast of Provincetown, and Georges Bank, an area 62 miles off the east coast of Cape Cod that is larger in area than the entire state of Massachusetts.

Left: Graphic adapted from artwork created by Robert Oldale that is displayed at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster. Bottom right: Lecount Hollow and White Creast beaches, Wellfleet. Photo by Paul Rifkin

“Eleven thousand years ago Georges Bank was above water,” says Greg Berman, coastal processes specialist for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. “Back then it would have been possible to walk from the Cape to Georges Bank. With much more land visible, the Outer Cape was not getting hit with the large storms of today which come across the Atlantic, so erosion was much less.”

According to Berman, it was 6,000 years ago when the coastal erosion of Cape Cod began accelerating. The bluffs, which are retreating to this day, once extended as much as four miles farther east than they currently stand. Interestingly, although much of the eastern-facing coastline is retreating, there is an area which is actually growing. Due to wave conditions and sediment migration, much of what was lost from the eroding bluffs traveled north to create Provincetown and south to create Monomoy Island.

Dan Zoto, an archaeologist at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, says that it was about 3,000 years ago when the sea level stabilized. He explains the importance of the stabilization: “Sea level stabilization allowed for the initial formation of barrier beaches,” he says, “and not long after came the beginnings of salt marshes in the estuaries and along tidal rivers. It is at this time, approximately 3,000 years ago, that we see intense use of these estuarine environments by Native peoples.” In other words, sea level stabilization allowed for the year-round habitation of Cape Cod.

Mark Adams, coastal geologist, geographer and cartographer at the Cape Cod National Seashore since 1991, expands on Greg Berman’s points. “Geologists have put together a picture of change going back to the glaciers about 22,000 years ago,” Adams says. “The erosion and accretion we see today has been going on for about 6,000 years, but the conditions began to change marginally in the industrial period over the last two centuries. We see the cliffs of the Outer Cape retreating at a rate of about 3 to 5 feet per year, so in my 20-year tenure that would be up to 100 feet of retreat.”

Today the east coast of Cape Cod is in a state of constant flux. In the town of Chatham it begins with the area once known as North Beach. Before 1987 there was a long barrier beach stretching down from Nauset Beach toward Monomoy Island. The rates of erosion along this barrier beach ranged from as high as 19 feet per year to 3 feet per year between 1938 and 1974. In January 1987 a powerful nor’easter caused the ocean to finally break through the barrier. The ocean poured through the hole into the Chatham shore and Pleasant Bay. This break created the popular Lighthouse Beach, located across the street from Chatham Lighthouse.

Graphics adapted from artwork created by Robert Oldale that is displayed at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster.

Dr. Graham Giese, director of the Land and Sea Interaction Program at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, notes that breaches in this area are not exactly new. “Breaches happen and then close—there’s an overall pattern,” he says. The Chatham barrier beach has “been studied way back since the 1800s,” and at one point was the subject of a doctoral dissertation. It is part of a barrier beach system that undergoes cycles of roughly 150 years. “At certain points in history it is one continuous barrier beach, and every 150 years or so it goes back to that configuration.”

Berman says the break at the northern tip of North Beach Island, which allows water to enter Pleasant Bay, is increasing while the break adjacent to Lighthouse Beach is slowly diminishing. Although it is not to that point yet, Berman says there may possibly come a time in the near future where the Town of Chatham will have to decide whether to dredge the closing channel or let it seal and use the wider Pleasant Bay channel to the north.

Approximately eight and a half miles north of the Pleasant Bay channel is the Nauset Spit. The spit is a roughly two-mile-long section of the Nauset Barrier Beach, which, due to longshore currents and large storms, has gradually been stretching its way from Orleans up into Eastham.

One issue that has arisen with the spit is the fact that Orleans and Eastham have different Off Road Vehicle (ORV) laws. For many years beachgoers had been entering the growing spit in Orleans and simply continuing the drive north into Eastham, where driving on the beach has been prohibited south of Coast Guard Beach since 1978, leading to a dispute between the towns.

The entrance to the Nauset Inlet is approximately 280 feet wide. It separates the spit from the southern end of the Cape Cod National Seashore and Coast Guard Beach. This beach, routinely voted one of the best in the country, has seen its shore ravaged by erosion. During the Blizzard of ’78, the 146-car parking lot, which had been built in 1964, was destroyed, along with author Henry Beston’s dune shack, the “Outermost House.”

The A. Thomas Dill Beach Camp, now part of the Swift-Daley House Museum in Eastham, once stood among those same dunes as Beston’s shack. It was in fact the only shack to survive the Blizzard of ’78.  Dill’s son Tommy, a resident of Eastham for all of his 86 years, remembers what Coast Guard Beach used to look like.

The Chatham Break and Monomoy Island. Photo by Paul Rifkin

When the family dune shack was built, “It was built on the back side of the sand dunes that stood as much as 50 feet tall,” Dill says. “It was on the marsh side of the dunes, not the ocean side. When I returned from Florida after the winter, mine was the only place still standing while eight or nine others were all washed away. I used it for another couple of years before I donated it to the Eastham Historical Society and it was moved before it fell into the ocean.”

Dill, who lives in a house overlooking the Nauset Inlet, says that when he first moved into the house in 1958, the dunes were so high that one could not even see the ocean.

“You wouldn’t even have recognized Coast Guard Beach then,” Dill says. “The whole place has changed.”

Greg Berman sheds light on why such changes take place on the east-facing Cape Cod shoreline. “The Atlantic shore is much more exposed,” Berman explains. “It does not have the protection of Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket Sound. Therefore much of the Atlantic coast is eroding at an approximate long-term rate of three feet per year where Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket Sound erode at a rate closer to one foot per year.”

Just above Coast Guard Beach is neighboring Nauset Light Beach; both are within the Cape Cod National Seashore. To cope with the constant barrage of the sea, in the fall of 2017 the park service removed the Nauset Light Beach restroom and changing building, septic tank, and stairway to the beach.

The decision to remove the stairway was a financial one, according to Karst Hoogeboom, chief of facilities and maintenance for the Cape Cod National Seashore. He explains that the stairway, a massive structure, had to be replaced an average of every three years, at a cost of around $130,000. The Seashore looked into alternatives and decided to replace the stairway with an engineered pathway just south of where the stairway once stood. The bathhouse will be temporarily replaced by trailers while the Seashore formulates plans for a new bathhouse closer to the road.

Berman says creation of the National Seashore minimized coastal damage. “Property damage doesn’t happen as much, since the area is mostly undeveloped,” he explains.  “There is not as much of the man versus nature aspect on the ocean side of Eastham and Wellfleet due to it being National Seashore land, whereas the bay side is more heavily developed.”

In the Town of Truro, the dune system at Ballston Beach has been severely damaged due to overwashes. During a blizzard in February 2013, the storm surge at high tide broke through the dunes, pushing water from the ocean all the way back to the Upper Pamet River Valley more than 900 feet from the shore. In an attempt to repair the damage, which included further erosion of the dune and flooding in the beach’s parking lot, the Truro Department of Public Works trucked in 4,000 cubic yards of sand from Head of the Meadow, another beach in town. On January 27, 2015, Winter Storm Juno tore through the repaired dunes. The high tides, combined with strong winds, caused an overwash that once again flowed into the Upper Pamet River Valley, flooding the beach parking lot and pushing sand into the marsh. At 205 feet, this opening in the dune was even wider than that of 2013.

The parking lot of the Beachcomber in Wellfleet is perched atop an eroding cliff, and last year saw a sinkhole open up and swallow a car after heavy rain caused water to pool in the lower portion of the lot. Photo by Josh Shortsleeve

As residents of the area are likely aware, these incidents in 2013 and 2015 are not isolated. In 1978, and again in 1991 and 1992, overwashes were recorded at Ballston with seawater mixing with the fresh water marsh system and the beach parking lot being flooded.

Karst Hoogeboom notes the breach at Ballston “is happening more frequently now,” most recently in the early January 2018 storm.

As previously stated, some of the sediment from the beaches from Chatham to Truro is carried north and deposited along the shores of Provincetown. In particular, Race Point Beach, near the lighthouse, has one of the highest accretion rates on Cape Cod. According to the USGS, in 2013 the rate of accretion was approximately 2.3 meters per year.

Mark Adams explains the difficulty in tracking and predicting where the biggest changes will happen. “While we understand the long-term processes,” Adams says, “in the short term we see temporary ‘hot spots’ with sudden rapid erosion, likely driven by breaks in submerged sand bars near the shore.”

One such hot spot was at Cahoon Hollow Beach in Wellfleet. On August 18, 2017, heavy rains pelted the area and collapsed a section of the parking lot of the Beachcomber restaurant, leaving a 25- by 40-foot crater in its wake. A week later a new safe pathway was opened to allow beach access again. Though it may have looked like erosion, Greg Berman says it was something different.

“I was called to the site after the sinkhole opened,” he says. “It was not ocean-driven erosion, though. It was a heavy rain event where the water pooled in the parking lot causing the ground to give way. It was nothing that could have been predicted based on incoming storms and waves like common shoreline erosion.”    

Adams says that in terms of solutions to the erosion issues, it is better to adapt than it is to try to stop it. “Soft coastal protection, which includes fences and planting, can help with minor erosion,” he explains, “but it only controls foot traffic and wind. Hard protections can have a temporary effect but have consequences downdrift by blocking the flow of sand.” This means that while structures such as breakwaters protect what is in the immediate vicinity, the areas located slightly farther away become sediment starved, essentially transferring the erosion to those areas.

Tommy Dill’s conclusion is simple yet profound. “You’re not going to stop the ocean,” he says. “It’s going to do what it wants to do. Every year things change.”

The post The Changing Shape of the Cape & Islands: The Atlantic Shoreline appeared first on Cape Cod LIFE.

Wellfleet Harbor, the Herring River and the Chequessett Road dike.

“The Herring River Restoration Project is a rare opportunity to reclaim a once-vital lost ecosystem. . . It is the result of more than a decade of careful study and collaboration involving Wellfleet, Truro, the National Seashore and other state and federal agencies.” 

Throughout history the tides at Wellfleet Harbor carried oxygen-rich ocean water up the six-mile long Herring River. In the last century, however, a manmade dike has disrupted the natural flow of the tides and is threatening the ecosystem. Here, we examine changes at the Herring River and the efforts being made to restore the surrounding area to its former thriving glory.

For more than 2,000 years the Herring River was surrounded by a 1,100-acre salt marsh. According to Don Palladino, president of Friends of Herring River, the river was the center of Wellfleet’s community and economy as recently as 120 years ago.

“Town reports from the late 1890s indicated that 200,000 herring were netted annually from the river,” Palladino says. “Today our herring counters register 10 percent of that number.”

In the early 20th century came an idea to build a dike across the Herring River on Chequessett Neck Road. The intention was to reclaim the marsh area around the river, create cranberry bogs, increase shellfish breeding, and lessen the mosquito population. The project was approved at a town meeting in April 1908 with $10,000 earmarked for construction, and was completed in September 1909.

John Portnoy, a retired Cape Cod National Seashore ecologist and co-author of the 2016 book “Tidal Water: A History of Wellfleet’s Herring River,” shares more reasons why the dike was built.

The map in the top right shows the extent of the historic salt marsh (in tan) compared with the extent of the salt marsh today (black). Tidal restriction has reduced the marsh from approximately 1,000 acres before installation of the dike to about 10 acres today. The aerial photograph in the background shows the Herring River and marsh, with Wellfleet Harbor in the foreground.

“By the late 19th century, the resources of Cape Cod Bay had been severely over-harvested, reducing the tidal wetlands’ economic and social values,” Portnoy says. “In addition, deforestation and sheep grazing caused soil run-off into the Herring River and its tributary creeks, making them no longer navigable.” These lost values, plus a chronic mosquito nuisance, made it easy to convince town residents to dike the river, Portnoy explains.

The dike reduced the opening of the river from 450 feet to approximately 18 feet, severely cutting down on the oxygen-rich water flowing into the salt marsh. It also blocked the sediment carried upstream, which had allowed the salt marsh to grow and thrive. Subsequently the marshland has receded, with only 10 acres remaining today.   

Tim Smith, restoration ecologist at the Cape Cod National Seashore and a member of the Herring River Restoration Committee, says the negative effects of the dike were not known at the time it was built.

“People back then thought they were doing the right thing,” Smith says, “but we’ve since learned how important tidal wetlands and estuaries are regarding coastal fisheries, water quality, wildlife, nutrient and carbon cycling, recreation, and the character of small seaside towns.”

By 1971 the original tide gates of the dike had deteriorated. Larger amounts of seawater had begun seeping north of the dike, which had become a freshwater ecosystem, laying stagnant and occasionally flooding areas of the Chequessett Golf Course. The idea of a potential restoration of the river was debated at that time. Instead the state approved and partially funded rebuilding of the dike in 1974. The rebuilt dike is now more than four decades old and deteriorating again.

The extensive damage to the salt marsh caused by the dike has also had a more subtle influence on the surrounding area, according to Portnoy.

“When water drains from normally water-logged salt marsh peat, it sinks like a dried-out sponge,” he explains. “Portions of the Herring River flood plain have sunk two to three feet since the dike’s creation. This greatly compromises the coastal wetland’s ability to protect nearby upland properties during storm surges.”

A vintage photo of the dike. Courtesy of the Wellfleet Historical Society

The drying out of the peat has contaminated the surrounding water, Palladino says, observing, “The acidity in some portions of the Herring River is comparable to a lemon, which is unhealthy for fish.” In 1985 the river area north of the dike was closed to all shellfishing due to bacterial contamination of the water.

In 2005 the Town of Wellfleet and Cape Cod National Seashore began discussions about whether restoration of the Herring River was possible. Truro joined in the restoration plan as well in 2007. These discussions resulted in the Herring River Restoration Project.

“The Herring River Restoration Project is a rare opportunity to reclaim a once-vital lost ecosystem,” Palladino says. “It is the result of more than a decade of careful study and collaboration involving Wellfleet, Truro, the National Seashore and other state and federal agencies.”

Palladino says the project will include replacing the existing Chequessett Neck Road dike with a new bridge and tide gates, installing a Mill Creek dike and tide gates, elevating Pole Dike Road, and installing culverts and tide gates, removing the portion of High Toss Road that blocks tidal flow, and completing flood protection measures at Chequessett Yacht and Country Club and specified private properties.

The project would be the largest tidal restoration project undertaken in the Northeast United States, Portnoy says.

Leaving the dike in place would be detrimental. “If nothing changed, the marshes would continue to disappear,” Portnoy says, and “the estuary would continue to be a major source of mosquitoes and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane.”

Palladino agrees. “Doing nothing continues to put the community and environment at risk. Without the project, we can expect all of the damage caused by tidal restriction to continue or worsen,” and that would lead to “closure of shellfish beds downstream of the dike, potential for fish kills due to poor water quality, and loss of the river’s herring habitat.”

“Maintaining the status quo is not a viable option,” Smith adds, noting that conditions in the river continue to degrade and if the dike remained in place, without proper maintenance, the tide gates will ultimately fail, causing sudden flooding for upstream properties.

“Herring River, once a jewel of the Outer Cape, is in serious distress,” Palladino says. “We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to recreate a natural tidal wetland system that we lost due to human actions, and if we fail to act, these conditions will persist and likely worsen over time.”

The post The Changing Shape of the Cape & Islands: Herring River, Wellfleet appeared first on Cape Cod LIFE.

Photo courtesy of the Falmouth Museums on the Green

The town of Falmouth has 70 miles of coastline and a total of 14 harbors. In West Falmouth, at about the halfway point of the town’s Buzzards Bay coastline, one comes to West Falmouth Harbor, an attractive spot that sees a good amount of boat traffic. The harbor flows into a series of smaller inland harbors including the Outer, Mid, and South Basins, Old Field Cove, and Snug Harbor. The harbor has one access channel, which is protected by a 700-foot breakwater extending from Little Island at the north side of the entrance and a short jetty stretching the southerly Chapoquoit Point, commonly referred to as Chapoquoit Island.

Falmouth Harbormaster Gregg Fraser says West Falmouth Harbor is a unique spot. “It’s one of our larger harbors,” he says. “There’s a newly refurbished town pier, a dinghy dock, and a shallow draft boat ramp there. It’s also one of the few harbors in town that still has a healthy eelgrass presence.”

The harbor and the Great Sippewissett Marsh, a large tidal salt marsh to the south, are sheltered from Buzzards Bay by a 1.6-mile beach system consisting of Chapoquoit Beach to the north and Black Beach to the south. In this article, we look at how erosion and the continual movement of sediment along the coast have affected both the beaches and the harbor—and what continued loss of beach might mean down the road.

This present day photo shows the intriguing nature of the various basins, coves and points that make up West Falmouth Harbor. Photo by Josh Shortsleeve

Fraser says the movement of sediment into the channel has caused some shoaling at the harbor’s entrance and a slight shift in the navigation route in the channel. According to Fraser, the sand is being taken from the southerly beaches outside the harbor, and deposited along Chapoquoit Point’s north-facing shoreline.

West Falmouth Harbor is considered a “middle-draft harbor,” which means some deep draft vessels may face restrictions at low tide, when depths in some areas can be as shallow as 1 to 6 feet. Fraser says the harbor was last dredged in the 1960s and may be a candidate for another round due to the shoaling, but the area is also an active habitat for an endangered eelgrass, which makes securing permits for such work more involved.

Chapoquoit Beach stretches southward from the northwest corner of Chapoquoit Point for nearly one mile. According to M. Leslie Fields, a coastal geologist at the Woods Hole Group, Chapoquoit and neighboring Black Beach have been eroding at a rate of about 8 inches per year at the northern end, and 1 to 1.5 feet at the southern end from 1845 to 2014. That’s 120 feet in 170 years. Fields says the rates at the southern end are slightly higher than many places on Cape Cod. Currently, areas of the Chapoquoit Beach parking lot are just 35 feet from the water, and an area of Chapoquoit Road just north of the parking lot is even closer. Fraser says most of what might be considered “troubled areas” on Chapoquoit Beach are privately owned, so the town does not have any plans underway for shoreline armoring there.

Photo courtesy of the Falmouth Museums on the Green

A stone seawall that runs along the coastal section of Chapoquoit Road was built years ago to protect the roadway. According to Greg Berman, a coastal processes specialist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, this was done because the road is the only way to access, by land, the residential neighborhood on Chapoquoit Point. However, Berman says what was done with the goal of protecting the road is having a detrimental effect today. “The revetment is actually causing enhanced erosion,” he says. “The waves at many high tides hit the revetment, causing turbulence, which increases the wave intensity, stirring up more sediment which is then taken from the beach.” To Berman, the revetment has played a role in the gradual loss of beach over the years, leaving both of the beaches “sediment starved.”

Black Beach stretches south from Chapoquoit Beach for three quarters of a mile to an inlet, which leads into the Great Sippewissett Marsh. Berman says the beach has undergone drastic changes in recent decades. “Black Beach used to be sandy,” he says. “Portions of the beach are rockier now. The beach isn’t growing rocks—the sand is going away. The waves are strong enough to take the sand but not strong enough to take the rocks, so they stay behind.”

Berman says even without the revetments, the beaches would undergo natural erosion with waves overwashing the beach and moving sand to the upland side. He adds that natural erosion typically occurs slowly enough that the shoreline can re-stabilize itself after such occurrences. Enhanced erosion, though, means that more sand is being moved at a faster rate, and Berman says this process is currently threatening to choke off parts of the marsh.

Historic aerial view of the Chapoquoit barrier beach and the entrance to the harbor. Point to note: this photo was taken before the Little Island jetty was built. Insert: The narrow, fragile stretch of road that provides homeowner access to Chapoquoit Point is continually at risk, as seen in this photo from 2012. Photos courtesy of the Falmouth Museums on the Green

In 2015, a $120,000 Coastal Zone Management Green Infrastructure for Coastal Reliance Grant was awarded to the town to evaluate the feasibility of re-nourishing Chapoquoit Beach. The study considered using sand dredged from the Cape Cod Canal by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to nourish a 3,600-foot stretch, from Chapoquoit to a northern section of Black Beach. As part of the grant, Woods Hole Group looked at sediment movement directions and rates, and found a further study was needed to evaluate the potential for increased shoaling at the entrance to West Falmouth Harbor—as of July 2017 it had yet to be implemented. Most notably, the plan does not call for re-nourishment on the southern stretch of Black Beach up to the inlet to the marsh. Fields says the area is highly dynamic. It has undergone severe erosion in recent years, and the integrity of the dune system is threatened.      

Berman says “healing” these and other beaches across the region through sand nourishment is easier said than done. “Beach nourishment is expensive,” he says, “sourcing it and getting it here.” Fields suggests that the total work involved should take into consideration the feasibility of targeted dredging in the event the nourishment project results in increased shoaling and affects navigation.

According to sources interviewed for this topic, efforts such as beach re-nourishment and the installation of revetments and other coastal armoring structures are likely to only delay or slow the natural process of erosion. Berman believes sea level rise in the next century will lead to an increased depth and extent of flooding, potentially damaging the Chapoquoit Road revetment. “There are not a lot of great answers,” he says. “There is no space to move the road landward due to development. All solutions should be done with eventual retreat in mind.”

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A northeastern view of the Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge on Nantucket, with Great Point at the tip. The first lighthouse was built at Great Point in 1784. Photo by Josh Shortsleeve. Inset, this map of the island was painted by artist Winthrop P. Moore. Courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association

In the 18th century, the passageway between the southeastern tip of Cape Cod and Nantucket’s Great Point (1) was one of the busiest on the East Coast due to the island’s booming whaling industry. The route was dangerous, though, with strong currents and notorious shoals, and in 1784 a lighthouse was built at Great Point to help mariners navigate the passage.

Naturally, the wind and waves that imperiled ships passing by have also done a number on the light, and several repairs and replacements have been made over the years. And Great Point itself—the northernmost tip of a long, narrow and curving peninsula that juts out like an arrow into Nantucket Sound—has also been impacted, with erosion and breach occurrences influencing its current shape and geography. In this article, we review some of the history of the lighthouse and examine how time and tide have shaped the area over the years.

Great Point is located at the northern tip of Nantucket, just north of the Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge, which is owned by the Trustees of Reservations. The 21-acre parcel on which the lighthouse sits is part of the Nantucket National Wildlife Refuge, but to get there by land, visitors must travel through Coskata-Coatue. In addition to stunning scenery, Great Point is home to seals, endangered birds such as Piping Plovers and great opportunities for fishing. The remoteness is part of the appeal. Fred Pollnac, the Trustees’ Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge superintendent, explains. “You really get a sense of the power of the ocean there,” he says. “It is very exposed to the elements, and even on a calm, clear day, you still get that sense of being ‘away at sea.’”

A recent aerial view of Great Point, looking southeast. Photo by Terry Pommett                 Nantucket map courtesy of The Trustees of Reservations

Built in 1784, the original lighthouse—officially named Nantucket Light—was made of wood. It was destroyed by fire in 1816. A second light was built on the same spot in 1818, this one of stone. As years passed, erosion nipped away at the surrounding coastline, and the stone lighthouse kept “moving” closer to shore. By the early 1980s, the light was just 40 feet from shore, and many were clamoring for it to be moved inland. According to a 1981 article from The Inquirer & Mirror, The U.S. Coast Guard, which maintains the light with the Trustees, estimated that such a project could cost as much as $1.5 million, and that Mother Nature should be allowed to take its course. This conversation was made moot on March 29, 1984, when a hurricane-force storm toppled the 70-foot lighthouse. According to Pollnac, the storm surge undercut the light’s shallow foundation, causing it to collapse. On the same day, about one mile south, storm waters also tore through a narrow area of Nantucket’s barrier beach known as The Galls (3), making Great Point, at least temporarily, an island.

With the help of the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, $2 million was raised to build a replica of the lighthouse, and on September 7, 1986, the new tower—made with reinforced concrete and a rubblestone exterior—was dedicated at a spot several hundred feet further inland. The new light was built with a deeper foundation to better protect it during storms.

Another breach took place at The Galls during the “No Name Storm” of October 30, 1991, again making Great Point, briefly, an island. Pollnac explains why neither of the breaches became lasting features. “Though that region is overwashed during big storms there is a lot of sediment transport in the area,” Pollnac says, “making it likely that any breach won’t become permanent.” Since 1991, though, Pollnac says no more breaches have taken place. In February of 2016, winter storm Olympia caused storm tides to overwash the area, though vehicles could traverse it at low tide. Today, The Galls measures 200 feet across, and Pollnac says it’s a top concern for the Trustees, partly because the light is still active and requires regular Coast Guard visits.

Like other coastal areas, the peninsula follows a natural ebb and flow, Pollnac says. “Great Point goes through a cycle of erosion,” he says. “The shape of the tip shrinks and expands. The beach gets reduced in winter and by late spring it’s built back up. It’s cyclical.”

A westward looking view of Great Point. Photo by Chris Seufert. Historical maps of the island from 1787 and 1835. Courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association

Since taking on the position in 2015, Pollnac has learned about changes that have taken place in the area over the years, and others he has observed first-hand. For example, since 1995, he says about 100 feet of beach east of the lighthouse has eroded, leaving the light an estimated 300 feet from shore today. In the fall of 2012, Hurricane Sandy carved a large dent in the dunes in the same area. And though the lighthouse does not appear to be in any imminent danger, Pollnac has observed erosion’s powerful effects elsewhere on Great Point. “One thing I saw in December 2016 was flooding of the access road near the lighthouse (2),” Pollnac says. “There is an intersection where you can head toward the ocean or sound side. A few storms came from the west, one after another and, combined with high tides, flooded the road more than 400 feet from the shore.”

That intersection—and the rest of Great Point, including the land on which the lighthouse stands—is owned by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The agency’s role is to protect wildlife and wildlife habitats on the land it owns. According to Libby Herland, project leader of the Eastern Mass. National Wildlife Refuge Complex, an organization of eight wildlife refuges, this responsibility includes building and maintaining symbolic “fencing” (posts and string) in an area north of the light to keep seals from being bothered by humans, and fencing the nesting habitats of piping plover and other endangered birds. “Putting up fences protects the wildlife,” Herland says, “but it also protects the dunes by keeping people and vehicles off of them.”

Tom O’Shea, the Trustees’ director of stewardship and natural resources, has been targeting areas of critical concern using scientific models used by the Woods Hole Group, an environmental, scientific and engineering consulting firm. He says the models, which predict sea level rise and storm surge increases for Great Point in the years 2030 to 2070, paint a relatively dire picture for the area—but adds there is only so much anyone can really do. “We are not sure how proactive we can be,” O’Shea says. “We need to wait for more sediment-transport analysis. We want to be smart about any adaptations we make.”

Analyzing the sediment, he says, can give researchers information about where accreted material has come from and where eroded material has gone. Once the study is completed, O’Shea says the Trustees will have a better understanding of how the beach will likely change, and may decide to implement new technologies currently under development to help shorelines adapt to or withstand erosion. These include a new type of fencing that helps disperse wave energy, or the installation of oyster reefs to help the beds—which protect shorelines from erosion—grow faster.

Ultimately, O’Shea says man can—and should—only do so much. “All barrier beaches are dynamic,” he says. “It’s important to let the natural processes occur. We need to not take action unless it is really necessary.”

The post The Changing Shape of the Cape & Islands: Great Point, Nantucket appeared first on Cape Cod LIFE.

In this eastward-looking aerial photo of Chappaquiddick on Martha’s Vineyard, one can see Cape Poge Bay and the barrier beach known as “the elbow,” which winds around to protect it. In stark white, Cape Poge Lighthouse can be seen at the center of the image, and at bottom right, North Neck juts into the bay. Photo by Paul Rifkin

Visitors to the southeast of Martha’s Vineyard will find Chappaquiddick, a scenic swath of land that’s home to hundreds of acres of wildlife preserve, a few homes and a spectacular public garden. Chappaquiddick is also well known for sometimes being a peninsula, sometimes an island. Currently, “Chappy” is connected to the rest of the Vineyard by Norton Point Beach, which stretches from Katama Beach to Wasque Point.

On the north of Chappaquiddick, The Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge consists of 516 acres of marsh, dune, tidal ponds and barrier beach. It’s also home to the Cape Poge Lighthouse. First built on Cape Poge’s northeastern tip in 1801, the light has been rebuilt a few times and moved back from the shore on several other occasions, most recently in 1987. This last move brought the light 500 feet inland, but in the 30 years that have passed since then, that distance has been whittled down to 425 feet.

In addition to the lighthouse, Cape Poge also has nine residences, many of which were built as summer cottages but have since been winterized. Though these homes are not in any immediate danger, Chris Kennedy, the Martha’s Vineyard superintendent for The Trustees of Reservations, says erosion rates vary all over Cape Poge. “It depends on where you look,” Kennedy says. “The northeast tip has been undergoing constant changes for more than 200 years. Then, along the elbow, there has been almost nothing in terms of erosion.” Kennedy says that with an average erosion rate of nearly two feet per year over the past two centuries, the site of the lighthouse’s original 1801 foundation is likely 400 feet off shore today.

The elbow is a barrier beach that curls southwest from Cape Poge for about a mile and a half, almost all the way to North Neck, creating a protective barrier around almost all of Cape Poge Bay to the east. Boaters can enter the bay from Nantucket Sound, in the west, via Cape Poge Gut, a channel just north of North Neck.

A northwest-facing view of Chappaquiddick’s Cape Poge. Cape Cod can be seen in the background. Photo by Josh Shortsleeve. Inset: 1830 map of Chappaquiddick courtesy of Martha’s Vineyard Museum. Photo by Josh Shortsleeve

At its widest point, the elbow is 250 feet across, but according to Edgartown Harbormaster Charlie Blair, the southern tip has remained stable in recent years as a result of natural accretion and some beach re-nourishment where dredged sediment from the gut has been used to bolster the beach. Blair says the inside delta of the gut was last dredged in 2008, and town officials are considering additional dredging work in the area.

North Neck is another unique topographical feature. The peninsula extends some 2,000 feet into Cape Poge Bay, which is a popular spot for fishing and bird watching. Blair says the area around the neck has also been rather stable. “The current runs hard into the gut, and the sediment is pushed past the neck into the bay,” he says. “In looking at old maps of the area, North Neck looks the same as it did back in 1938.”

Though the neck, which does not face the open ocean, has remained mostly unchanged for at least several decades, the area just outside the gut has a different story to tell. “The bluff has been eroding my whole lifetime, and I’m nearly 70,” says Blair, referring to the coastal area southwest of the channel. “It has been peeling off, putting the houses at the top in serious danger.” Blair estimates that seven or eight homes, in addition to the historic Big Camp building near the Royal & Ancient Chappaquiddick Links golf course, are at risk from erosion. In recent years, property owners have taken some preventative measures, including planting vegetation on the bluff and installing stone bulkheads at its base.

During a 2011 storm, the elbow was breached about 200 yards to the south of a longtime summer camp known as the “windmill house,” where the beach measured just 75 feet across. A temporary channel developed—180 feet across and several feet deep. According to Kennedy, the breach filled in within a few weeks and no breaches have occurred since. This, Kennedy says, is most likely because the elbow is a “cobbled beach,” or one with a granite “spine” just under the surface, making it rather stable. “Often, breaches just happen,” Kennedy says. “It takes the right storm with prolonged winds from a specific quadrant to move the sand. However, the cobbled beach is so fortified that any breach is short-lived.” Though Kennedy says the elbow is relatively stable today, breaches like the one in 2011 could happen again.

A south-facing view of the Dike Bridge on Chappaquiddick. Photo by Josh Shortsleeve

The Trustees are taking steps to prepare for and hopefully prevent some areas where erosion could hit. Tom O’Shea, the Trustees’ director of field operations, discussed the process. “We are targeting areas at risk using scientific models that The Woods Hole Group applied for us,” O’Shea says. “It is not guesswork, but actual science to help us make the right moves in managing that risk.” Based in Falmouth, the Woods Hole Group is an environmental, scientific and engineering consulting organization that does a lot of work pertaining to coastlines. “We may likely need some sediment transport and sand migration studies to better understand potential future shoreline change,” O’Shea says, adding that areas currently viewed to be at risk include the Dyke Bridge and Causeway as well as marshland and trails leading to the lighthouse.

According to these models, O’Shea says there is “zero percent chance” that Cape Poge Light will be flooded due to shoreline change between 2030 to 2070—the date range used in the models. “We are the first conservation organization to use these models,” O’Shea says. “They are allowing us to be proactive and see where we might need to make adaptations. We can choose where to fortify, or to retreat [move a structure away from danger], and where to create and restore more resilient systems like salt marshes and barrier beaches.”

Both O’Shea and Kennedy agree that the use of the models could help other communities facing their own coastal vulnerability issues, and that the Trustees are available to offer their experiences if and when needed.

Chappaquiddick and the stunning Cape Poge entice and enthrall locals and visitors alike with their scenic vistas and natural wonders. The region is changing, though, and those who visit from time to time will notice them, some subtle, others dramatic. Like different areas on Cape Cod and the Islands, Martha’s Vineyard is an ever changing landscape that man is advised to both adapt to and appreciate.

The post The Changing Shape of the Cape & Islands: Cape Poge and North Neck, Martha’s Vineyard appeared first on Cape Cod LIFE.

Editor’s note: This is the 14th in a series of articles covering the region’s dramatically changing coastline. Click here to see all of the articles.

A recent northeast-facing view of Lewis Bay, a busy body of water that serves as the natural border between Barnstable and Yarmouth. Boats can be seen traveling in and out of the bay to Nantucket Sound through the federal navigation channel. Above, one can view Kalmus Beach, the Hyannis Yacht Club, and the entrance into Hyannis’ Inner Harbor, while at right, one can see Egg Island, which is part of Barnstable, and Great Island, a privately owned section of Yarmouth. In the 19th century map, Egg Island and other islands stand on their own in the bay. 1880 map courtesy of the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth. Photo by Paul Rifkin

Lewis Bay is part of the south coast of Cape Cod, basically the center of the triceps when thinking of the “arm” of Cape Cod. The bay measures some 1.6 square miles and serves as a natural border between Yarmouth to the east and Hyannis to the west. Those who travel on ferries out of Hyannis travel through Lewis Bay to get to Nantucket Sound, passing Hyannis’ Kalmus Beach and Yarmouth’s Great Island. The bay is named for Jonathan Lewis, an 18th-century Cape Codder who was the first Hyannis resident to construct a two story home.

As the Steamship Authority and Hy-Line both run ferries in and out of Hyannis’ Inner Harbor, the bay is a busy transportation channel. Brian Braginton-Smith, executive director of the Lewis Bay Research Center, describes Lewis Bay as a “lifeline” connecting Cape Cod and the islands. He also describes the bay’s geography as “like a shallow bowl. The waves wash up on shore, then reverberate back and forth.” It’s the regular use of this “lifeline” that has brought about substantive changes in the “shallow bowl” during the past 70 years.

Aerial views of Yarmouth’s Great Island, looking northwest, and Point Gammon Light, located on the southern tip of the island. Main photo by Paul Rifkin. Inset photo by Josh Shortsleeve

“Two fundamental things have resulted in a wholesale dynamic change to the entire ecosystem of the bay,” “Two fundamental things have resulted in a wholesale dynamic change to the entire ecosystem of the bay,” Braginton-Smith says. “The first is the population growth around the bay and the resulting reliance of onsite septic systems. The second is the federal navigation channel.” The route ships travel from the Sound to the Inner Harbor was in 1940 designated a federal navigation channel, Braginton-Smith says, so federal funds could be acquired to dig a deeper, wider channel into Hyannis to further expand it as a port. Naturally, the larger channel allowed for more water to flow in and out of the harbor.

Dan Horn, Barnstable’s harbormaster, says this has caused some problems. “The flood tide coming in from the Sound is stronger than the ebb tide going out,” Horn says. “More water is being pushed into the harbor. This stirs up sediment and leads to shoaling. It has been a gradual process and it’s a mixture of natural and manmade causes.”

According to Braginton-Smith, the increase in tidal flow has caused some damage to the local ecosystem. He recalls the bay’s scallop harvest in 1965 yielding 1,500 bushels, while in 2016 that amount had dwindled to just 100. He says the vessel traffic that’s grown steadily since the channel was expanded has increased wave action in the bay to a scenario underwater that’s comparable to “an intermittent (when the boats are going by) mid-level storm.” And Horn adds, the harbor is home to more than 1,000 boats—especially during the summer.

Horn says the boating traffic has contributed to the intense shoaling in the Inner Harbor. The channel, which is maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was last dredged in 2013. Though Horn says it’s in pretty good shape today, he says there are a few spots that may soon need a touch-up.

Photo by Paul Rifkin

To the south and east of Lewis Bay one finds Great Island, a 700-acre swath of land extending westward from Yarmouth. Though technically an island, at low tide one could walk from one land mass to the other without getting wet. It’s not recommended, though; the island is privately owned.

In 1802, a small pox inoculation hospital was established at the island’s southern tip, in the area known today as Point Gammon. In the 1880s, a wealthy ornithologist purchased the island and transformed it into a rare game preserve. In 1914, Rhode Island banker Malcolm G. Chace bought the island—and the property remains in the Chace family’s possession today.

According to Horn, the shoaling in Lewis Bay has affected Great Island, at least in its relationship to Egg Island. Since maps of the area have been drawn, Egg Island, a thin five-acre island off the coast of Great Island has stood on its own in the bay. In 2010, though, shoaling in the area brought the islands together. Due to its location, Egg Island is part of Barnstable, while Great Island is in Yarmouth—and as mentioned, it’s privately owned. Horn says some boaters that have beached their vessels at or near Egg Island in recent years report having been asked to move by folks on Great Island.

Across the bay, Kalmus Beach is a natural barrier that protects the Inner Harbor. Named for Herbert T. Kalmus, who once owned Centerville’s Fernbrook estate and who donated the land to the town of Barnstable, the peninsula extends 1,300 feet eastward into the bay.

When the channel was dredged in 1985, the Army Corps of Engineers used some of the dregs to shore up two acres of Kalmus Beach that had eroded. In 1997-1998, a more expansive “re-nourishment” effort covered 75 percent of Kalmus in dredged sediment. Since then, however, Horn says wind and waves have nibbled away at these efforts, dumping some of the newer sediment into the bay just north of the beach, creating a somewhat unnatural shoal.

Both Braginton-Smith and Horn commented that with Lewis Bay’s importance as a transportation “lifeline” there is only so much that can be done to stem some of the bay’s  traffic-generated shoaling.

“I’m conflicted,” Braginton-Smith says. “One possible solution could be fewer ferry trips into the harbor, but I love watching those ferries come in past Bayview Beach in Yarmouth.”

“Without regular dredging, shoaling will continue,” Horn adds. “We may want to consider restricting speed limits in the harbor. However, shoaling is mostly a natural process. Even if we didn’t have boats coming in and out there would still be shoaling.” Were the main channel not routinely dredged, Horn says many boats and ferries would find it increasingly challenging to access the bay.

The post The Changing Shape of the Cape & Islands: Lewis Bay, from Hyannis Port to Kalmus Beach & Great Island appeared first on Cape Cod LIFE.

*We have highlighted and numbered 16 locations described in the article to help readers locate them in the photos.*

Map courtesy of the Chatham Historical Society. Photograph by Paul Rifkin

To the south of Chatham, the sandy spits that comprise North (1) and South Monomoy (2) Islands measure about eight miles, stretching north and south like fingers or drumsticks. In 2007, following several years of coastal waters picking up sediment and transporting it southward along South Beach Island (3), the island itself connected to South Monomoy. Walkers, were they so inclined, could set out from Chatham Light (4), head across Lighthouse Beach (5), plod southward over several miles of sand, and knock on the front door of the Monomoy Lighthouse (6) keeper’s quarters.

This scenario did not last long, though, for in 2013, South Beach Island was breached (7) about a mile and a half south of Chatham Light, bringing to an end this special lighthouse-to-lighthouse route. Much more than disappointing adventurous walkers, though, erosion, accretion, and other natural changes that have taken place along the coast of Chatham—and Monomoy, specifically—have impacted navigation routes in the area and brought about a major change for nearby Stage Harbor (8).

In this 1984 photo, one can observe that Nauset Beach (12) runs along the Cape Cod coastline, unbroken for miles, from near Monomoy to Orleans/Eastham. Fishermen and boaters regularly traveled through the Southway (13) to get from Chatham Harbor to the ocean. Photograph by Kelsey-Kennard Photographers

In this article, we look at the changes that have taken place around Monomoy, both in the last decade as well as the last century, including Monomoy’s transformation from a peninsula to an island—and then two islands.

Monomoy was created in the wake of the last ice age 18,000 years ago, upon the retreat of the glaciers. The size of North and South Monomoy—some 7,604 acres, combined—fluctuates due to the patterns of erosion and accretion. When waves come at Monomoy’s shores from different angles, longshore currents pick up sand and then deposit it further down the coast.

This 1989 photo was taken two years after the 1987 barrier beach breach (14), just east of Chatham Light (4). The event made the southern part of Nauset Beach an island—to be called South Beach Island (3). In the years that followed, the island’s northern tip curled inwards, eventually stretching across to the mainland, forming Lighthouse Beach (5). Photograph by Kelsey-Kennard Photographers

In colonial America, Monomoy was an active settlement. In 1711 locals opened Stewarts Tavern in an area of South Monomoy known today as Inward Point (9). During the 1830s a small fishing community called Whitewash Village (10) thrived near the southern tip of the island; at its peak, the village was home to 200 residents, a schoolhouse, an inn, and two wharves where fishing boats could be supplied. A winter storm in 1860 effectively brought an end to year-round living on the island though. The harbor shoaled in the years that followed, and the village’s fishing business declined. Some houses were moved to the mainland, while others were left to the elements.   

This 2007 photo was taken after South Beach Island (3) connected to South Monomoy (2) at point 16. For a few years, energetic walkers could make their way, by land, from Chatham Light (4) to Monomoy. However, the Southway’s (13) utility as a harbor-to-ocean route was all dried up. Photograph by Kelsey-Kennard Photographers

Ted Keon, Chatham’s director of coastal resources, describes what makes Monomoy’s landscape so unique. “Monomoy is considered the southern sediment sink of the Outer Cape beaches,” Keon says. “There is a very dominant transport of sediment from the ocean waves carrying it south toward Monomoy, which is why the southern end of the island looks like a drumstick.” Illustrating this phenomenon, Monomoy Point Light (6), which was first built in 1823 and at one point stood just 180 feet from the beach, sits a comfortable 1,000 feet inland today. The light has not been moved by man; sand has built up on the shoreline, “moving” the light, in effect, inland.

In 1902, as a result of time and tide, Monomoy Island attached to mainland Chatham at Morris Island (11), part of a cycle that likely commenced decades or centuries before—and one that continues today.

Taken in 2016, this image shows where South Beach Island was breached in 2013 (7). Though the opening runs east to west, the considerable shoaling that has taken place around North Monomoy (1) has made the area a navigation challenge for boaters. Photograph by Kelsey-Kennard Photographers

South Monomoy, looking North East. Photograph by Paul Andrews (1980s)

South Monomoy, looking South West. Photograph by Paul Rifkin (2016)

In 1958, a severe storm once again separated Monomoy from the mainland, creating a breach between the landforms and making Monomoy once again an island. This rift had a powerful effect on Stage Harbor (8), which connects Chatham’s Oyster Pond and Mill Pond to Nantucket Sound. Prior to the breach, the harbor’s entrance was just west of Monomoy, but after the event strong currents flowed through the new channel, inundating the harbor with sediment. Mooring areas filled in, a Coast Guard boathouse was rendered unusable, and drastic action was called for.

In 1962, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dug a new entrance to the harbor one-half mile to the west of the original—right through Hardings Beach. The dredging material was used, in part, to create Crescent Beach, a man-made barrier for the harbor; the beach curves eastward from the harbor’s new entrance to Morris Island (11).

During the Blizzard of 1978, Monomoy was split in two, creating North Monomoy and South Monomoy.

Over the years, Chatham’s barrier beach, Nauset Beach (12), continued to stretch south-—to the east of North Monomoy. The waterbody that flowed between them came to be called the Southway (13), a windy but navigable passage that boaters could travel to the ocean. “This was a route where boats could travel between the islands,” Keon says. “It was a relative shortcut from Stage Harbor (8) to the Atlantic, in and out of Nantucket Sound.”

Breaches in Chatham’s barrier beach in 1987 and 2007 created two new inlets—at left, and above—and made North Beach an island. Photograph by Paul Rifkin (2016)

A short distance north, in January of 1987, a nor’easter caused a break (14) in Chatham’s barrier beach, just east of Chatham Light. This created North Beach (15) and South Beach Island (3), the latter of which, as a result of sediment piling up in the ensuing years, would connect to the mainland in 1992. Readers know this connection as Lighthouse Beach (5).

Currents continued to sweep sediment southward, and in 2006 South Beach Island stretched all the way to South Monomoy. Wave action and tidal flow dumped sand in the inlet to the Southway, ultimately clogging the opening and connecting the two sides (16). This was the first time Monomoy was connected to the mainland in half a century, and—as mentioned earlier—a scenic Monomoy-to-mainland walking route was created. Alas, the days of sailing through the Southway were over.

Like other “reunions” highlighted in this story, this one, too, was short-lived: South Beach was breached in February of 2013 (7). The breach measures some 2,000 feet across, creating an opening from ocean to Sound, but Keon says the channel’s use as a navigation shortcut is problematic. “It’s very shallow,” he says, “and difficult to navigate except at high tide.”

Monomoy Point Lighthouse (6). Though at one time the light stood just 180 feet from the beach, as a result of sand accretion over the years the light is a considerable distance inland today. Photograph by Josh Shortsleeve (2016)

According to Stuart Smith, Chatham’s harbormaster, this breach has also caused more trouble for Stage Harbor (8). “It created additional sand movement,” Smith says. “The sand is moved west through the breach toward the channel and is being dumped into the harbor.” During the past 15 years, Smith says, Stage Harbor has been dredged a few times, adding that another round is overdue. “Boaters that use the channel are generally aware [of the increased sediment],” Smith says. “It’s not like it’s a surprise—what’s surprising is the rate at which it’s shoaling. It continues to be a challenge.”

The changes Monomoy has weathered over the years will continue to occur, Keon says. Having stretched all the way to South Monomoy (2), South Beach (3), Keon says, has thinned out and may be vulnerable to future breaches. “South Beach is eating itself,” he says. “It’s breaking apart as sediment continues being carried south. It’s eroding on the east shore while gaining on the west.” Eventually, the pileup could bring Monomoy and Morris Island back together.

For boaters who wish to explore the waters around Chatham and Monomoy, Smith offers some advice. “Follow the buoys and pay attention to the tides,” he says. “The breaking surf on the shoals can cause trouble. Chatham continues to be a difficult place to navigate, but it’s such a beautiful, pristine place.”

Christopher Setterlund is a freelance writer from South Yarmouth.

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