Long Point (Cape Cod)
Long Point | |
---|---|
Village | |
E. Daylight (EDT)) | |
GNIS feature ID | 616615[1] |
Long Point is a peninsula located in Provincetown, Massachusetts, at the extreme tip of Cape Cod, as it curls back in on itself to create Provincetown Harbor. The Long Point Light was built on this point in 1827. The lighthouse once shared this peninsula with a settlement of fishermen that came to be known as Long Point, Massachusetts. This Provincetown village grew and thrived from 1818 until the late 1850s. When the settlers decided to leave Long Point, they took most of their houses with them – about 30 structures in all – by floating them across the harbor.[2][3]
During the American Civil War, the military established a defensive coastal artillery post and garrison at this location. The Long Point Battery[4] came to be known as "Fort Useless" and "Fort Ridiculous" among the local residents.[5][6]
Today, nothing remains of the village of Long Point, except for the lighthouse and an earthen mound, the last remnant from the earlier military post.[3]
Early history
A fisherman named John Atwood built the first house on Long Point in 1818. He was followed by Prince Freeman, and next by Eldridge Smith. Others soon followed in increasing numbers, and in 1822, Prince Freeman, Jr. became the first child born on "The Point", as it was called by the locals.[7]
The initial lure that attracted so many fishermen to this area was its proximity to prime fishing grounds, and the amount of fish that could be caught from the shore. Using
By an act of Congress on May 18, 1826, the government earmarked $2,500 (roughly $67,000 today[9]) to acquire four acres at the extreme tip of the point, and to construct a lighthouse, which was completed in 1827.[5][10] By 1830, the lighthouse became the site of Long Point's first school, starting with only three children.[8] The Long Point community continued to grow, and by 1846, the Town of Provincetown voted to build a schoolhouse on Long Point. By then, the village was home to 38 fishing families, with nearly 200 adults and 60 children. In describing the experience of living on Long Point in the early 1800s, one author wrote:
It was an exciting neighborhood to live in. Children who might have been afraid of dogs elsewhere, here ran from the sharks.
— Josef Berger, Cape Cod Pilot (1937)[11]
The village had its own post office, a bakery, boat landings for 20 cod-fishing vessels,
Challenges
Production of salt did not retain its lucrative luster for long, however, for downward price pressures had hit that industry from several angles. For one, the completion of the
Living on Long Point presented its own share of challenges as well. The geography of Provincetown as a whole made for an isolating existence throughout most of its history, as the town was essentially cut off, not just from the mainland, but in many ways, even from neighboring towns on Cape Cod. The town was surrounded by water in every direction:[12]
- Atlantic Ocean, to the north
- Massachusetts Bay to the northwest
- Cape Cod Bay to the west and southwest
- Provincetown Harbor to the south and southeast
- East Harbor and a salt marsh to the east
Until late in the 19th century, there was not a single road leading in or out of Provincetown – the only way to travel by land to the rest of Cape Cod was to first head north, traversing a series of tall, rolling
Although salt was plentiful, there was no source of fresh water on Long Point. Plank
Beyond the challenges imposed by the occasional drought, however, the residents of Long Point came to recognize the potential for a much greater natural force – one that threatened to impact them with little advance warning. While Long Point provides a natural barrier to protect Provincetown and its harbor from many storm hazards, the point bears the brunt of such a storm when it does so:
This sickle of sand which encloses one of the finest harbors on the North Atlantic was so narrow that encroaching storms played havoc with it and threatened at one time to sweep the narrow point away. It was too valuable a harbor to be destroyed and the government took it over.
— Mary Heaton Vorse, Time and the town: a Provincetown chronicle (1942)[24]
Moving
Sources differ and remain unclear as to the specific reasons for leaving Long Point; it is also unclear whether there was a triggering event which caused a wholesale departure, or whether there was instead a more orderly migration. Sources all agree, however, that beginning in the 1850s, families began to leave Long Point and return to the main town. Most of the families took their houses with them when they left Long Point – the local Deacon's specialty was moving buildings, and the houses, about 30 in all, were placed on rafts and floated across Provincetown Harbor to the town's West End.[25][3] "They say that so gently were these houses eased off that the moving didn't interfere with the housewife cooking her dinner," wrote Mary Heaton Vorse.[26] By the time of the American Civil War (1861–1865), only two houses were left on Long Point.[8]
A 1942 article in the Cape Cod Standard Times tells the following variation of the story:[27]
Perhaps the inhabitants grew tired of sharks sunning themselves on their front lawns, perhaps sea creatures carried off their pet dogs and cats; whatever the reason the citizens of Long Point scheduled a colossal moving day. The women packed the household possessions in dories, while the men floated the houses and public buildings across a mile of water on casks. And that was the end of the community of Long Point.
Many of those historic "floater homes", as they came to be called, are still standing in Provincetown's West End, and can be identified by a distinctive blue and white plaque that indicates the home's historic journey.[13] The schoolhouse was among the last buildings to leave Long Point; it was moved to Commercial Street in the center of town.[28]
Long Point Battery
During the War of 1812, the British navy had controlled Provincetown Harbor. Seeking to correct the lack of fortifications, the U.S. Army surveyed the harbor from 1833 to 1835, and noted that "the point had a large civilian population".[4] The Army returned to build the planned Long Point Battery during the American Civil War. Army documents state that:
the point ... was deserted by the time construction of two earthwork
[artillery] batteries began in early 1863. Construction was completed in December of 1863. The outer battery consisted of three 32-pound [15 kg] guns and a built-in powder magazine. The inner battery, connected to the outer battery by a 1,650-foot [500 m] wooden walkway, consisted of six 32-pound [15 kg] guns and two built-in magazines. A barracks for quartering a company of soldiers, an officer's quarters, and stables were constructed south of the inner battery.[4]
The batteries were designed by and built under the supervision of Major Charles E. Blunt of the
The batteries on Long Point remained operational until the post was abandoned in 1872, but they were never used in combat. In the years following the war, the people of Provincetown, aware that they were protected against an enemy that would never materialize, soon labelled the batteries "Fort Useless" and "Fort Ridiculous".[5][6] The earthworks of the batteries remain, eroded down to sand dunes.[33]
Late 19th century to present
In 1873, a lighthouse inspection revealed that the original wooden light – whose unique architectural design came to be known as a "Cape Cod style lighthouse" – had deteriorated to such a poor condition that it might be destroyed by a strong storm. In 1875, that light was replaced with the brick tower that stands today.[36]
Even though the Army had moved out, they retained title to the land. Nevertheless, at around the same time that the lighthouse was rebuilt, the Cape Cod Oil Works built a cod fish oil and whale oil factory in the area that had been the barracks. As the land was still a military reservation, the Army tried to have the factory removed a number of times in the ensuing years. Records from this period are scarce, but Army archives indicate that the factory was still operating in the middle of 1883[4] – another source from 1890 states that "John Atwood built a wharf on the north side of the point, which is standing to-day, used by the Cape Cod Oil Works, the only buildings now left excepting the lighthouse."[8] The exact date of the factory's closing is unknown, but official Army correspondence in 1917 makes no mention of it.[4] The only known photograph of the factory, taken in 1891 and retrieved from the National Archives and Records Administration is inscribed with the words "Condemned ... 1919".[35]
An oil house was built in 1904, in order to properly store the flammable materials used to illuminate the light.[36] Aside from the lighthouse and the oil house, no other structure has survived to the present day. The mound of earth that formed the foundation of the outer battery appears as none other than a sand dune[37] – no other hint of the early settlement, the military post, nor the oil factory can be found on Long Point today.[3]
One cultural artifact that is now visible atop the earthworks of the outer battery is a cross that honors the memory of Staff Sgt. Charles Darby – "an unsung soldier who loved the dunes". Darby was killed in action over the Netherlands in 1944.[38]
Village detail, 1857
The image below shows the layout of the houses, stores and saltworks on Long Point as they existed in 1857. Clicking the image will lead not only to a larger image, but also to a legend key to the numbers. That list, which includes the names of each home/store owner, gives one a good sense of the extent of the community at that time.[39]
Gallery
-
Present-day map of Long Point, from the National Park Service.
-
The original lighthouse and keeper's house. Note the three small children seated in front.
-
1889 map shows buildings at Long Point and Wood End, despite being replaced by Long Point Battery in 1864.[20]
See also
References
- ^ "Long Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
- ^ Jennings, Herman A. (1890). Provincetown or Odds and Ends From the Tip End. Peaked Hill Press. pp. 78–79.
- ^ a b c d "Old resident dies, born on Point (Obituary of Angelia Freeman Nickerson)". Provincetown Advocate. March 12, 1942. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
Mrs. Nickerson was born, lived her girlhood years and received her early education in the Long Point village which was once a small but flourishing fishing hamlet on what is now the barren hook of the end of Cape Cod. The large, barn-like school and the 30 or so houses were later moved across the bay to Provincetown where they still stand and serve.
- ^ US Army Corps of Engineers. January 1997. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 8, 2004. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Historical Timeline of Provincetown, Massachusetts" (PDF). Town of Provincetown. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
- ^ ISBN 9780609609071. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
... as volunteers stood guard day after day and night after night over an uncontested stretch of salt water, the fortresses came to be known as Fort Useless and Fort Ridiculous.
- ^ a b Jennings (1890), p. 76.
- ^ a b c d e Jennings (1890), p. 78.
- ^ a b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Long Point, MA". lighthousefriends.com. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ^ Berger, Josef (1937). Cape Cod pilot: Federal writers' project, Works progress administration for the state of Massachusetts. Modern Pilgrim Press. p. 262. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
- ^ Bureau of U.S. Topographical Engineers. 1836. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
- ^ a b Gehrman, Elizabeth (August 5, 2007). "Solitude, sunscreen, and a long stretch of sand (almost) all to yourself". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ a b "To Fellows and Friends Afar and Abroad..." The Provincetown Advocate. July 28, 1943. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ a b c Paine-Smith, Nancy W. (1922). The Provincetown Book. Brockton, MA: Tolman Print, Inc. p. 51.
- ^ Goode, George Brown (1887). "Section II - A Geographical Review of the Fisheries Industries and Fishing Communities for the Year 1880". The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 210. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
It is sold by the hogshead, holding 8 bushels, or 560 pounds, of salt.
- ^ "Salt Mines and Brine Wells in the Finger Lakes". ILovetheFingerLakes.com. 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
The building of the Erie Canal allowed the bulky and low-priced Syracuse salt to be transported to Chicago and beyond relatively quickly and inexpensively by way of the Great Lakes. Although the Erie Canal was known by many names, those in Syracuse called it 'the ditch that salt built.'
- ^ Paine-Smith (1922), p. 51.
- ^ Guadazno, Laurel (April 10, 2003). "History Highlights: John Atwood's 'Pilgrimage of a Pilgrim'". Provincetown Banner. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
- ^ a b Massachusetts: Provincetown Sheet (Map). 1 : 62,500. Cartography by Henry Gannett (Chief Geographer) and Marcus Baker (Geographer-in-Charge). United States Geological Survey. July 1889 [Surveyed 1887]. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 8, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
- ^ Jennings (1890), p. 197.
- ^ a b Theriault, Wor. James J. "The Railroad Comes To Provincetown". King Hirams's Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
- ^ Paine-Smith (1922), p. 37.
- ISBN 9780813517520. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
- ^ Jennings (1890), pp. 78–79.
- ^ Vorse (1942), p. 88.
- ^ "Provincetown saga related: Town once had two communities now long dead". Cape Cod Standard Times. February 23, 1942. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ Jennings (1890), p. 42.
- ^ Manuel, Dale A. (Summer 2019). "Major C.E. Blunt's Other Civil War Forts". Coast Defense Journal. Vol. 33, no. 3. Mclean, Virginia: CDSG Press. pp. 49–55.
- ^ Jennings (1890), p. 79.
- ^ Higginson, Thomas Wentworth (State Historian) (1896). Massachusetts in the Army and Navy During the War of 1861-65, Vol. I. Boston, MA: Wright and Potter Printing Co, State Printers. p. 321.
- ^ Higginson (1896), p. 325.
- ^ a b Manuel (2019), p. 55.
- ^ Payette, Pete. "Provincetown Batteries". American Forts Network. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
- ^ Fish and Wildlife Service, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.
- ^ a b "Long Point Light". Maritime History of Massachusetts, a National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary. National Park Service. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
- ^ Trapani, Bob Jr. "Remnants of "Fort Useless" Adds to the Historical Significance of Long Point Light". American Lighthouse Foundation. Retrieved May 26, 2012. With photos.
- ISBN 9781418402686.
- ^ Paine-Smith (1922), pp. 34–37.
External links
- Aerial drone view of Long Point on YouTube