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SPOTLIGHT:
Guidebook Cape Cod ~ Dennis
Jericho House and Barn Museum, (Built 1801) Old Main Street and Trotting
Park Road, West Dennis. The name of this house was derived from an owner
who rightly noted that the walls seemed to be tumbling down.
Fortunately, this classic bow-roof Cape with large central chimney has
now been fully restored. Exhibits include household artifacts, 1850s
portraits, and Chinese and other items brought from overseas by sea
captains. In the barn museum are cranberry-harvesting and woodworking
equipment, a model salt works, marine antiques and 19th century sleighs
and wagons. The 150-piece driftwood ‘zoo’ was created by a local man who
found the driftwood on the shore and added eyes and beaks. Summer only.
South Parish Congregational Church, Main Street, West Dennis. Known as
“Captains’ Church,” features an 1835 Sandwich chandelier and a 1762
London Snetzler organ, the oldest pipe organ in continuous use in the
US.
Discovery Days Children’s Museum & Toy Shop, 444 Route 28, Dennisport.
For a very nominal admission, an entire family can have fun in a
tremendous (i.e., 6,400 square foot) educational “play area” which
features a “bubble-ology” lab, frozen shadow wall, transparent piano and
oodles of fun and entertaining exhibits and activities. Great for a
rainy day. Open all tear; shortened hours September-mid-June.
Josiah Dennis Manse and Old West Schoolhouse, Whig Street, Dennis. This
1736 saltbox manse was the domicile of town founder Josiah Dennis.
Visitors can self-guide themselves through both floors with friendly
historians volunteering information for those who look interested in
anything. There is a handsomely rendered model of Dennis’ Shiverick
Shipyard, active for about 15 years from 1849-1864. Adjacent is a
one-room schoolhouse (circa 1770), archetypal in description.
Cape Playhouse, 36 Hope Lane (just off Route 6A). A landmark, this
oldest continuously operating professional summer theater was founded in
1927. The former Nobscusset (Unitarian) Meetinghouse was moved then
transformed—after several incarnations as livery stable, smithy, barn,
slaughterhouse, and garage—on a 3½ acre lot into a theater which opened
on July 4, 1927 with Basil Rathbone performing in The Guardsman. Open
early June-late September.
Cape Cinema, on the grounds of the Cape Playhouse. One may think he’s in
Centerville when he pulls up here as its architect, Alfred Easton Poor,
was commissioned to replicate the facade of that village’s
Congregational Church and added a 6,400 square-foot Art Deco ceiling
mural of Prometheus to the 92-seat interior. The Cinema opened July 1,
1930, world-premiering The Wizard of Oz. Home-baked goodies, gourmet
coffee and chocolates round out this cinematic experience for less than
its high-tech mall counterparts.
Scargo Tower, off Scargo Hill Road. The 28-foot Tower was originally
constructed as an observatory for the Nobscusset Hotel. Add to its
height the 160-foot Scargo Hill and visitors can, on a clear day,
usually see the entire Cape, from the Bridges to Provincetown with the
azure Bay held captive in the intervening girth. Stretched out directly
below is Scargo Lake, subject of several Native American legends.
Legends aside, the Tower is a perfect aerie for binoculared visitors,
camera buffs and, of course, children. Make a right turn just past the
gazebo in the town center along the cemetery, make a left onto Scargo
Hill Road and follow signs.
Hokum Rock. According to local legend, at one time a local Indian used
this tremendous pile of granite rock left by retreating glaciers as his
cave-like home. There is a more modern theory for the origin of the name
of the rock pile. It is said that, in the 19th century, an aged
descendant of the Nobscussets lived in the cave beneath the rocks.
Whenever someone approached the cave, the Indian would say “Who Come,”
thus giving the rock its name. In fact, the name of the rock is written
“Who-Come” in several old deeds. Perhaps the ancient Indian of the 1880s
was really the ghost of that old reprobate Hoken, an Indian who was a
thief and known as incorrigible. A commemorative plaque is located at
Hokum Rock in honor of the legend.
Josiah Dennis Manse and Old West Schoolhouse. This 1736 saltbox was the
home of the town's founding father, Rev. Josiah Dennis, who lived here
until his death in 1763. Look closely at the front of this house and
you'll see that the windows on the left side are lower than the windows
on the right, suggesting that this was once a half-Cape house expanded
at a later date. The manse is now a museum featuring artifacts of early
Dennis life, with a children's room and a spinning and weaving exhibit.
A maritime room holds models, paintings, and equipment from the
Shiverick Shipyards, which produced eight large clipper ships during the
mid-19th century. On the grounds is a 1770 one-room schoolhouse. The
museum, which is owned by the town, is open in July, August, and
September on Tuesdays from 10 AM to 12 noon and Thursday afternoons from
2 to 4 PM. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. 77 Nobscusset
Rd. at Whig St. (508) 385-2232
Nobscusset Indian Burial Ground. Although this burial ground is rather
difficult to locate, it’s well worth the effort. Along the banks of
Scargo Lake, known to the Native Americans as Nobscusset Pond, lies the
Nobscusset Indian burial ground. There are no stones to see, only a plot
of land encircled with a granite and iron fence, and a plaque that
identifies the spot as “The Burial Ground for the Nobscusset Tribe of
Indians.” The tribe’s 17th-century Sachem, Mashantampaine, is buried
here. To find the burial ground, look for a clearing in the bushes a few
hundred feet west of the Scargo Lake town landing on Mass. Rt. 6A. Route
6A, East Dennis
Nickerson State Park, Travel the road to the upper campgrounds in
Nickerson State Park and you may think for a moment that you have been
magically transported to the Berkshire Hills or the piney woods of the
Carolinas. Nowhere in sight are the sand dunes and salt marshes usually
associated with Cape Cod. Instead, you are surrounded by woods that
slope down to the banks of eight crystal clear fresh water ponds. Yet,
if you walk or bicycle through the woods, you will find no rivers or
streams feeding the ponds. These are “kettle ponds,” among more than 300
formed as glaciers retreated from the Cape over 10,000 years ago.
Completely dependent on groundwater and precipitation, the water level
in the ponds fluctuates from season to season and year to year.
Nickerson's 1,900 acres offers more than 420 campsites, including yurt
camping, an amphitheater, eight miles of roads, hiking trails, an eight
mile bike path that connects to the 25-mile Cape Cod Rail Trail, and
ponds stocked year-round with trout. Cape Cod Bay is within walking or
bicycling distance. You can swim and canoe at Flax Pond; bird watch or
catch-and-release fish at Higgins Pond, or participate in the many
seasonal interpretive and recreational programs offered by park staff.
Cape Cod Rail Trail (Dennis to Wellfleet): With its diverse scenery,
access to shops and food, and proximity to beaches and other interesting
sites, Cape Cod Rail Trail is a great skate and a great weekend
destination. Up for a marathon in-line skate? Check this trail out. With
a recent extension, it is 25 miles long, extending from Dennis past
Eastham to South Wellfleet. Round trip, you will log nearly 50 miles.
The Cape Cod Rail Trail follows a rail bed that was first owned and
built in the early 1880s by the Cape Cod Central Railroad Co. Today the
trail begins in Dennis and runs through Harwich, Brewster, and Orleans.
The original 19-mile stretch then ends at Cape Cod National Seashore
Visitors’ Center in Eastham (508) 255-3421. A six-mile extension, with
some of the finest cycling and skating pavement in New England, extends
north beyond the Visitors’ Center to LeCount Hollow in Wellfleet.
Pedestrian and bicycle traffic can be heavy, particularly on summer
weekends (for those in the mood for a ramble along with skating, walk
one of the self-guided trails at the Eastham Visitors’ Center or at the
Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary (508) 349-2615. The trails are
generally open 8 a.m. to dusk. The Rail Trail starts from a parking lot
about two tenths of a mile farther south on the left. Alternatively,
continue on Route 6 another 14 miles or so past Route 134 to the
Visitors' Center in Eastham. There are many other places to access the
Trail, but parking, particularly in summer, can be difficult.
Cape Museum of Fine Arts, Adjacent to Cape Playhouse, 60 Hope Lane,
Dennis. The CMFA was built in 1985 and presently houses more than 850
permanent works in its collection, which spans the period from 1898 to
the present. The Museum organizes classes, tours and regional art
discovery tours. Open year round. Reel Art Cinema at the CMFA shows
avant garde, classic, art and independent films on weekends from October
to April.
Scargo Stoneware Pottery Perhaps the most unusual and enjoyable pottery
shops (both interior and al fresco) on the Cape, located on the shores
of Scargo Lake in Dennis. Walk among the beautiful creations of their
artisans, watch artisans at their craft and take a gander at birdhouses
with four-figure price tags! 30 Dr. Lord’s Road (just off Route 6A) in
Dennis 508-385-3894.
Ross Coppelman, Goldsmith, has been designing original jewelry for more
than 25 years. His jewelry is handcrafted out of high karat gold with
precious and semi precious gemstones. A wonderful showroom and
personable artist make this an enjoyable stop along Route 6A.
Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce
Routes 6 & 132, PO Box 790
Hyannis, MA 02601
508-362-3225 |
Website
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