Historical Collections of Massachusetts / History of Barnstable/ History of Cape Cod

Worcester: Dorr, Howland & Co. The early days of Barnstable County, MA, -- better known as Cape Cod -- and its various towns and townships, are recalled through a mixture of colorful tales and factual data in this New 56 Page Illustrated Booklet, reprinted primarily from two hard-to-find books: the 1839 edition of Historical Collections of the State of Massachusetts by John Warner Barber, and Massachusetts, a Guide to its Places and People, a WPA project. The spiral-bound booklet is printed on 60# paper, with the print enlarged for easier reading. INSERTED IN THE BOOKLET is a copy of the Map of Massachusetts which accompanied the Barber book. The map is one color on natural parchtex paper. The communities mentioned include: Barnstable, Brewster, Bourne, Buzzards Bay, Centerville, Cotuit, Chatham, Dennis, Eastham, Falmouth, Hyannis, Harwich, Harwichport, Johnson Junction, Mashpee, Marshpee, Orleans, Oysterville, Provincetown, Sandwich, South Harwich, South Wellfleet, South Yarmouth, Truro, Waquoit, Wellfleet, West Harwich, West Yarmouth, and Yarmouth. The Barber history covers the development of this area until about 1839, while excerpts from the WPA book, give a nostalgic glimpse from a 1940 vantage point, including interesting historical notes, especially as they relate to sightseeing possibilities. The many and diverse topics in the booklet include: Indian Names of Towns, Early Settlers, Early Churches, Bio of Statesman James Otis, Making Salt in Dennis, Indians on Cape Cod, the Great Snow of 1717, Graveyard Inscriptions, Typical Cape Cod Homes, The Town Crier and the Sea Serpent, Clams in Orleans, the Land and its Uses, Cod Fish Drying, Whaling, News Items, a Remarkable Snake Story, a Whistling Whale and a Witch with Red Heels, the Mayflower's First Landing, German Sub Attack in 1918 and the Sinking of a Submarine in 1927, Indian Legends, Various Uses for Fish Parts (a halibut fin as a broom?), Goodie Hallet and the pirate Black Sam Bellamy, a Bridegroom's Need for Crows and Blackbirds, the Cape Cod Canal, Lyer's Bench in Turro, Cape Cod artists and writers, Cape Cod foods like Skully-Jo and Beach Plum Jelly, Evidence of Norsemen's Visit, Mooncussing and Beachcombing, and other interesting bits of history and trivia. The booklet has no index, but surnames mentioned in the 1839 section include: Alden, Almy,Allen, Armitage, Avery; Bacon, Bangs, Bent, Besse, Blackmore, Bliss, Boardman, Bootefish, Bourne, Braybrook, Briant, Briggs, Burge, Burr, Burt, Butler; Carman, Chadwell, Cheever, Chillingworth, Clarke, Cole, Cook, Cotton, Crocker; Damon, Dennis, Dexter, Dillingham, Dingley, Doane, Dunster, Dwight; Emery, Ewer; Feake, Fessenden, Fish, Freeman, Friend; Gaunt, Green, Greene, Greenleaf; Hallet, Harlow, Hatch, Hawley, Hedge, Higgins, Hilliard, Hinckley, Holway, Hooker, Hurst; Joyce; Kelly, Kenny, King, Kirby, Knott; Lander, Leveridge, Lewis, Lincoln, Lord, Lothrop, Mann, Marshall, Mathews, Matthews, Mellen, Metcalf, Millar, Miller, Mills; Nauhaught, Newland, Nickerson, Noye; Oaks, Otis, Osborn; Palmer, Parker, Pell, Popmonet, Potter, Prince; Rawson, Roby, Russell; Sanford, Sears, Shaw, Shirelck, Simkins, Skippe, Slawson, Small, Smalley, Smith, Snow, Spear, Stone; Tallcott, Thacher, Thorton, Treat, Tupper, Turner; Underwood, Upham; Vincent; Wade, Walley, Webb, Whitman, Willis, Williams, Windsor, Wollaston, Wood, Woodbury and Wright. Among the famous and not-so-famous names mentioned in the 1940 section are: Capt. Eben Linnell, Capt. Elijah Cobb, Capt. Asa Eldridge, Capt. Elisha Doane, Capt. Lorenzo Dow Baker (who introduced bananas to America), Marconi, Pres. Grover Cleveland, Daniel Webster, Thoreau, Joseph C. Lincoln (author), John Sears, John G. Fulcher, Tom Coshy, Freeman Hatch, Daniel Webster, the Rev. Joseph Hull, Thomas Dimmock, Aunt "Nabby" Freeman (a tory), Alice Stallknecht Wight (artist), Capt. Mack, Seth Nickerson, Francis Paine, Commander Donald MacMillan, Eugene O'Neill, Katherine Lee Bates, Isaac Robinson, and Charles W. Hawthorne. ILLUSTRATIONS include Barnstable with Courthouse, etc; Brewster, Chatham, Apparatus Used in Making Salt, Pear Tree in Eastham, Falmouth village, House on Cape Cod, Indian Church in Marshpee, Provincetown (full page), Provincetown with Windmills, Sandwich, Pond Village in Truro, Wellfleet Harbor and Yarmouth. Most are about 1/3 page in size. . Limited Edition Reprint Leavenworth. Spiral/Comb. New/No Jacket. 8.5" x 11". Private Press.