Abby Epplett, Historian

During my five-day adventure on Cape Cod back in August 2024, I brought my bike for fast touring around town. I did bike the path along the Cape Cod Canal, last covered on this blog in August 2022 , and my new place of exploration was the Shining Sea Bikeway in Falmouth, MA . The name referred to a final line in the patriotic song “America the Beautiful” written by Falmouth native Katharine Lee Bates . A nearby memorial was dedicated to the songwriter and educator. This unique pair of plaques contained the words to “America the Beautiful” along with engraved and painted American symbols including the Liberty Bell, Mount Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, an American flag, Mayflower, Golden Gate Bridge, and signing the Declaration of Independence. It even described Katherine’s inspiration for her song, which came to her as she climbed Pikes Peak. The panoramic views on Shining Sea Bikeway proved the trail worthy of its name.

Do you love mill stones and anchors? Charles “Charlie” Dolbeer “Doddie” Spohr and Margaret Ellen “Skip” King Spohr sure did. Spohr Gardens in Falmouth, MA holds their lifetime collection of mill stones, anchors, and a few ship bells along peaceful walkways lined with plants. While I arrived past flower season during my five-day trip to Cape Cod in August 2024, I could still enjoy the solitude of a walk beside the quiet lake.

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. I drove across the bridge to the town of Wareham, which proudly calls itself “The gateway to Cape Cod” to visit a few sites owned by Wareham Historical Society . I took a guided tour of the Fearing Tavern Museum and made quick history stops at the Old Methodist Meeting House, the One-Room Schoolhouse, and the Union Chapel. I also saw the towering Wareham War Memorial and smaller Wareham World War I Memorial in Center Park, the town green.

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. On day four, I went to Highfield Hall & Gardens in Falmouth, MA. The museum delivered on the name and more with art galleries, a guided highlights tour, and nearby walking trails. Although I did not get a chance to see a play during this visit, the property also hosts the Falmouth Theatre Guild .

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. On the third day of my trip, I visited Dexter Grist Mill in Sandwich, MA, located across the street from the Sandwich Glass Museum and next door to the Town Hall. This building is owned and maintained by the town just like Hoxie House , so the tour was of similarly high quality.

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. A last minute diversion brought me to Christmas Tree Shop Hyannis, an incredible example of avant-garde architecture built by a recently defunct company. I last visited Christmas Tree Shop Sagamore while coming home from a trip to Yarmouth in 2023 , and I may need to visit the remaining stores.

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. While visiting Cape Cod Maritime Museum and John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum in Hyannis, MA, I made so many quick history stops around the area that I have divided it into two parts. Yesterday, I covered Main Street , and today, I cover local art and some of the Kennedy Legacy Trail. A redbrick Art Path leading from Main Street down to the harbor guides visitors past sculptures and shanties housing tiny art shops. I loved the interactive sculpture Turn, Tern, Turn by Cotuit artist Eric M. Kaiser . A pair of metal seabirds connect to a metal base which visitors are encouraged to gently spin. A few steps away is Aselton Park, which includes the Buoyed Coasts  advocacy art installation created by Kate Kennen and portraits created by Kate DeCiccio . The colorful buoys attached to long metal rods symbo...

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. While visiting Cape Cod Maritime Museum and John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum in Hyannis, MA, I made so many quick history stops around the area that I have divided it into two parts. Today features Main Street, including the library, two churches, historical buildings, a train station, and public art. Tomorrow will feature the HyArts Artist Shanties and some of the Kennedy Legacy Trail.

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. My sixth stop was Cape Cod Maritime Museum of Hyannis, MA, established in 1998 to share the history of the region. During this visit, I learned about boats, scrimshaw, lighthouses and their keepers, women of Cape Cod, and building the Cape Cod Canal.

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. Between major stops in Cotuit like Cotuit Historical Society and Cahoon Museum of American Art , I made several quick history stops. I visited Cotuit Library and nearby Cotuit Memorial Park, Cotuit Federated Church, Mariners Lodge, and Freedom Hall.

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. My fifth stop was Cahoon Museum in Cotuit, MA. Currently celebrating its 40 th year anniversary, the museum was started in 1984 in the former home of the husband-and-wife folk artist team Ralph Cahoon and Martha Farham Cahoon . Artists, architects, and historians alike will delight in these unique buildings filled with local art.

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. My fourth stop was Cotuit Historical Society , which has the full name of Historical Society of Santuit & Cotuit (HSSC). These are two village of Barnstable, MA. The society opened in 1955, and its museum currently consists of three buildings: newly built Cotuit Museum, Dottridge Homestead, and Rothwell Ice House.

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. My first stop was Heritage Museums & Gardens (HMG) in Sandwich, MA. The first part of this six-part miniseries focused on the gardens , second part on J.K. Lilly III Automobile Gallery , and the third covered small buildings . In the fourth installment, I look at the art installations on the grounds.

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. My first stop was Heritage Museums & Gardens (HMG) in Sandwich, MA. The first part of this six-part miniseries focused on the gardens , while the second part focused on J.K. Lilly III Automobile Gallery . This third part will focus on small buildings, and one canoe, located throughout the grounds.

In August, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. My first stop was Heritage Museums & Gardens (HMG) in Sandwich, MA. While I spent half a day at this location, this fantastic venue was packed with so many outdoor activities and indoor history that I could have easily spent a leisurely day on the grounds. I certainly plan on going back! My coverage of HMG will be a six-part mini-series within the Cape Cod Adventure series beginning with an overview of the gardens.

During my trip to Duxbury, where I visited the Alden House National Historic Site , Art Complex Museum , and Myles Standish Burying Ground , I also made several quick history stops around the town. Like in other New England towns, I visited the church, town hall, another cemetery, a monument, and the forest trails. As an added bonus, I learned that the land now holding the public library, schools, and fields once belonged to colonist Philippe de Len(n)oy or Philip Delano , a Huguenot or French Protestant born in Leiden, the Netherlands who moved to British-held Plymouth Colony in 1621 on the “Fortune”, the second ship after the Mayflower. A sign dedicated to Delano was erected by his descendents from Delano Kindred Incorporated .

During my trip to Duxbury, MA, after I had visited Alden House National Historic Site and Art Complex Museum , I stopped by Myles Standish Burying Ground , also called Old Burying Ground . This unique little cemetery claims to be the oldest maintained cemetery in the United States. The town of Duxbury has sporadically taken care of the area since the mid-17 th century and named the grounds after colonial militant Myles Standish , who is said to have been buried on the grounds on October 1656. The seemingly defunct American Cemetery Association gave a commemorative plaque to the cemetery in August 1977 as part of a belated bicentennial celebration.

On the same day I visited Alden House National Historic Site, I went down the street in Duxbury, MA to see the Art Complex Museum . This small contemporary art museum combined unique architecture and internationally renowned artists with the work of local creators. The visit started outside the building, as sculptures stood on the grounds. I recognized Five Shaker Houses as the work of George Greenamyer , whose sculpture Glace Bay stands outside Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA . Art Complex Museum began in 1971 to house the collection of Charles “Carl” Augustus Weyerhaeuser, Jr. , his wife Edith, and their family. In fact, their son Charles Weyerhaeuser served as museum director since 1973 until a few days ago, when the role transitioned to Peter Mello, who previously managed WaterFire Providence . The collection included European and American prints, Shaker furniture, and Asian art, including a Japanese tea house. The grounds encompass over thirteen acres,...