Author Archives: pamticeblog@gmail.com

My earliest childhood days in South Wellfleet were without electricity or telephone service, so I’ve been curious about when these modern devices reached Wellfleet, and how they were assimilated into the lives of the town’s citizens. There were just two … Continue reading →

When I was very young, our Prospect Hill cottage did not have electricity. Mr. Rose, the iceman, brought blocks of ice for the ice box. We had a kerosene stove. We used an outhouse. When darkness fell, the oil lamp … Continue reading →

Military operations were nothing new in South Wellfleet. In April 1917 the U.S. Navy took possession of the Marconi Station in South Wellfleet, creating the U.S. Navy Radio Station — until 1926, when the Navy de-accessioned the operation. The Navy … Continue reading →

Late in 1929 and early in 1930, a surgeon from Westchester County, New York, Dr. Oliver L. Austin, purchased a number of acres in South Wellfleet, just north of the Eastham border that is marked by Hatches Creek.  The Macpherson … Continue reading →

Wellfleet’s rich lode of shellfish is a theme constant with its fishing industry. David Wright has covered the history of shellfishing in Wellfleet in his book The Famous Beds of Wellfleet, A Shellfishing History (Wellfleet Historical Society, 2008). Shellfish became … Continue reading →

One of the most poignant graves in the South Wellfleet Cemetery is that of the unknown sailors buried there. To me, this marker stands for all the suffering sailors, found and lost, who did not make it past Cape Cod’s … Continue reading →

The Atlantic shore along Cape Cod is known as the “graveyard of ships” — many accounts estimate that 3,000 or more shipwrecks occurred there.   The treacherous shoals along the Cape coast were well known by mariners and avoided when possible. … Continue reading →

Early in 1904, Mr. Paget and Mr. Taylor — Marconi engineers — came to South Wellfleet to prepare the Marconi station to become part of the company’s service of press and private messages for subscribing ships at sea on the … Continue reading →

In May 1901 an article in the Barnstable Patriot reported that a wireless telegraph system was underway in South Wellfleet, describing it as a “plant” that would operate the Marconi system “…by which signals can be exchanged with passing ships.” … Continue reading →

January is a good month to write about Marconi and the years his company operated in South Wellfleet. On January 19, 2013, we’ll be celebrating the 110th anniversary of his historic accomplishment. Marconi’s choice of South Wellfleet as his American … Continue reading →