Category Archives: Uncategorized

As I started to gather my notes about the railroad’s arrival in South Wellfleet, I realized that I should travel back in time a bit further and write about two earlier forms of travel: stagecoaches and packet boats. When the … Continue reading →

The first Post Office in South Wellfleet was established in 1829 when Reuben Arey, Jr. was named the first postmaster. Naming a separate post office from Wellfleet’s, along with the establishment of the South Wharf and the Second Congregational Church … Continue reading →

Today, it’s just U.S. Route 6 that brings you down the Mid-Cape, around the traffic circle in Eastham, and then along four lanes – then two with shoulders – to South Wellfleet.  Route 6 has such a major impact on life in … Continue reading →

Methodism came to North America in the 1760s. The Methodist Episcopal Church was formed in the United States in 1784, which one writer referred to as the first Christian denomination to be established in the new nation. The Congregationalists, the … Continue reading →

On February 2, 1833, fifty three residents of South Wellfleet met and formed themselves as the Second Congregational Society of Wellfleet. Charles F. Cole’s, “History of Colonial Hall, Wellfleet, Mass.” describes this process of forming the church organization with more … Continue reading →

Isaiah Barker’s second son, George Washington Barker, was born in September 1844. In the 1860 Federal census, he is at home, and a mariner, like other South Wellfleet boys. He married Clara Bell, daughter of Edward Bell and Ruth Rich, … Continue reading →

Isaiah Barker, Jr., born in December 1841, followed the path of many other South Wellfleet young people, and became a mariner.  On December 15, 1863, he married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Doane Atwood, daughter of Daniel Atwood and Mehitable Holbrook of Wellfleet. … Continue reading →

As I researched the history of the Barker family, I have come to view them as exemplifying the families of South Wellfleet who lived through the economic changes of the 19th Century. I started my family research with the Barkers, … Continue reading →

As I was writing about the South Wharf on Blackfish Creek, I noticed that the organization of the Wellfleet Marine Benevolent Society appears to be a South Wellfleet venture. It was organized January 28, 1836.  The first officers were Richard … Continue reading →

Fishing became the basis of the Wellfleet economy and grew steadily after the Revolution.  In 1831, Leonard Battelle and Robert Little, both of whom were in the shipping business in Boston, joined Richard Arey, South Wellfleet local, in building the … Continue reading →