Historic Register Designation To Be Sought CHATHAM – Town officials have asked engineers working on the new shellfish upwelling building at 90 Bridge St. to assess the former Stage Harbor Coast Guard boathouse's condition, as well as the feasibility of the historic structure's use as a shellfish grow-out facility. “We've asked them to do some due diligence, see what condition it's in, would it serve our pur...

CHATHAM – A lot of attention is being focused lately on the preservation of the Monomoy Theatre building and the adjacent Washington Taylor House. There are several other old buildings on the property, though most are not particularly historic. With one exception. At the rear of the property — actually on a separate lot facing Depot Road — is a tiny, 645-square-foot three-quarter Cape that occupies a very swee...

World War II in Chatham was reimagined last Thursday night in photos, videos, memories and songs as Dick Kraycir, director emeritus and past president of the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center (CMMC), hosted the last in the Center's virtual Summer Speaker Series. The program, which was Zoomed online to more than 100 participants, began with an evening flag ceremony in recognition of the 75th anniversary of the en...

HARWICH — The Harwich town seal was designed in 1896 by renowned artist Charles D. Cahoon. The bottom half of the seal shows Pine Grove Seminary, today's Brooks Academy Museum, surrounded by trees. The top half depicts a Native American standing next to a teepee. Native Wampanoags, however, never lived in teepees. With efforts being made to correct inaccurate historical symbols across the country — monument...

HARWICH — The Harwich Historical Society is looking for people to become a part of the town’s history by sharing first-hand experiences about living through the coronavirus pandemic. The society is collecting these experiences to help future generations understand what it was like living through this time. “Your observations now can be the primary sources for future historians,” Harwich Historical Society Dire...

ORLEANS — Greetings, Chronicle readers of the year 2070! You have just opened a time capsule that includes this newspaper, which was published on Aug. 6, 2020. Fifty years ago, elementary-age children in the town’s summer recreation program looked to the future and wrote cards and letters about their lives in the midst of a global pandemic, including pictures of themselves and their activities. Perhaps, afte...

Despite Late Pandemic Opening, It's A Busy Summer At The Atwood Museum CHATHAM — At long last, the Atwood Museum, Home of the Chatham Historical Society (CHS), has opened its doors to visitors on a reservation basis with exhibitions on topics as varied as the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags, women’s suffrage and the end of World War II. “We’ve got quite a lot of new stuff coming out this year,” says CHS Executi...

ORLEANS – As Maria DeOliveira stared into the hold behind the bow of the US Coast Guard vessel 36500 from its berth at Rock Harbor, she couldn’t hold back her quiet tears. It was aboard this very boat that her father, Aguinol B. DeOliveira, was rescued along with 31 fellow survivors of the famous Pendleton wreck in 1952. Until 2016, DeOliveira, who lives in Dorchester, had no idea the boat was still in existen...

HARWICH — Clearing the way for repairs to the leaky belfry, crews carefully removed the church bell from the First Congregational Church Monday afternoon to applause from a small group of spectators below. Having cut away one of the columns to create a sufficiently wide opening, crews gingerly removed the 182-year-old bell from the belfry of the Fir...

HARWICH — From its perch high over Harwich Center, it's seen 182 years of comings and goings, pleasant summer days and hurricanes, parades and funeral processions. And for most of those years, the bell atop the First Congregational Church tolled on every sabbath, and for special occasions like the fall of Richmond during the Civil War. The First Con...

HARWICH — There are a lot of connections between Harwich, Mass., and Harwich, Essex, England, including bonding as sister towns with attendant celebrations on both sides of the pond. But the one major connection that remains a mystery is how Cape Cod's Harwich got its name. But the 400 th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage is the perfect opportunity to remember the role that Harwich, England played in that...

As we start a new decade, we look back this week at the first 20 years of the 21 st century. Below is our list of the top 20 stories, culled from suggestions by staff and readers. It is in no way comprehensive and certainly not conclusive, but it highlights, we believe, the most significant issues and events of those years.   1. Sharks Sharks have been present, and documented, along Cape shores since ...

Pollock Rip Shoals Turned Mayflower Around, Changing History CHATHAM – In his “Of Plymouth Plantation,” William Bradford devoted just a few lines to the events of Nov. 9, 1620. That was the day those aboard the Mayflower sighted land—the highlands of Cape Cod, the Nauset-Eastham area—and headed south toward their intended destination of the Hudson Valley, then part of the Virginia colony. “But after they ha...

HARWICH — With the clearing of land for the six-home Habitat for Humanity project to be located on land behind 93 and 97 Route 28 in West Harwich, an ancient arrowhead was recently discovered. The projectile appears to be a Brewerton type which dates back between 4,500 and 6,000 years. The find is not anticipated to stall the Habitat project, but the site is expected to be registered as an archaeological site ...

First of two parts CHATHAM – Two years ago, the Little Beach area experienced the worst flooding it had seen in 30 years, maybe longer. Sandbag walls were breached, houses were inundated, and boats plied the submerged streets rescuing residents. With warnings that climate change and sea level rise will only make conditions worse, property owners are already throwing up sandbags to stanch the flooding that...

HARWICH – It is quiet this afternoon in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Harwich Port. At the edge of the cemetery, wind stirs the oak trees and the pines. Birds call out; a car passes nearby on Forest Street. A Rose of Sharon drops petals on the ground next to the polished granite bench that stands as a memorial to Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr., 47th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987. O’N...