Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Tuesday, July 13. 2010

An old Wellfleet farmstead

This humble old farmstead across the bay from Plymouth Colony was established in the 1650s, and is now within the Cape Cod National Seashore, up one of my secret Wellfleet sand road walking routes in the general vicinity of Duck Harbor.


Many regular visitors to Wellfleet do not know that Duck Harbor used to be a harbor, so this old place was a harborside farm. When currents and sand closed the opening to Cape Cod Bay long ago, most people moved to the big harbor in town (often with their whole houses, too. Lumber was in short supply.)


The original cabins from 1650 are long gone, but I cannot date these structures. Maybe some readers can. This is the main farmhouse, the chimney of which ought to provide a dating clue:



 More pics of the farm below the fold -


I suspect this one was built for to keep a kid and family on the farm:



 


Being administered by the US government, the old barns aren't being too-well maintained:


Posted by Bird Dog in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation, Travelogues and Travel Ideas at 17:00 | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (0)

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Love looking at old abandoned houses and farmsteads. Let your imagination run and there is no limit to the stories they can tell you.
#1 ricefarm on 2010-07-13 22:00 (Reply)
Drive on the two lane roads of the Great Plains, from North Dakota to TX, and you will see a lot of abandoned farmhouses.
#2 Gringo on 2010-07-14 13:17 (Reply)
I'm curious if your photos are pictures taken at the Atwood Higgins house, now owned by the Cape Cod National Seashore. If so, then the structures you're showing are not quite as old as you'd imagine. The original Atwood-Higgins house (not pictured) is the genuine article. It circa 1736 and is a classic example of "Cape Cod" architecture. One of the Higgins ancestors, in the first half of the 20th century, was hoping to create something akin to Sturbridge Village or Plimouth Plantation. He constructed replicas of a barn and a combination post office/general store. There's also a bunk house.

The Atwood-Higgins clearly was a farm. It was located on Bound Brook Island (no longer an island) and it rests just above the Herring River which would have provided access to Cape Cod Bay.
#3 Jeff Tash (Link) on 2010-07-14 14:00 (Reply)
Jeff:

A gold star for you today.

BD
#3.1 Bird Dog on 2010-07-14 14:34 (Reply)
I can confirm that these buildings are part of the Atwood Higgins property that belongs to the National Seashore. Rangers lead tours in the summer.
#4 Alexandra Grabbe (Link) on 2012-06-07 08:43 (Reply)

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