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www.easthamhistorical.org

March, 2008

Winter tends to be a less busy time for the Eastham Historical Society, but one would not know it from this year’s activities. With the completion of the new addition to the Schoolhouse, volunteers have been busy over the winter preparing the little old yellow schoolhouse, and the wonderful new addition, for our grand opening on Memorial Day weekend. Judy Poulin, the new curator, will report on the progress further on in this Newsletter.

We have added a third walk in 2008 around the Eastham Historic District to be held in September. Kate Alpert will be presenting a virtual tour of the District in February at the Eastham Council on Aging. This virtual tour has an added “walk” up Mill Rd. to the library (c. 1897) and then on Samoset Rd. to the old railroad station (c.1868). The railroad station was a special place in Eastham around the turn of the century (1900) when the local men would gather around the pot bellied stove in the station, and George Clark’s store, to discuss how to run the town. And to see who would be getting off the train. The store was built by George’s father, Edward Clark, in 1871.


Universalist Church (left) and Library	Railroad station, George Clark's store

The 2008 Calendar of Events is again included in this Newsletter. Note our book sales in June and July. The Swift Daley shed will be open Saturday mornings in May from 9:30 to 11:30 to accept books for resale. The August and October antiques shows will be held on the Windmill Green.

In the June 2007 Newsletter we reported on the annual walk the Eastham Elementary School students take to the Swift Daley House. As part of the students writing course they send letters to the Curator, Maureen Leavenworth, about their thoughts and impressions. These letters are wonderful—I would like to print all of them, but time and space does not permit. Two are printed below.

I can’t wait to explore the Swift Daly house. I cheered. When we went in the Swift Daly house first room I went into was the upstairs. One thing I enjoyed about the upstairs was the size of it because there was more than one room, two bedroom, one was small and one was big room. Plus there was a sewing room with hats, scarves, and dresses and more.

The second room was interesting. That room was the parlor. One reason why I liked the parlor was because it had an interesting chimney, it was slanted in where the logs would be so no logs would roll out. Another reason I liked the parlor was because of the fancy silverware in the cabinet it was eye catching. What amazed me most about the parlor was the reasons for it, for weddings, birthday and more. I also like the parlor for the fancy furniture, the piano, the couch.

This room was incredible. This room is the tool shed. The tool shed was my favorite because the tools really gave you an idea of what it was used for and how hard the job was. I also liked the tool shed because the tools were open to use so you could understand how the tools worked. I liked how the tools were labeled like the apple churner for juice, and the other tools that were labeled also showed you how they ironed or got a shoe size.

Thank you very much for taking your time to teach me about the Swift Daley house.

Wow! That’s an amazing full cape house, or as known as the Swift Daily House. My favorite area was the Dill Beach Camp which was built right before 1940. Isn’t this interesting, this house was moved from the beach! It is furnished as it was as a fishing and hunting camp. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Isn’t the Dill Beach Camp interesting!

The tool shed was another favorite of mine and one of the cool things in there was a grinder. Another cool tool in there was the original lantern. Also there was a interesting hunting telescope used for hunting. The most interesting tool was the brick beam. Those were the reasons why the tool shed was one of my favorite areas.

The most interesting room was the morning room. It was one of the smaller rooms in the house. The morning room wasn’t a place where someone in the house would sleep in every night. The morning room is when a person in the family who dies and they put that person in the morning room until they have a coffin. Last reason is in the morning room that’s where a guest would stay in. Thank you Historical Society for inviting us to the Swift Daily House.

Samuel means the mourning room. These letters are copied as written, with no editing. Each year the fourth grade students look forward to their walk and tour of the Swift Daley museums. It is a wonderful educational tool, and as you can see by these two letters the students are very impressed by the buildings and their former use.

The Dill Beach Camp holds many memories for those of us who were young folks at the time it sat out on the dunes at Coast Guard Beach. Beach parties, overnight sleepovers, sitting on the beach and talking to the young Coast Guardsmen who patrolled the beach to help any ship that might be in distress, or as in WWII, keeping a watch out for foreign submarines. In those years one could build fires on the beach for roasting the hot dogs and marshmallows. Most everyone who walked through the door scribbled their name on the door jamb and somewhere are the names of my relatives and friends. In 1940 Hermie Dill built the cabin for a hunting and fishing lodge and since his son (Tom Dill) and daughter (Connie now deceased) are cousins of mine, we spent quite a bit of time in the cabin. (Tom’s grandmother was my grandfather’s (the Albert Moore house on Locust Rd.) sister. Sometime before the 1978 winter storm which destroyed the Outermost House, Tom had the foresight to move the cabin from its ocean lot to his home property,

Dill Beach Camp interior 2004

and subsequently donated it to the Historical Society. Hermie had a fair amount of fun tools, among them an ice sailing boat. In those winters when the ponds would freeze much more than they do today, Hermie would take his boat over to Great Pond and go for a spin around the pond. Invariably there was a lineup of local kids who would patiently wait for their turn, when Hermie would squeeze one of us in the boat and off we would go. The rest would wait their turn on shore around a warming fire drinking hot chocolate, eating sandwiches, and wonder when our cold feet would warm up again. (Not until one got home.)

On those cold winter days when a pond might prove to be unsafe, we would gather our ice skates and go off to the several swamps in the area which did not take much cold to freeze hard enough for skating. One of the swamps was off Mill Rd., behind

A rag tag group if there ever was one on an Eastham swamp mid 1940s

the old Truesdale Fife house, another off Locust Rd. behind the Knowles Ott house (c.1770s); another larger swamp with a good size skating area was where the now Eastham Orleans rotary is located. As you drive through that rotary look on both sides and see the remnants of that once good size swamp, where we as kids spent many an hour wiling away the time after school around a fire to warm our fingers, drinking hot chocolate from the old thermos. Now the swamps are mostly overgrown with vegetation, and as with the one at the Eastham Orleans town line, the rotary cut through it, as did the shopping center behind it. The picture of the ragtag group of Easthamers was taken at the swamp behind the old Truesdale Fife house on Mill Rd.

In an earlier Newsletter, March 2004 to be exact, I included a piece my mother, Katherine Moore wrote in her Eastham column for the Cape Codder, written in May (am not sure of the exact date, and I said early 1950s. The date had been torn off the newspaper clipping, many of these that are in my dusty archives. She mentioned she would be writing another column about other old houses having been moved in Eastham, but I was never able to find it. In going through more dust today I found the continuation which was in the May 6, 1954 column. So I either got the cart before the horse and printed the later one first, or that one may have been in a column in April. Many an old house in Eastham now sits on a lot not its original location.

She started the previous column with Old Mother Eastham taking a tour of the old Eastham and its movable houses. Old Mother Eastham introduces the piece written below.

“Peripatetic Houses: Well, says Old Mother Eastham, shaking the sea mists from her hair, and wrapping her bayberry-trimmed sand mantle more closely about her, they’ve moved the Methodist Church. The decision to move the church was a momentous one, and everyone is working hard to get it fixed up for worship again, but shucks, in my day I have seen half the houses in my town moved hither and yon. The church was moved in modern style—heavy cables, pulleys, powerful trucks. But old dobbin was the mover in the old days. Why, it was nothing for one of my farmer sons to go out to the barn and whisper in his horse’s ear, “Wake up, we’re going to move the house today.”

So dobbin was led out into the yard and introduced to his project. By means of a capstan bar he was hitched to a capstan which was fastened to the ground some distance from the horse, in the direction in which the house was to be moved. A heavy rope was attached to the house with several turns around the capstan. The house had been placed on rollers, (by jacking up the house, or digging under it, or whatever) and under the house on its rollers had been placed long heavy planks. As the horse circled round and round, the rope wound around the capstan, rolling the house forward on the plank platform. A man pulled up the slack on the unattached end of the rope. The whole business was then repeated—horse and capstan moved forward, and the timbers taken from under the house and moved to the front of it. Thus, the house traveled on down the road or across the meadow.

The horse had to step over the rope each time he went around, and a good mover horse knew just when to step around and by how much to clear the rope. He had had his shoes removed so the cleats wouldn’t catch on the rope, or cut it. Bill Higgins had a big white horse who was very good at “moving”. T’would be quite a stint for today’s horse, whose hardest duty is to carry a young lady for a pleasant canter. I’m afraid if he were asked to move a house he’d just naturally drop in his tracks.

Now to look back over the years as well as I can remember, and if I make mistakes, for goodness sake, what can you expect from an old lady over three hundred years old. If the house on G.A.R. highway now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Bill Hayes would talk, it might tell of watching the sun going down into the sea at Sunken Meadow, for that is where the former Hardwick house used to be. And a neighbor at Sunken Meadow was the house now on Old County Road formerly lived in by Jay Schofield and family.

The Jacques house in the fields off Doane Road was much nearer the shore and was called the Gill cottage. Mr. Adin Gill lived in it and played on the beach at his door when he was a boy. Another house moved from the shore—this time from the Bay Shore—is the Savage house, now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Wentworth. And right here let me tell you this, with all these goings on of three centuries, things have slipped my mind, so I’ve been accepting some memory lifts from several, among them Harvey Moore, Bert Moore, Clayton Horton, Lonny Gill, Mrs. Minnie Brown, and others. So you’ll have to argue things out with them.

The house formerly lived in by Joe Dill, and now occupied by Mr. Nye on Massasoit Road, was moved some distance across the meadow.

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Brown’s house now on Nauset Road was built in the field across from the spot where the Capt. Penniman house now stands. The Penniman house was not built at the time the Brown House was at the Fort Hill site, but Miss Bessie Penniman was born in the old house. It was moved from that site to Bridge Road near the spot where the present Herbert Nickerson house now stands. Daniel and Frank Sparrow moved it from there to its present location. Some traveling, what?

Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Cole’s house at Smith Heights was moved from across the road and considerably to the south—approximately the spot where the former Moulton Cabins are.

Harvey Moore’s house is on a pleasant little hill from when he can see the comings and goings at the Salt Pond and on the highway. Nice situation for the Town Constablet. But his present house used to be away down off Locust Road near the Ned Schwartz place. And speaking of Moore houses—seems as if I remember that Albert Moore’s house, which used to be the Cole place, was moved too. There is a place away over in the field on the former Abbott Knowles property, with yuccas, grape hyacinths, and garden sedums growing as if in a house garden. A house must certainly have been there at one time which may have been the present Albert Moore house.

So you see, when my sons and daughters felt they were too close to the shore, or too far from the shore, or too near to the road or too far from it, or if the proximity of their in-laws or something else bothered them, why they just hitched up the old horse, picked up the house, and moved it to a more desired location. And I’ll tell you more abut them next week.”

As I was typing the above and reading its content, I indeed get the cart before the horse, (no pun intended) as this most certainly was the first article written. The one published in the March 2004 newsletter was the “next week’s” column. Perhaps I will publish that again in the next Newsletter as the Society most certainly has many new members since 2004.

The original Methodist Church (c.1851) was at the Evergreen cemetery on Rt. 6. It burned down in the early1920s, and a small church was built on the site of the present Methodist Church. The church Old Mother Eastham referred to was that small church built in 1926. According to Dorcas Gill it was moved in 1953 because it was too close to the highway and more parking space was needed. It was moved about 100 feet back from the highway with the help of Dorcas and other townsfolk. As Old Mother Eastham states, no “dobbin” but modern equipment.

Dorcas’s mother and father were Verena and Ray Daley. In 1939 they purchased the Swift house (c.1741). In a serious state of disrepair, they did extensive renovations to restore it and bring it back to its original self. When visiting the Swift Daley Museum during the summer months, one can view the house as it was when Gustavus and Nathaniel Swift owned it. (The kitchen is a later addition—the old house is original.) Upon Mr. and Mrs. Daley’s death it was donated to the Eastham Historical Society by Verena Daley. Although Gustavus (b. 1836), his wife, and his brother, Nathaniel, lived in the house, they conducted their slaughter house business near the home of Gustavus’s in-laws, Joshua Higgins, in the area now known as Thumpertown. Gustavus moved to Chicago in 1875 and founded the Swift Meat Packing Company. Alice Lowe in her book History of Eastham states that sometimes when a railroad car of pigs was dropped off at the station, Gustavus would pay fifty cents to a little 10 year old Eastham boy, Samuel Nickerson, who would herd the pigs down the dirt roads to the slaughter house at Thumpertown. I can only imagine little Samuel with a big stick held in his little hands trying to herd a bunch of pigs down the road, with all the distractions which would come about—the neighborhood dogs seeing an opportunity to do some chasing, the Eastham housewife hanging clothes on the line while trying to keep the whiff of the oncoming group from permeating the clothing blowing in the wind, the horses and wagons crossing the roads in front of little Samuel and his “herd.” (How does one keep a group of pigs in line?)

The former Harvey Moore’s house, now known in the Historic District as the Deborah Doane house (c. 1860) is indeed on a pleasant little hill, at the junction of Salt Pond Rd. and Locust Rd. Harvey was my grandfather’s brother, a carpenter, town constable and story teller. And this story is one that came down through the family, but I cannot vouch for its authenticity—it may either be an accurate family story, or one of those old Eastham tales. This part is authentic—the house originally was located on Locust Rd. on the south-west side of the railroad tracks (now bike trail), bounded on the south by Deborah’s Pond, and by the west with land owned by Hatsel Nickerson. When Deborah Doane died, my great grandfather, Winslow Moore (Albert and Harvey Moore’s father) and his wife, Margaret, acquired the property in 1896. Upon their deaths, son Harvey inherited it in 1918. The following may not be authentic; or in other words, “an old wives tale.” Harvey wanted to move the house to its present site when he was planning to marry Sarah LeCount. But there was an obstacle to overcome—in so doing, the house had to be moved up Locust Rd. across some property owned by the Knowles family. And the Knowles family would not give permission to cross their property. One day when the Knowles were away, Harvey, his brothers and friends cut down saplings in the way, raised the house up on logs, hitched it up to a team of horses and pulled the house up the road to its present location.

	Deborah Doane House
Salt Pond House late 1800s

My great grandfather, Winslow Moore, in 1907 (deceased 1911) records show lived in a large house on Salt Pond, once having been a tavern for carriages going from Boston to Provincetown. At one time the house had been the Alms house where Deborah Doane lived when she was no longer able to care for herself after the death of her husband, Roland. Salt Pond house as it was known when I was a youngster is no long there, having been demolished by the National Seashore when the building became unusable. My father, Maurice Moore, was born in that house.

The Albert Moore house (c.1830) on Locust Rd in the Historic District was originally built and owned by Freeman Doane Hatch, and was located on Locust Rd. near the railroad tracks and Mill Pond. Freeman Doane Hatch’s daughter, Sarah Mayo “Hatch” Chipman who married Barnabas Chipman lived on Locust Rd. in a house Barnabas built (c.1869). Sarah had her parents house moved to its present location (next to the Chipman house) in order to care for her parents who were then elderly. Although I am not sure when the Coles owned the property, since I have not seen any deeds, it most probably was between the Hatch/Chipman ownership and when purchased by my grandfather. An old map shows it was owned by Albert Moore in 1907.

The Harvey Moore house moving makes a good Eastham story, one that sounds good when all the grandparents and other assorted relatives were sitting around the Thanksgiving table, but one which I cannot say with all honesty really happened. However, it is one of a few tall tales I talk about on the walk around the Eastham Historic District sponsored by the Eastham Historical Society. Most of the tales are not tall; they are facts about the houses and former occupants in that district. The walks have been very well attended, so much so a third has been added to take place in September. The walk lasts just under 2 hours and admission is $8.00 per person. Wear comfortable walking shoes.

This year, Chester Ranlett has sadly had to step down from the Curator's post due to health issues. Candidates are needed to assume the curators duties of supervising ongoing donations and acquisitions for the Museum, logging and marking incoming items, culling duplicates for sale or barter, maintaining and organizing exhibits and programs to educate the public, and training and scheduling docents to staff the operating season. Docents are always needed to demonstrate and explain the tools and their uses, 10 am to 1 pm weekdays during July and August. The Museum's collection has continued to grow steadily since Chester launched the Museum in the late 1980s, and covers an enviably broad spectrum of tools including agricultural, automotive, a variety of crafts, fishing, and household items. Not just a "guy's" place, the museum has interested both male and female oldsters to youngsters with a taste of how tasks were executed since Eastham was formed. A Tool Discovery Day has been held the last two years and is scheduled this year on Sunday afternoon August 17, 2008. It is great fun and highly rewarding to learn and show visitors the many unique and interesting tools and their uses. Call Tom Lenox at (508) 237-9622 to join the volunteers staffing this museum, whether as a leader, docent, expert resource, or just interested in tools!

For 15 years I have been the curator of the Schoolhouse Museum. It has been interesting, fun, at times a little odd, but always a real pleasure. During that time the collection really grew until we were bursting at the seams. We are now open more hours in the day and more days during the year. Our attendance averages 1,600 per year with a high of 2,000. More space was needed. We now have that space.

During my tenure I have been aided by many people. I wish to thank those people, especially the docents who so ably staffed the museum and enabled us to expand. Certain traditions were created during those 15 years. In late spring a group of us would get together to clean the museum for the new summer season. Mary Goemaat would clean the “powder room.” A euphemism if there ever there was one. Harold would clean the windows. Shirley and Ed Sabin would bring their own vacuum and we would all, (a varied group) dust, wipe and polish. At the end of the cleaning session, Shirley, with great ceremony, would turn to a new page in the Penniman family photograph album. It is one of the real treasures of the museum.

With the museum treasures in mind I would like to make a few requests. We have two marvelous weapons. One is a Revolutionary War musket and the other is a Civil War musket. Both of these need display cases. Also, in setting up the old schoolroom several items are needed. Remember the old penmanship letters that were displayed around a classroom? These are needed. Almost every classroom had pictures of Washington and Lincoln (at least in the north). These are needed. There are other needs so stop in and take a look when we open for the season. You will enjoy the experience and you can meet Judy.

In the previous newsletter, our new curator Judy Poulin was introduced. She is a fine person and has worked hard over the winter to get us up and running. I wish her good luck and urge your support for her and our wonderful 1869 Schoolhouse and Museum.

Major work is being done at the Schoolhouse in anticipation of a Memorial Day weekend opening. With a terrific crew most of the cases have been cleaned, scraped, sanded, stained or painted and are awaiting new glass. Tom Lenox has made and painted new bases for several of them. Two new cases have been donated by Don and Pam Andersen of the Inn at the Oaks and will be arriving soon. A few of the old cases that weren’t in usable shape have been given away thanks to Gloria Schropfer and Freecycle.

We have cleaned most of the attic and discovered some gems that we now have room to display. We hope to be able to display some of the old maps and pictures that were stored there.

Several people have volunteered to become docents. A letter will be going out soon to all the prospects as well as the experienced docents. I’m anxious to meet with them all and show off our beautiful new addition.

As soon as we have some dry weather, the new roof will be put on the old schoolroom, the new windows installed and painting done inside and out. Then we will be able to set it up as a schoolroom as it was in the nineteenth century.

We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re getting there. Many, many thanks to the faithful crew: Gloria, Tom, Mary Sedlock, Nancy Heller, Ed Harnett, and Don Cornish. We meet on Wednesday and Thursday mornings at 9 AM. Anyone who would like to join us is more than welcome.

By the time this newsletter is in the mail signs of spring will be emerging. A snippet from the Cape Codder Eastham column March 24, 1947: The grape hyacinths in the borders are spots of glorious blue. They make such a showing , pushing through the cold, hardened earth. And so another spring is soon to come.