AROUND CAPE COD
Yarmouth Port
Dennis
One of the most scenic drives on the Cape is along Route 6A in Yarmouth Port. It’s called the Captain’s Mile because of the more than 50 historic Capes and stately Colonials that were built by wealthy sea captains. Some of the homes date back to the 1600s, and all of them are adorned with a black and gold schooner plaque from the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth. Today, many of the homes are private residences, but some are inns and B&Bs, and another is a museum. Yarmouth Port is one of three villages in the second-oldest town on the Cape. It’s situated on
Cape Cod Bay and is home to salt marshes and tidal rivers as well as the popular Gray’s Beach. Beachgoers pass over the impressive Bass Hole boardwalk that extends over marshes to arrive at the viewing deck, which is an ideal spot for sunsets. Residents will treasure the Cape charisma of the area, including the town’s annual sand sculpture contest, Hallet’s ice cream parlor, and King’s Way Golf Course. They will also appreciate the convenience of the town, which is located in the middle of the peninsula.
Settled in 1639 by John Crowe, Anthony Thacher, and Thomas Howes as part of Yarmouth, Dennis officially separated from its neighbor and incorporated as a town in 1793. Named after the resident minister, Reverend Josiah Dennis, the new municipality continued its agricultural focus, but seafaring soon became a major industry in the town. The Shiverick Shipyard, located near the mouth of Sesuit Creek, was famous as the only shipyard on the Cape to produce large clipper ships, while many smaller shipyards were making fishing vessels or merchant ships that transported goods and materials via the Bass River. Dennis was a prominent salt manufacturer, and by 1803, 24 different saltworks were operating in town.
Cranberry growing also flourished in Dennis, and the town once boasted a busy railroad depot and shipping wharves. Dennis is home to the Cape Playhouse, founded in 1927, which is one of the oldest professional summer theaters in America. Sixteen enticing beaches are situated on Nantucket Sound to the south and Cape Cod Bay to the north. Prefer freshwater? Numerous ponds and lakes, including Scargo Lake, a deep freshwater kettle pond, are carved into the landscape. Dennis has many nature trails, golf courses, shopping areas, restaurants, and scenic historic districts sprinkled throughout its convenient central location on the Cape.
To travel along the stately Old King’s Highway (Route 6A) is to retreat to another era. Shade trees overhang one particularly serene and curving section of 6A in Yarmouth Port, where you can drive past more than fifty homes once owned by sea captains. While many of these historical homes are privately owned, you can visit The Captain Bangs Hallet House museum, located off 6A on Strawberry Lane, to get an inside look at the nineteenth-century home of a world-navigating mariner. Also on the grounds of the museum is a magnificent weeping beech tree that is more than a century old.
The Indian Lands Conservation Area, once the winter home of the Nobscusset Indians, offers 25 acres of woodland and marshes. The sheltered peninsulas that jut into the Bass River provided the Native Americans with relief from northerly winds, fresh spring water, and plentiful fish and shellfish from the river. Now a town conservation area, Indian Lands is a peaceful spot for hiking and contemplation.
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