The blog of In My Footsteps Podcast host and author Christopher Setterlund. It contains a buffet of topics. The wackiness of daily life with Initial Impressions 2.0. There is a link to the weekly In My Footsteps Podcast. Poetry collections, life topics, some history, and more. There is something for everyone here much like with the podcast.
Showing posts with label woods hole. Show all posts
Showing posts with label woods hole. Show all posts
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Jolly Jane Toppan: Cape Cod's Angel of Death
Sunday, May 21, 2023
Cape Cod Railroad History 1846-1873
The history of rail travel goes back over two centuries. 1804 saw British engineer Richard Trevithick build the first full-scale railway steam engine. In the United States, the first railroad came in 1827. This was the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad which was chartered on February 28, 1827.
After that, it was off to the races for the new mode of transport. By 1840 the U.S. had nearly 3,000 miles of rails. That number was set to more than triple by 1850 when the country saw more than 9,000 miles of rails. More and more were being built seemingly daily. Naturally, as more miles of tracks were laid more out of the way corners of the country became connected.
This new mode of travel was far faster than the horse-drawn stagecoach. In the 1830s a steam engine typically averaged a speed of around 30mph. In contrast, a stagecoach averaged just over 4mph. Although nowhere near the top speeds of today (Amtrack trains regularly hit speeds of 125-150mph in the 2020s) it was a major upgrade for travelers of the day.
In 1840 Cape Cod was rural, quiet, and disconnected. It had a population of only 32,548 over the entire peninsula. During the middle of this decade, talk grew loud for a railroad line that could connect Cape Cod to larger cities such as Boston and Providence. The push for rail service on the Cape began due to the increasing popularity of the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company.
Cape Cod rail service finally became a real possibility with the formation of its first rail transport company. The Cape Cod Branch Railroad Company was created in the spring of 1846. There had been low rumblings in the previous months about bringing rail service to Cape Cod. The rumblings turned to concrete plans when a meeting was held on May 6, 1846, at the Barnstable County Court House. This meeting called by John Reed officially established the company.
After approval, the first true meeting of the Cape Cod Branch Railroad Company was held on August 19, 1846. The location was the hotel of W.D. Burbank in Wareham. The meeting elected officials and also ironed out the details of getting rail service to the Cape. By the time the meeting ended, the company had its first president Col. Richard Borden of Middleboro. It had its first treasurer in Southworth Shaw Jr. of Boston. Most importantly the company decided that it would connect Cape Cod to the larger world with a twenty-seven-mile stretch of track from Middleboro to Sandwich.
This new stretch of track would allow freight service to carry the popular Boston & Sandwich Glass products off Cape far faster and safer. The company tasked with building the first train to visit Cape Cod was Boston Locomotive Works. Based out of Boston the company was created in 1831 and had been known as Hinckley Locomotive Works until 1848. The specifics of the train were that it was a 25-ton 4-4-0 American steam engine. The 4-4-0 distinction referred to the wheel arrangement. Four leading wheels on two axles, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and a lack of trailing wheels.
The first section of the Cape Cod Branch Railroad was opened for business on January 26, 1848. It was a 14.7-mile track length connecting Middleboro and Agawam, a village of Wareham along the Agawam River. The next step was building a bridge across Cohasset Narrows in Buzzards Bay. Development was swift and soon it was time for a big celebration.
On May 26, 1848, the final 12.9 miles of track was completed. The Cape Cod Branch Railroad was officially opened. The tracks ended at present-day Jarves Street in Sandwich only a few hundred feet from the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company.
The historic day saw the first train arrive at 1pm carrying roughly 1,000 passengers. A throng of people had gathered in inclement weather to cheer as the steam engine made its final approach. There was a function after with seating for 1,200, glassware from Boston & Sandwich Glass, and appropriately sandwiches to eat.
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| The East Sandwich Railroad Station |
Dignitaries on hand wondered about when the railway would connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (it would come in 1869). Locals wondered when the railway would connect both to the tip of Cape Cod in Provincetown. For Cape Cod, the progress was slow going.
Although the railway had two arrival times daily in Sandwich and stagecoaches shuttling passengers all the way into Orleans the desire to extend the tracks existed from Day One. The main sticking point was where the extended track would end. It was a battle between Barnstable and Yarmouth.
The popularity of rail travel was evident from the beginning. Hard numbers from the time show that profits for the Cape Cod Branch Railroad doubled from July 1849 to July 1852 from $1,961 per month ($77,259) to $3,823 per month ($150,617). This worked out to just over $1.8 million per year in today’s money.
Work on the track extension began in 1853. It reached West Barnstable around Thanksgiving and a depot was erected there along Meetinghouse Way (Route 149). It was decided to ultimately extend the tracks into Yarmouth. During this construction, another significant change happened. The Cape Cod Branch Railroad became known simply as the Cape Cod Railroad in early 1854.
While construction of the new track extension was ongoing there was a series of donations from Nantucket residents that directly led to another transportation institution. This influx of cash to the Cape Cod Railroad came with a catch. When the tracks made their way to Hyannis a spoke of track had to be built south to Hyannis Port. There a wharf would be built. It would serve as a disembarking point for a new steamboat ferry service. The steamboat would connect Cape Cod to Nantucket Island via the Cape Cod Railroad. This would supplant New Bedford as the nearest ferry location.
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| Yarmouth Port Railroad Depot(Wikipedia/Public Domain) |
All of this came to pass during the spring and summer of 1854. The extension of the Cape Cod Railroad line was 18 miles in length and cost $824,058(29.7 million in 2023). The first passenger train ran on the tracks on May 19, 1854. From that point, all remained quiet on the railroad front until 1860.
It was at this time that talk turned to either extending the tracks east from Yarmouth into Harwich or Orleans or creating a stagecoach road running the same length. Easier access to the Outer Cape was the overriding point. It was also around this time that a new railroad company was formed. It became known as the Cape Cod Central Railroad. Although it has the same name in the 2020s the companies are in no way related.
Local newspapers were surprised at the lack of public discourse about extending the railroad. Lack of interest notwithstanding surveying of a future extension lasted from January through April 1861. Progress on raising the funds to begin the project was slow for the Cape Cod Central Railroad. The main sticking point was getting each town that would see the tracks pass through it to pay its fair share. It was more than three years until the extension of the tracks into Orleans became more than empty words at meetings.
Finally, on June 29, 1864 ground was broken at the Yarmouth Port terminus of the railway. The plan was for 18 miles of track to be laid, ending in Orleans. As the way was being laid Woods Hole and Provincetown, the two furthest apart points on the peninsula, started talking about rail access.
Petitions were sent to the Massachusetts State Legislature to extend the tracks into Provincetown. Before that though the railway had to get to Orleans. The route was graded by June 1865. On October 5, 1865, the Harwich section of the track was opened to much fanfare. It was a gala event that included a visit from Governor John Andrew. It marked the halfway point of the extension with 9 more miles to go to Orleans. That destination was reached on December 6, 1865. The Cape Cod Central Railroad had succeeded in extending the reach of the rails nearly to the Outer Cape.
The Cape Cod Railroad, perhaps seeing the competing company’s progress, bought the Cape Cod Central Railroad in May 1868. This consolidated organization listened to the public and started working on another track extension.
In April 1870 talks began to extend the tracks into Wellfleet. Bids were taken from some of the largest and most respected contractors in Massachusetts. The new 11.6-mile extension took from May to December to construct. The depot was erected near the present-day intersection of Commercial Street and Railroad Avenue along Duck Creek. December 28, 1870, saw the first passenger train arrive to crowds of cheering locals.
While Wellfleet celebrated Woods Hole and Provincetown continued to clamor for their own railroad depots. Provincetown raised the funds necessary on its end to get the tracks built, however, a delay came in getting neighboring Truro to do the same. In Woods Hole, it was a different story as the track continuation needed to come south from Buzzards Bay.
The ground was broken on the spoke of the track to Woods Hole on September 12, 1871. It began at Cohasset Narrows in Buzzards Bay. 17.5 miles of track were laid south. Several depots were built along the way in Falmouth before ending at the water in Woods Hole. The first passenger train arrived at the Woods Hole depot on July 18, 1872. For the Cape Cod Railroad, it would be their last successful venture.
Overtures about a potential takeover of Cape Cod Railroad began in earnest in late 1871. Meetings were held throughout the first half of 1872. It became obvious that the far larger Old Colony Railroad was going to make a bid. On March 27, 1872, Old Colony Railroad’s bid was approved. Later in the year on October 5th, the purchase of the Cape Cod Railroad became official and a celebration was held. It became known as Old Colony’s ‘Cape Cod Division.’
1873 dawned with final preparations being made to extend Cape Cod’s railway into Provincetown. With the funds secured the progress was quick. 14 miles of track were laid in only seven months to connect Wellfleet to Provincetown. The track terminus was a depot along the newly created Bradford Street. The actual tracks ended at Railroad Wharf (where MacMillan Wharf is today) some 1,200 feet out into the water. This extra distance was to make it easy for fishermen to load their catch onto train cars.
July 22, 1873, was a day of great celebration. The Old Colony Railroad’s Cape Cod Division had succeeded in connecting 14 of the 15 towns on the Cape with the greater world. Chatham would have to wait to become the 15th in 1887.
A train departed the Yarmouth station loaded with more than 1,000 passengers, many of them famous dignitaries of the area, bound for Provincetown. At around 3pm the train arrived at a festive scene. A tent on High Pole Hill was the site of a gala dinner filled with speeches from dignitaries. People spoke of how now Cape Cod was connected to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Only twenty-five years after the Cape Cod Railroad was founded the tracks extended all the way to the tip of the Cape.
.jpg) |
| The view of Provincetown from Railroad Wharf with the old Town Hall on High Pole Hill in the background. (Boston Public Library) |
President Ulysses S. Grant took a ride on the railroad into Provincetown one year later in August 1874. From this point forward Cape Cod grew into the vacation destination it remains to this day. Ease of access to virtually all places on the peninsula gave potential visitors all the motivation they needed.
The railroad dominated travel for the next thirty years. However, a new invention came about in the latter years of the 19th century that would eventually topple the train as the premiere mode of transportation. The automobile would change the world as it became more readily available.
Today there is still a fair amount of railroad tracks on Cape Cod. However, less than half of the Cape is accessible via rail. For those curious as to where the tracks used to run one only needs to hop onto the Cape Cod Rail Trail beginning in South Yarmouth and follow it out to Wellfleet. It follows the old path the trains followed. There is even a segment of the rail trail that travels into Chatham that is named the Old Colony Rail Trail. It is named after the company that helped finish the job of bringing the railroad to the entire Cape that the Cape Cod Railroad began.
A follow-up to this article will cover the gradual decline of Cape Cod’s railroad throughout the 20th century.
Color Images Created with Bing AI
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Monday, July 12, 2021
In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - The Dome Restaurant, Falmouth
Buildings come in all shapes and sizes. There are countless uniquely designed structures all over Cape Cod. Simply taking a drive down Route 6A can open up a world of wonder and amazement at some of the newer and historic homes that don’t fit the normal mold.
The same can be said for restaurants. Not all are built the same. In fact for years in Orleans, the Hunan Gourmet III Chinese Restaurant was actually built into the side of a hill. It has been closed as of 2021. However, any uniquely designed restaurant on Cape Cod, current or past, must take a backseat to the Dome Restaurant, which resided in the small scientific community of Woods Hole.
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| Falmouth Historical Society |
This one-of-a-kind establishment existed inside an actual geodesic dome.
A geodesic dome is sphere-like in shape and consists of a thin skin with a network of triangles as a frame evenly distributing stress on the dome. Spaceship Earth at the EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, is one of the most famous geodesic domes on earth.
The idea of the geodesic dome was the brainchild of architect R. Buckminster Fuller. Born in Milton, Massachusetts, in 1895, Fuller developed the geodesic dome while in the navy during World War II. He saw it as a potential solution to a world housing shortage and received a patent for his geodesic dome in 1954. Fuller put his money where his mouth was by having a geodesic home built for himself and his wife, Anne, in 1960 in Carbondale, Illinois. That home still stands as of 2021.
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| Falmouth Historical Society |
So how did a geodesic dome come to be a popular and perhaps the most intriguing restaurant ever built on Cape Cod? It was actually part of a larger project known as the Nautilus Motor Inn. The dome, called Club Dome, was simply part of the package.
The fifty-four-room Nautilus Motor Inn was designed by Falmouth resident and MIT-educated architect E. Gunnar Peterson in 1954. R. Buckminster Fuller oversaw the construction of the geodesic dome, which ended up being fifty-four feet in diameter and twenty-seven feet tall. The first free-standing dome of its kind would also prove to become another first. It would be the first geodesic dome restaurant.
Elegant décor was combined with spectacular views of nearby Little Harbor to make the Dome a unique place to dine. Many special occasions were held in this setting, including weddings, and it only made the moments more magical. The upscale 170-seat restaurant was more than just a novelty, it was a hit throughout the 1950s and ’60s. The views were matched by specialty sandwiches on the Dome’s menu: “Nobska Turkey Special” (with bacon, swiss cheese and Russian dressing on a bulkie roll) and the “Nautilus Roast Beef” (with sliced onions and Russian dressing on a bulkie roll). The Dome also served breakfast and specialized in locally caught seafood.
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| R. Buckminster Fuller who created The Dome(1971/Wikimedia.org) |
Unfortunately, over time, the owners of the restaurants noticed that the construction of the dome was causing problems. Its glass enclosure caused the interior of the restaurant to heat up much like a greenhouse thanks to the sun overhead, and it also had problems with water leakage. To remedy, this fiberglass was laid over much of the dome, obscuring the majestic harbor views that patrons loved.
For decades, the Dome was a must-see attraction almost on par with the nearby Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. It closed in 2002 and in the time since has fallen into disrepair. There have been plans to restore the geodesic dome and make it an historical attraction for visitors from as far back as 2008. The closed Nautilus Motor Inn was to be torn down as part of the plans.
In December 2016 the 5.4-acre property was purchased for $2.9 million by a group called Woods Hole Partners. Led by Mark Bogosian and Jonathan Janikies their plan has been first to renovate the geodesic dome. This will be followed up be the construction of a 43-unit senior housing complex on the site of the former Nautilus Motor Inn. It will include four affordable housing units.
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| The former Dome Restaurant in 2016 |
As of April 2021 the plans were close to moving forward but ground had not officially been broken on the project. For now the historic geodesic dome, the former home of a beloved Falmouth restaurant, sits decaying and unoccupied at the top of the hill.
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Friday, November 6, 2020
Thursday, May 28, 2020
In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - The Pacific Guano Company
For
well over a century Cape Cod has been one of the premier vacation
destinations in America. Its combination of miles of pristine
beaches along with world class restaurants, accommodations, and shops
have made it a favorite of solo travelers, couples, and families from
all across the globe. From Chatham to Provincetown, from the Canal
to the Atlantic, there is no shortage of wonderful places to visit
and stay.
The
summer resort is a staple of the Cape with generations of families
either having a second home or visiting the same area year after
year. Many of these places lay along the water and have been
romanticized over the decades as the playground of the wealthy. One
of the original summer resort areas though had a very different
journey to the present. Not many such areas can say their roots lie
in the droppings of seabirds and bats. This is the story of Woods
Hole’s Penzance Point and the guano that paved its way to private
community.
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| Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory |
The
narrow finger of land that today is known as Penzance Point sits at
the western end of Woods Hole. It is approximately 110 total acres
in size and today is the location of some of the most expensive homes
on Cape Cod. In the mid-19th century it was a completely different
story. At that time the strip of land was known as Long Neck.
In
the late 1850’s the oncoming Civil War coupled with the whaling
industry’s decline in the eastern United States saw an abundance of
idle clipper ships that had once been used for trade with Asian
countries. An idea was hatched by some of these ships captains based
out of New York and Boston to put them to use. Asa Shiverick Jr.,
whose father and uncles had built some of the ships, led the charge
along with Prince Sears Crowell to create a new business on Cape Cod
featuring fertilizer also known as guano.
Shiverick
and Crowell moved from Dennis to Woods Hole in 1859 and joined up
with the Boston firm of Glidden & Williams. They chose Long Neck
as the location of their new company to be called the Pacific Guano
Company. Used only as a sheep pasture up until that time the spot
was chosen due to it being a natural deep water harbor capable of
holding larger clipper ships. The building of the factory
dramatically altered the tiny village of Woods Hole. Nearly 200
workers were hired to create the factory. A large dormitory, some
small homes, and a Roman Catholic Church were built to accommodate
them.
The
product created by the factory, guano, came mostly from seabird
droppings. It had begun seeing an uptick in popularity during the
early 1850’s as a better alternative to manure as fertilizer. So
popular did guano become that in 1856 Congress passed the U.S. Guano
Act essentially allowing any American citizen could lay claim to any
uninhabited guano-filled island in the world for the purpose of
harvesting the product. After its creation the Pacific Guano Company
staked its claim and began getting ready for work.
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| Woods Hole on the right with the former location of the Pacific Guano Co. near Penzance Point circled. Google Maps |
The
new company chose Howland Island, an island roughly 520 acres in size
and located 1,700 miles southwest of the Hawaiian Islands, to mine
for guano. The Pacific Guano Company’s factory, located about
500-feet west of the present-day Woods Hole Yacht Club, was finished
and put to immediate use in 1863. Soon after opening Azariah Crowell
came aboard as the company’s chemist to add improvements to the
guano making it an even more effective fertilizer. One such
improvement was adding scrap from local fish markets to the guano.
The combination of bird droppings and fish scrap however did not make
Woods Hole a pleasant smelling village.
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| A sketch of the Pacific Guano factory in Woods Hole by S.S. Kilburn c.1860's |
Thirty-three
ships were used during the first few years of mining guano for
fertilizer. Six were lost on their return voyage while two others
were captured by the Confederate Navy during the Civil War. It only
took four years before Howland Island was basically mined out and in
1867 the Pacific Guano Company moved on to Swan Island in the Western
Carribean and Navassa Island located thirty miles west of Haiti. The
company hit its peak after purchasing Chisolm Island in South
Carolina which was rich with rock phosphate. This provided another
option besides bird droppings and fish scrap. It also led to a
second Pacific Guano Company factory being built in Charleston, South
Carolina in September 1869.
The
railroad was extended into Woods Hole in 1872 along with a new stone
bridge across the Eel Pond channel. 200-lb bags of fertilizer were
loaded onto the train cars and shipped out. Pacific Guano had its
own booth at the Centennial exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. As
the 1870’s ended annual sales at Pacific Guano topped 50,000 tons.
It seemed as though the prosperity would never end. That would not
be the case though.
A
diminishing amount of sites to mine guano coupled with an increase in
the advent of artificial fertilizers began to take its toll on
Pacific Guano. In 1889 shortly after an accident involving a worker
word began getting out that the company was in peril. Its
liabilities were listed at $3.5 million ($97.5 million in 2020) at a
stockholders meeting in March 1889. Despite that there were
assurances the company would be able to meet its guano demands for
the year. In August 1889 the company was forced into bankruptcy and
both factories ceased operations.
Two
years later in June 1891 the entirety of the property and Long Neck
as a whole was purchased by Horace Crowell and William Nye. The
factory and most of the buildings associated with Pacific Guano were
leveled although a few were purchased and floated to different
locations. The dormitory was moved and became known as the
Breakwater Hotel. After developing the land for a year Crowell
renamed it Penzance for a similar area in Falmouth, England and put
eighteen lots up for sale.
Over
the decades that followed Penzance Point became one of the most
exclusive areas of Cape Cod. In December 2019 a 9.6-acre estate was
put up for sale on Penzance Point with a listing price of $25
million. It is one of the most expensive home ever listed on Cape
Cod and has since been sold.
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| The Hotel Breakwater in 1913, courtesy of Sturgis Library |
After
decades of life being dominated by the Pacific Guano Company and its
odors of seabird droppings and fish scraps Woods Hole became known as
a hub of the scientific community shortly after the company’s
demise. The last remnant of the Pacific Guano Company, the
Breakwater Hotel, survived until 1960 when the Marine Biological
Laboratory purchased and demolished it for further expansion of the
lab.
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View my previous blog posts: In My Footsteps:Cape Cod's Most Beautiful Routes to Explore
Be sure to check out my website: Christopher Setterlund.com
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Cape Cod's Most Beautiful Routes to Explore
2020 is currently perhaps the craziest time any of us will see in our lifetimes. Quarantine is the norm and social distancing highly recommended. However it is also recommended that people get outside somehow and get a daily dose of Vitamin D. Those of us lucky enough to live on Cape Cod are close to endless possibilities to see beautiful sites in the sun.
This article will help you
stay active and see the sites of one of the most unique
places on earth while also keeping with the current new normal of the world during the pandemic. You can choose to run, walk, bicycle, there is no
right or wrong as long as you are moving. These are in no particular
order but they all give you a glimpse into the heart and soul of Cape
Cod.
Cape Cod Canal: This is an easy, paved bike trail which
runs along the Canal and underneath two of the three bridges.
Parking is free at the Railroad Bridge. The entirety of the bike
path is between seven and eight miles. It is roughly five miles to
make it from the railroad bridge to the Sagamore Bridge, ten miles
round trip.
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| Looking toward the railroad bridge along the Cape Cod Canal. |
Chatham Shore: For the active Cape Codder the shore route
is a way to see many highlights of the quaint fishing village of
Chatham. Parking is free on Cow Yard Lane which faces the North Beach
Island cottages. The route takes you along Shore Rd. and past the
legendary Chatham Bars Inn and Hydrangea House. Along the way you pass Chatham
Lighthouse and head out to Morris Island. The route is between six
and seven miles round trip.
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| Chatham Lighthouse |
Province Lands Bike Trail: Nestled in the
dunes of Provincetown this is an authentic look at untouched Cape Cod
beauty. The bike trail follows the dunes rather than cutting through
them. The loop from Herring Cove Beach, past Race Point Beach and
back is filled with an almost infinite number of breathtaking sites.
The route is anywhere from 5 ½ to 7 miles depending on how far you
want to go.
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| A view of the ocean from the Province Lands Bike Trail |
Osterville: Keeping with coastal scenery this route
brings you from one of the most popular Cape beaches, Craigville,
into rural Osterville. It begins at Craigville Beach and carries you away from the ocean to South Main Street. Near Bumps River,
you turn onto Starboard Lane with its numerous beautiful homes and
secluded feel and follow to where it meets Old Mill Rd. This route is 6 miles round trip.
Yarmouth Beaches: Beautiful homes along the water?
Check. Historic sites? Check. Several scenic beaches? Check. All
that’s left is to take to the road to enjoy them all. Pleasant
Street is where the route begins; you pass by beautiful homes along a
shady portion of River Street before passing by the historic Judah
Baker Windmill. After this you are just seconds from the ocean
meaning anytime along the route you can cool off in the saltwater.
Once you see Red Jacket Resort it’s time to turn and go
back. This route is 6 miles.
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| The jetty at Smuggler's Beach |
Cape Cod Rail Trail: Stretching from Dennis all the
way into Wellfleet, with an offshoot into Chatham, the Rail Trail is
nearly 30 miles of paved, scenic majesty. It is a bit much to do all
of those miles but there is a great section that gives one a good
idea of what the trail is all about. Starting at Headwaters Drive
off of Rt. 124 in Harwich you head east across a cranberry bog, past
several ponds and to the entrance of Nickerson State Park. This
route is 12 miles round trip.
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| Sunset at Seymour Pond in Harwich |
Nickerson State Park: Loaded with kettle ponds and
campsites Nickerson is a virtual haven for active Cape Codders. The
bike trail weaves along the main park roads but also has many
offshoot trails that lead you into some of the park’s nooks and
crannies. The main attractions of Nickerson are never more than a
quick ride or run from the trail. The bike trail is 8 miles total.
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| Big Cliff Pond at Nickerson |
Falmouth & Woods Hole: One of the science
community's most well known spots coupled with sweeping panoramic
views of Martha’s Vineyard make this a worthwhile jaunt. The
Shining Sea Bikeway intersects at a few places but the route leads
from Surf Drive Beach along the shore past Nobska Lighthouse and down
to Water Street in Woods Hole. This route is 9 miles round trip.
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| Nobska Lighthouse |
Coast To Coast: Going from coast to coast on the Cape
can be long, like from Sandwich south to Mashpee, or short like near
Pilgrim Lake in Truro. Going from Cape Cod Bay to the Atlantic Ocean
in Wellfleet is close but just far enough to make it worthwhile.
Parking at Mayo Beach is best. The route takes you on Long Pond Road
over Rt. 6 and down to The Beachcomber on Cahoon Hollow Beach,
then head back. This route is 7 miles round trip.
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| Mayo Beach |
The Least Known Island: In Mashpee there is Monomoscoy
Island tucked away from the ocean along Waquoit Bay. South Cape
Beach State Park is a perfect starting point for this trip. Head
away from the water and down Red Brook Road and down across a
causeway. The island is a mix of old cottages and newer lush homes.
This finger of land has tremendous water views on either side as you
get toward the tip. It is a hidden gem that is better appreciated
outside of a car. This route is 11 miles round trip.
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| The entrance to Monomoscoy |
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My 5th book, Cape Cod Nights, is on sale at Amazon.com and through Arcadia PublishingView my previous blog posts: In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - Deacon John Doane
Be sure to check out my website: Christopher Setterlund.com
Thursday, October 31, 2019
In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - Jane Toppan's Poisoning Murders
There
have been many horrific crimes that have taken place on Cape Cod,
from Tony Costa to the Lady of the Dunes, to Edward Ray Snow and
beyond. One name that belongs right up there with those previously
mentioned, but usually is overlooked, is that of Nurse Jane Toppan.
Nicknamed ‘Jolly Jane’ her poisoning murders shocked New England
and were only the tip of the iceberg. This is the story of those
crimes and the intriguing soul behind them.
The
life of Jane Toppan began in turmoil. Born in 1857 as Honora A.
Kelley in Boston’s North End she was one of four sisters born to
poor Irish immigrants Peter and Bridget. Bridget died of
tuberculosis early in Honora’s childhood and shortly before Peter
died from alcohol in 1863 Honora and her sisters became residents of
the Boston Female Asylum for Destitute Girls on Washington Street.
Honora was adopted by Captain Abner Toppan of Lowell and his wife Ann
who christened her Jane Toppan. She would become an indentured
servant to the family.
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| 'Jolly Jane' Toppan |
Despite
being treated poorly by her adoptive mother Jane excelled in school
and participated in activities at the First Congregational Church in
Lowell. She got along well with the Toppans’ daughter Elizabeth
whom she felt a kinship with as she too was mistreated by Mrs.
Toppan. After turning eighteen Jane had the chance to leave yet
chose to stay and continue working for Elizabeth and her husband
Oramel Brigham for a decade. Jane’s life changed at the age of
twenty when she fell in love with a man she wished to marry. He
moved nearly one hundred miles west to Holyoke for work to save money
for marriage. However while there he met someone else and ended up
marrying her instead. Jane would never be the same.
She
became introverted and brooding, resenting Elizabeth’s happy
marriage. In 1885 Jane suddenly left Elizabeth’s home and entered
nurses’ training at Cambridge Hospital. She would also train some
at Mass General Hospital where she made a great impression on her
superiors but her fellow nurses-in-training saw her as trouble. It
was during her time at Mass General where Toppan attempted to poison
a fellow nurse. To further complicate things it was discovered that
Jane had left the training before being formally discharged and thus
her diploma as a Registered Nurse was never awarded. This did not
stop Toppan as she would ironically become head nurse at Cambridge
Hospital only a year after failing to get her diploma by lying to
management there about her credentials.
Her
time at Cambridge Hospital saw her garner a very positive reputation
as a nurse, the best doctors recommended her as she was described as
highly intelligent and caring. She had a high volume of cases which
masked her sinister side. During the early 1890’s Nurse Jane
Toppan’s poisoning murders began. Those people whom Toppan wished
to keep as cases she would sometimes administer less-than-lethal
doses of poison to keep them from recovering. The striking dichotomy
of her pleasant outside with her evil inside was apparent in the
murders of a husband and wife in her care.
On
May 26, 1895 Toppan poisoned Israel P. Dunham. The family thought so
highly of her that when Dunham’s widow became sick two years later
they sent for Toppan to care for her. She then poisoned Mrs. Dunham
as well. While part of the private-duty circuit in and around Boston
Jane moved back in with her foster sister Elizabeth and her husband
Oramel. In 1899 Elizabeth became ill and Jane cared for her,
including accompanying the family to the village of Cataumet in
Bourne on the Cape for the summer. However Elizabeth only grew worse
and died in August 1899. Coincidentally Elizabeth’s housekeeper,
also in Jane’s care, died in January 1900.
Toppan’s
reputation gained her a job as a nurse at the Episcopal School in
Cambridge caring for a girl with typhoid fever in the fall of 1899.
There she met Myra Connors the head matron at the school and also at
the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory. In January 1900 Connors
became sick and confined to her bed. Ironically after Toppan left
for another case Connors began steadily improving. When Toppan
returned to care for her ‘friend’ for free Connors rapidly
declined and died on February 11, 1900. It was at this time that
several people including Connors’ friend Nellie Coombs began to
suspect Toppan of poisoning Connors to gain her position at Woods
Hole. These suspicions only grew when Nurse Jane did indeed succeed
Connors as head of the ‘Mess House’ at the M.B.L. in the summer
of 1900.
 |
| The Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory |
Much
as during her time at the Cambridge Hospital Jane Toppan was highly
respected at Woods Hole. During her summer at the M.B.L. there were
no incidents to speak of. However her undoing would come when she
returned to Cataumet for the summer like the year before.
Toppan
became good friends with the Davis family from Buzzards Bay,
including renting a cottage from patriarch Alden P. Davis. Davis,
his wife Mattie, and his two daughters referred to Nurse Jane simply
as ‘Jennie.’ Toppan left Woods Hole and returned to Cambridge in
1901. On July 3, 1901 Mattie Davis arrived for a visit to see if
Jane wished to rent their cottage again for the summer and had dinner
with her. Mattie became violently ill and died on July 4th.
Suspicion arose but Jane proclaimed diabetes as cause of death and
her word was believed.
She
returned to the Cape with the body of Mrs. Davis to grieve with the
family. Mattie’s daughter Genevieve became ill at her mother’s
funeral and Nurse Jane cared for her at the request of her father.
Genevieve died July 13th with Toppan claiming heart
disease as the culprit. Alden P. Davis was devastated and at 70
years old his failing health which followed was not surprising. On
August 8th Alden was found dead in his bed by Nurse Jane,
she proclaimed his death a mixture of grief and a stroke. Shockingly
the man who performed Mrs. Davis’ funeral confessed to burying her
without a death certificate, going only on Nurse Jane’s word again.
Toppan
stayed with the remaining daughter Mary, and some other family
members who had come to comfort her. When Mary became bed-ridden
Nurse Jane cared for her. She told a doctor who came that she was
just tired and the doctor took her word and left. Mary died early on
August 13, 1901 making her the fourth member of the Davis family to
die in Jane’s care in six weeks. Finally Jane’s facade unraveled
as Mary’s husband suspected poisoning. After Mary’s funeral Jane
left Cape Cod returning to Lowell and a police investigation began.
The
undertaker recalled Jane telling him the Davis family wished for a
lot of embalming fluid to be used, possibly to mask the poisoning
agents in their bodies. The net closing in Jane attempted suicide by
poison but was revived by a doctor. She then fled to Amherst, New
Hampshire and was subsequently placed under arrest on October 29,
1901 and arraigned at Barnstable District Court. Now in custody the
true scope of the horrific crimes Jane Toppan committed would be
exposed.
On
November 20, 1901 the four Davis family victims were exhumed and it
was determined they all died from a lethal dose of morphine. She was
indicted in December. Jane confessed to her lawyer Fred Bixby that
not only had she murdered the Davis family but at least 31 people,
perhaps as many as 100. With her victims she administered morphine
and atropine in water or whiskey, or used injections. Toppan
admitted that although she did not think she was insane she did not
feel any remorse for what she had done.
 |
| Taunton State Hospital where Jane lived out her remaining years. |
On
April 8, 1902 three experts examining her found Jane Toppan to be
insane. Her trial in Barnstable began and ended on June 24th
with Jane being committed to the Taunton State Hospital. Toppan
lived out her remaining years feeling no remorse for the lives she
had affected, dying inside the hospital’s walls on August 17, 1938.
Despite
her claims that she wasn’t insane, and her confession to untold
cruel poisoning murders, only Jane Toppan herself knows just how far
her crimes reached. Jolly Jane’s story is truly terrifying showing
that sometimes looks can be deceiving and trust can get you killed.
View my previous blog posts: In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - Thomas Ridley & Cape Cod's Loneliest Grave
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