Issue link: http://summerguide.uberflip.com/i/1535299
www.summerguidecapecod.com 20 The Sandwich Boardwalk The Wooden Icon of Sandwich By Jeremy Shea The Sandwich Boardwalk spans a salt marsh estimated to be over 3,000 years old. While many of Cape Cod's southern marshes are only a few hundred years in age, those on the northern side—like the one in Sandwich—are significantly older. In colonial times, this marsh was an essential resource, harvested for both salt and hay. To protect the hay from moisture and tides, colonists stored it on wooden structures called staddles. A few remnants of these early staddles can still be spotted in the marsh today. The earliest bridge across the creek was constructed in 1835, providing the first formal access to the beach. After a powerful gale destroyed it in 1874, the bridge was rebuilt in a form similar to the one recognized and celebrated today. Historically, the beach attracted locals for various reasons: lobstering, rescuing shipwrecked sailors, and even salvaging or observing washed-up whales. Author Thornton Burgess recalled seeing a beached whale there with his cousin in 1879. A rich clay deposit in the nearby dunes led to the construction of two brick ovens at the boardwalk's end. These ovens produced bricks for the Sandwich Glass Factory. Legend holds that during the War of 1812, the British mistook the brickyard for a fort and avoided attacking Sandwich. By the late 1800s, a bathhouse with a wraparound veranda stood near the boardwalk's end, part of a growing post-Civil War outdoor recreation movement. Promoted by figures like Henry David Thoreau and supported by expanding railroads, such bathhouses gave visitors a therapeutic seaside experience. Unfortunately, the Sandwich bathhouse, like many other coastal structures, was lost to a storm in 1898. All of these activities—recreation, rescue, industry—were made possible by the boardwalk, which was well worth its $500 construction cost in 1875. Image credited to Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism Image Creditied to Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism