Though
the villages on Cape Cod all share the easy-going charm that
you’d expect from seaside communities, many visitors
are surprised to find that each town, though small in size, is
nevertheless large in personality. And Harwich is no exception- Local old-timers refer to those from Harwich as “Hairleggers.” While
the origin for this unseemly term is somewhat foggy now, one theory
points to the absence of socks on the town baseball team back in
the 1800’s.
Geographically, Harwich is situated on the southside of Cape Cod,
with expansive white-sand beaches that run along Nantucket Sound,
which is on average 10 degrees warmer than the open Atlantic Ocean
on a typical summer day. Those who prefer freshwater will find
a score of pristine kettlehole ponds, formed by the glaciers thousands
of years ago.
Harwich
was originally known as Satucket until it was incorporated
as a town in 1694. After incorporation the town was then named
for the famous seaport in England, which is apt, as fishing
and maritime activity do, in fact, feature large in Harwich’s
history. During the Revolutionary War Harwich, along with
Chatham and Barnstable, was one of the chief fishing ports
of the Cape. She sent her schooners out to the Grand Banks,
where the holds were filled with Cod, then on to the West Indies,
where the fish were traded for rum and molasses, bringing a
great profit to her enterprising captains back here in New
England.
A
full half of Harwich’s men and boys were employed this
way by 1800. Some of them made the long voyages out to the Grand
Banks while others took smaller vessels in day trips out to the
Nantucket Sound Shoals. Though Harwich had no deep-water ports
with which to field a fleet of whalers, many of her sons did serve
on whalers bound from Chatham and Provincetown. Thus the true Captain’s
House, funded by men who made their fortunes in exotic ports throughout
the world, does exist in Harwich today as part of her historic
landscape. Herring fishing also comprised part of the fishery at
its appropriately-named Herring River. The selectmen of Harwich
oversaw the fishery and reserved “two barrels for every
Indian family and one barrel for every white family.”
As
fishing declined in New England in the mid-1800’s Harwich’s
captains brought their enterprising spirit home to dry land. In
1845, captain Alvin Cahoon planted "8 rods to berries" at
Pleasant Lake (Hinckley’s Pond) in Harwich, creating
the nation's first commercial cranberry bog. In 1847, Alvin's
cousin, Captain Cyrus Cahoon also began cultivating cranberries
at Pleasant Lake, and some of these Harwich bogs are still
inproduction today -- a full 150 years after they were first
planted. A pioneer of the cranberry industry, Cyrus Cahoon
built the first level-floored cranberry bog which revolutionized
cranberry cultivation.
Sea captains and fishermen who owned suitable marshy land were
able to retire from seafaring enterprises and turn to cranberry
cultivation in order to support their families A five-acre cranberry
bog would provide a comfortable living for a Cape Cod farmer and
his family in the 1850's, whereas a ten-acre cranberry bog placed
him squarely in the lap of luxury.
As
Clifton Johnson said in 1902, “There was scarcely a
swampy depression anywhere but that had been ditched and
dyked and the body of it layed off as smooth as a floor and
planted to cranberries. The pickers were hard at work- only
two or three of them on some bogs, and on others a motley
score or more. It seemed as if the task engaged the entire
population irrespective of age and sex.”
Tourism in Harwich
The coming of the railroad brought the cranberry to a national
market and enabled another important industry- tourism.
The first resort hotel opened in 1880 and both the cranberry
and the tourist industries remain substantial parts of
Harwich's to this day. The Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association
represents more
than 480 growers of the 1,000 in North America.
In fact, every September the town celebrates this heritage with
its Cranberry Harvest Festival. This annual event has been called
the largest small-town festival in America- a week-long extravaganza
of craft fairs, a parade, and a spectacular fireworks show.
Harwich
also benefits from its convenient central location. Situated
midway between the Cape Cod Canal and Provincetown, Harwich
offers a bit of the classic Cape Cod vacation to everyone.
There is a ferry boat leaving from Saquatucket Harbor which
goes to Nantucket and out to Monomoy for seal-watching. Historic
Harwich Center and Harwich Port offer a bit of old-time Americana,
with band concerts in the summertime. And of course you’ll
also find golf, charter fishing, bike trails, and some of the
best dining around, whether you're moving or visiting here.
