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The
park that we are currently designing will be located in Bourne,
Massachusetts. Bourne is located on Cape Cod and is named after one of
its first prominent citizens Jonathan Bourne who made his fortune in the
whaling industry.
The
town of Bourne was founded in 1627, right after the town of Sandwich was
founded. Sandwich was the main town of Cape Cod in those times. Since
Sandwich was the main town, the villages of Buzzards Bay, Sagamore,
Cataumet, Pocasset, Monument Beach, and Bourne were part of it. In 1884,
the town of Bourne became incorporated. 1627
was also the year the Plymouth settlers established Aptucxet Trading Post on the
banks of the Manomet River for trading with the Dutch from New Amsterdam
(New York) to the south as well as with Indians in the area. Aptucxet
means, "little trap by the river". The trading post was closed
in the late 1650s but a
replica of it is still in place on the original foundation.
The
villages of Bourne were popular with wealthy people who summered here
and built handsome estates along the beautiful shore. President Grover
Cleveland purchased a summer house called Gray Gables, where he would
come to relax and escape the pressures of Washington. Cleveland was an
avid sportsman and loved hunting and fishing on the Cape with his good
friend, renowned 19th-century actor Joseph Jefferson, who owned a summer
home on Buttermilk Bay called the Crow's Nest.
Cape
Cod formed long ago in the Ice Age. A glacier, several miles thick,
“swam” across the North American continent. The glacier’s north
edge came to a stop when it collided with warmer air it had found. The
glacier melted and the sheet of ice retreated 25 through 30 miles, to
what is now Cape Cod. It deposited rock and soil that formed the
Cape’s foundation and leaving behind freshwater kettle ponds. Years of
ocean currents and wind erosion completed the structure and shape of
Cape Cod. The Cape is a hook shaped peninsula, but usually referred to
as a flexing arm, that extends into the Atlantic Ocean 65 miles.
One of
the most important events of Bourne history was the building of the Cape
Cod Canal and the Bourne Bridge, which spans this waterway. Many thought
the building of a canal would make the trip from New York to Boston by
sea quicker and safer. A huge number of ships were shipwrecked around
the treacherous shores of Cape Cod and the Islands. The Pilgrims thought of building a canal in
the 1620's and General George Washington investigated the idea for
strategic reasons in 1776. Various
plans were presented throughout the 19th century, but it was not until
the early 20th century that shovel moved dirt and the canal was dug.
Where the canal was built was originally the
site of two rivers, the Manomet on west and the Scusset on the east. A
short distance of land only separated them.
In 1907, wealthy New Yorker August Belmont founded the Cape Cod
Construction Company and the digging began. The canal opened in 1914, 17
days ahead of the Panama Canal. Although he built the canal as a
commercial venture, Belmont ultimately sold it to the United States
government in 1928. It is operated by the United States Army Corps of
Engineers.
The canal stretches from Sandwich and Sagamore in the east to Bourne and
Buzzards Bay in the west. The current is strong because water in Cape
Cod Bay is approximately 5 feet higher than the water in Buzzards Bay.
The canal is 480 feet wide and approximately 8 miles long. Three bridges
span the canal: Sagamore, Bourne and Buzzards Bay Vertical Railroad
Bridge
This
is a picture of William Barclay Parsons, the Chief Engineer of the Boston, Cape Cod and New York
Canal
Company.
And
this is a picture I found of men digging the Canal.
Below
are my "fictional" adaptations of historical events that
happened in or near Bourne.
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