Shelter from the Storm

From Dave Brigham:

I love that photo, and feel lucky to have made it. I'm not a spiritual guy, but I feel like the stars aligned the day back in February when I stopped in front of these three cottages in Truro, Mass., with storm clouds gathering off the tip of Provincetown, the winds whipping up and my time running short.

After dropping my son to visit a friend in Mashpee, I hightailed it the 60 miles along Route 6 to Provincetown to make photos of the historic village. I had about four hours to make the drive, walk around the popular vacation spot, snap some pix and drive back to Mashpee. But on the way into P-town, I spied some quaint beach-side cottages overlooking Cape Cod Bay, and vowed to swing by on my way out of town.

So after wrapping up my Provincetown exploration (see May 9, 2026, "Prowling Around P-town"), I tooled along through the quaint roads of the scenic burg, with the bay to my right and countless adorable houses, cottages and shops lining my route. I drove past Pilgrim Lake -- a tidal estuary originally called East Harbor -- in Truro, and shortly afterwards found the cottages I'd noticed from the highway.

Pulling over on Stotts Crossing, I could barely contain my excitement. The sky behind these throwback vacation homes was very dramatic, there was nobody around, and the cottages looked even more amazing than I'd dared to hope when I'd driven by them earlier.

Located right on the beach, these tiny houses must face a lot of weather punishment, especially in the winter, with high winds, driving rain and snow, and waves and spray off the bay water. I like how each one is boarded up with a numbered pieces of plywood - a nice orderly system.

I picture young families, retired couples, small groups of friends, solitary vacationers and others relaxing, making communal dinners and enjoying swimming, boating and games on the sand.

I'm so happy that these little places exist. Little cottages like this used to dot the landscape, not just near ocean towns but along lakes and near mountains, offering simple and inexpensive respite from the grind of daily life. They gained in popularity in the 1920s as more Americans began traveling by auto, and the road system in the country expanded.

Over the decades, these types of places fell out of favor, with motels, then hotels, then resorts and weekly rentals becoming ever more popular. The Truro assessor's department indicates these cottages were built in the 1940s. There are other such homey spots in the area. If I'd known about the Days Cottages array just a little further along Shore Road, I would've stopped by there as well.

Opened in 1930, these cottages were the realization of the dream of Joseph Days, who ran a construction company, according to the web site for these historic venues. Today, there are 23 cottages, each adorned with the name of a flower, bestowed by Joseph's wife, Amelia. The cottages are now a condominium colony.

Below is an image from the colony's Facebook page.

I'll have to make photos there next winter.

In the meantime, I have this shot to make me smile.

A Towering Discovery in Tobacco Country

From Mr. Nutmeg State:

For years I've passed this old water tower on the way to and from my mother's house in Windsor, Conn., the top just visible above the tree line as I zoomed along Route 291. I planned to check it out in November, but was having car trouble and didn't want to risk stopping for a look and finding out my car wouldn't start again. But earlier this month, the stars aligned and I made the side trip on my way back to Massachusetts, and boy was I glad I did.

I expected to find the tower in the middle of a field, where I would take a nice shot under a beautiful sky, and then mosey on back to the highway. What I discovered, instead, was that this striking rural spire sits next to a beautiful shingled building located in a historic district that I instantly fell in love with.

The Windsor Farms Historic District "is a 2-1/2 square mile area on the east bank of the Connecticut River which comprises the historical center of South Windsor," according to this web site. "Main Street, the principal street in the ...[d]istrict, runs in a generally northeasterly direction, bisecting open fields under cultivation by the tobacco farmers of this rural village for several centuries."

This property sits on the corner of Main and North King streets, a few steps from a small farm selling pasture-raised beef, lamb and pork. Heading north along Main Street in this historic district, there are several beautiful old homes and other small farms, some of which still grow tobacco. South Windsor is located in the Connecticut River Valley, long known for its tobacco crop.

For more about this tobacco-growing region, check out these posts: February 27, 2020, "Shoot It If You Got It"; September 20, 2017, "One-Stop Barnstorming Tour"; and July 19, 2016, "Tobacco Road".

As you might imagine, tobacco farming in the valley has decreased signficantly in recent decades. "In the 1930s, Connecticut had 30,000 acres of farmland dedicated to tobacco production; by 2006 this acreage had dwindled to less than 2,000 acres," per this Connecticut History article. "Much of the former tobacco farmland is now used to grow nursery stock or has been developed into residential communities and shopping centers."

So it's cool to see some small farms still in operation in South Windsor. As I've noted in the previous articles linked above, I grew up in Simsbury, Conn., which was also a tobacco-growing town, so I feel a connection to this shrinking industry. When I was young, there were still a few old barns located at the fringes of my neighborhood. Those are long gone, but there are still some scattered througout my quiet hometown.

I'm amazed at how well preserved this building is. I'm not sure its former use: perhaps a dormitory for migrant workers, as one friend suggested when I posted a photo on Facebook. More likely, though, is a warehouse. That's what the article about the historic district that I linked to above suggests, without mentioning this building specifically.

Doesn't matter to me what this building was used for; I'm just happy it's still standing in such great shape.

Last Stop

From Derek Watt:

(Derek Watt took these great photos of a transportation graveyard somewhere in New England -- D.B.)

New England's Most Haunted

Thanks to Backside contributor Heidi Waugaman-Page for pointing us to this great story and photo set, "New England's Most Haunted Asylums."