Mmm...Old Sandwich

From Dave Brigham:

Helpful, humorous and hued in a homey fashion, the directional arrow above wasn't all that necesary on my short exploration of the Upper Shawme Dam in Sandwich, Mass., but I really appreciated it.

As often happens in advance of an adventure, I started on Google Maps. Zeroing in on the dam, which is located between Route 130 and Grove Street, I realized I could also take in the nearby Old Town Cemetery during my quick outing.

The dam is situated within the 40.6-acre Cook Farm Conservation Lands, which the Sandwich Conservation Trust acquired in 2003 from members of the Cook family. "This acquisition allowed the town and Commonwealth to rebuild the deteriorated 1812 dam which Samuel Wing and his brothers built for their cotton spinning mill – the first factory on Cape Cod," per the conservation trust's web site.

Sandwich is the oldest town on Cape Cod, having been colonized in 1637 by settlers from Saugus, Massachusetts, per Wikipedia.

My short walk from the small parking lot along Route 130 was quite pleasant, as the path is plenty wide and there are a few relics hiding in the brush.

Before long, I was approaching the dam, which holds back Upper Shawme Lake from Shawme Lake, the latter of which eventually drains down to the Dexter Grist Mill near the center of Sandwich.

In order to rebuild the dam, conservators needed to remove "cedar logs and sheathing that made up the original outlet structure," according to the 2009 Annual Reports of the Town Officers of the Town of Sandwich (scroll down to page 92). The logs were found to "be intact and a fresh cedar scent emanated from the freshly-cut butt ends," the report continues.

In addition, the report estimates that the accompanying concrete fish ladder was installed in 1910.

Near the dam is a small boulder with a poem on a plaque, along with a tiny frog sculpture.

The poem (click on the photo to enlarge it) is by Hilaire Belloc, a "Franco-English writer and historian of the early 20th century," according to Wikipedia. "Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist."

Next I made my way to Grove Street and the aforementioned Old Town Cemetery.

Opened to great fanfare in 1663 (well, probably not), the boneyard contains approximately 200 memorials, according to a minimalist MACRIS manuscript. The last burial here occurred in 1939, according to this Sandwich MA Geocaching web page, which is a Girl Scout Gold Award Project.

Among the well-known Sandwich residents buried here, according to the Girl Scout page, are: Thomas Tupper, founder of Sandwich; Edmond Freeman, founder of Sandwich; Thomas Burgess, grandfather of author Thornton Burgess; and Benjamin Fessenden, owner and proprietor of the Fessenden Tavern, known today as the Dan'l Webster Inn and Spa.

For more posts about Sandwich, check these out:

July 23, 2021, "In Sandwich, No Bread, Just Dead"

May 28, 2021, "Brady's Island Was Once a Whole Bunch Bigger"

March 6, 2021, "A Historic Life Change on Cape Cod"

October 6, 2018, "Scratching Around the Flea Market"