From Dave Brigham:
Spanning from Cape Cod Bay at its northern point to Nantucket Sound at its southern end, Yarmouth, Mass., was named for a seaside town along the eastern coast of England. According to the Cape Cod town's web site, it's unclear why the name Yarmouth was chosen for the settlement in 1639, although there is speculation. "Yarmouth, England, during the age of the Pilgrims, was an important seaport on the Yare River. Across the North Sea from Yarmouth, to the east is the Netherlands - the former home country of a portion of the Mayflower passengers. These Dutch passengers arrived in England via the port of Yarmouth, and therefore the naming of the new Cape township appears to be the tip of the cap to the English seaport."
I explored Yarmouth once before on a trip to the Cape (see July 26, 2015, "Cavalier Attitude About Motels"), so this past summer I decided to check out a bit more. Did I yodel my way through town? No, I didn't. But I did enjoy myself.
I chose my first destination after a friend mentioned the site in passing on Facebook, and from there I took a "let's see what I can find" approach.
Built in the late 1950s as a gift shop called The Barefoot Trader, this midcentury A-frame building along Route 28 in West Yarmouth is now home to the Cape Abilities Thrift Shop. The store "is a social enterprise started by Cape Abilities, a nonprofit providing jobs, homes, transportation, social and therapeutic services for people with disabilities across Cape Cod," according to the thrift shop's web site. "Our thrift store exists to provide employment and training for individuals of all abilities, promote awareness of the Cape Abilities mission, and raise revenue for all Cape Abilities programs."
As for The Barefoot Trader, it was a shop "described as a 'Polynesian Paradise' and sold gifts, sportswear, and even food 'that have been collected from the wide, wide world,'" according to this Historic Cape Cod article. The Barefoot Trader closed in the late 1980s.
The Cape Abilities shop and its large parking lot are situated at the southern tip of a cranberry bog. When I spotted the old truck and RV shown in the photos below, I thought they were just relics of times gone by. But I was wrong.
An outfit called Fresh From the Vine harvests and sells cranberries from this site, using these vehicles to both showcase and sell its products.
From that point, I headed east along Route 28. I really liked the water wheel installed inside The Yarmouth House restaurant.
The restaurant was opened in 1978 by Gerry Kounadis, a Greek immigrant who made his way to the Cape by way of Montreal, where he and his wife, Bessie, had operated a restaurant for decades. The Kounadis family continues to run this place, along with two other restaurants. As for the paddle wheel, Kounadis found one on the property when he bought the site. All these years later, the original wooden one has been replaced by a metal one, according to Kounadis's daughter, Angie Zambelis, quoted in this Cape Cod Times article.
Next door to the restaurant is Yarmouth Resort, which I believe is a residential operation these days, rather than a hotel.
After walking around a bit more, I decided to hop back in my car and head east and see what I could find. Within about a half mile, I stumbled across something safari-worthy.
Located in the parking lot of the shuttered India Big & Tall Shop ("Up to 9XL"), Tommy the Elephant was created by Tommy Neil, "who built the 5,000 pound pachyderm out of concrete and steel in 1979," according to this Roadside America entry. "Tommy's upraised trunk mimics the hooked shape of Cape Cod."
I'm not sure if this was Tommy's original location.
Continuing east for a little bit, I had to stop at the Lobster Boat Restaurant.
Overlooking the Parker River, the seafood joint has been in business for more than 30 years. The business also operates a wholesale operation next door, featuring a crusty old lobster boat in front.
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For the final stop on my journey, I doubled back from the Lobster Boat to check out a closed eatery that I'd passed on the corner of Route 28 and West Yarmouth Road.
Opened around the turn of this century, Salty's appears to have gone out of business sometime in 2021.
That's it for Yarmouth. Make sure to check back in the near future for a post about another Cape Cod town, Sandwich.
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