Misplaced Pages

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47-661: The Butler Point Military Reservation was built on land purchased in 1942. Its mission was to protect the southern entrance of the Cape Cod Canal from possible air and naval attack. It was mirrored at the northern entrance by the Sagamore Hill Military Reservation . It never fired its guns in anger, but it did play an important part in the defense of the canal. In 1942 the reservation had an unnamed battery of two 155 mm towed guns on " Panama mounts ", circular concrete platforms for this type of gun. This battery

94-681: A station in the western section of the town. The nearest MBTA's commuter rail stations are the Kingston/Route 3 and Middleborough/Lakeville stations, both of which provide direct service to Boston. There is also seasonal passenger rail available in nearby Hyannis and Bourne via the CapeFlyer , which runs to Boston's South Station along the Middleborough/Lakeville line. The nearest inter-city ( Amtrak ) passenger rail stations are Boston's South Station and Providence . The town

141-468: A town manager . The town manager is George H. "Bud" Dunham, who has served in that role for more than 30 years. The town operates a police department, and a fire department consisting of three fire stations. There are three post offices in town (East Sandwich, Sandwich, and Forestdale). The Sandwich Public Library is located in the town's center, and belongs to the Old Colony Library Network,

188-459: A Northeastern Oak / Pine ( 110 ) vegetation type with a Southern Mixed Forest ( 26 ) vegetation form. U.S. Route 6 , also known as the Mid-Cape Highway on Cape Cod, passes through the town to the north of Otis Air National Guard Base as a four-lane divided freeway. There are three exits off this route within town. Massachusetts Route 6A passes through town to the north of Route 6, and

235-600: A canal did not take place until the late 19th century; earlier planners either ran out of money or were overwhelmed by the project's size. The engineers finally decided which route to take through the hillsides by connecting and widening the Manomet and Scusset rivers. The first excavation began in 1880, when the Cape Cod Ship Canal Company hired 400 immigrant Italian laborers to begin digging with shovels and wheelbarrows. The effort ran out of money almost immediately, and

282-471: A female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.18. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

329-577: A part of the Plymouth and Barnstable district, which includes Bourne, Falmouth, Kingston, Pembroke, Plymouth, and Plympton. The town is patrolled by the Sandwich Police Department. The Police Department has 28 full-time staff members, including Chief, Lieutenants, Sergeants, Detectives, Patrol Officers and support staff. The Sandwich Board of Selectmen has five members: Robert George, Shane Hoctor, Susan James, Michael Miller, and David Sampson. On

376-618: A safe harbor for ships. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Sandwich, Massachusetts has a warm-summer, wet year-round, humid continental climate ( Dfb ). Dfb climates are characterized by at least one month having an average mean temperature ≤ 32.0 °F (≤ 0.0 °C), at least four months with an average mean temperature ≥ 50.0 °F (≥ 10.0 °C), all months with an average mean temperature ≤ 71.6 °F (≤ 22.0 °C), and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. The average seasonal (Nov–Apr) snowfall total

423-530: Is Post tot Naufracia Portus , "after so many shipwrecks, a haven". The population was 20,259 at the 2020 census. Cape Cod was inhabited by American Indians prior to European colonization . Sandwich was occupied by the Eastern Algonquian speaking Wampanoag tribe who aided the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony in the 1620s. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe still live on Cape Cod and are making efforts to revive

470-581: Is an artificial waterway in Massachusetts connecting Cape Cod Bay in the north to Buzzards Bay in the south, and is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway . The approximately 7.4-mile-long (11.9 km) canal traverses the neck of land joining Cape Cod to the state's mainland. It mostly follows tidal rivers widened to 480 feet (150 m) and deepened to 32 feet (9.8 m) at mean low water, shaving up to 135 miles (217 km) off

517-520: Is approximately 30 inches (76 cm). The average snowiest month is February, which corresponds with the annual peak in nor'easter activity. According to the United States Department of Agriculture , the plant hardiness zone is 6b, with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of −0.7 °F (−18.2 °C). According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. Potential natural vegetation Types, Sandwich, Massachusetts would primarily contain

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564-727: Is leased by the Corps of Engineers to the Town of Bourne Recreation Authority for use as a tent and RV campground adjacent to the Canal. The Army Corps of Engineers maintains the Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center which introduces visitors to the history, features, and operation of the canal. Features include a retired 41-foot (12 m) US Army Corps of Engineers patrol boat, a 46-seat theater showing continuous DVD presentations on canal history, canal flora and fauna, real time radar and camera images of

611-492: Is the town's main local road. The northern terminus of Massachusetts Route 130 is near the intersection of Routes 6 and 6A within town. The road passes along the eastern side of Otis on its way towards Mashpee. Freight rail service is provided by the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad . The Cape Cod Central Railroad , which operates seasonal tourist excursions from Hyannis to Buzzards Bay , serves Sandwich via

658-665: The Boston & Sandwich Glass Factory in 1825. Sandwich had proximity to a shallow harbor, was a possible canal site, and had local supplies of timber to fuel the furnaces. The glass works primarily made lead glass and was known for its use of color. Jarves received several patents for his improvements in glass mold designs and pressing techniques. The factory declined after the Civil War due to competition from Ohio , Pennsylvania , and West Virginia companies that produced less expensive pressed soda-lime glass tableware. The Cape Cod Canal

705-478: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology built a huge scale model of the canal (9 feet to a mile, roughly 1 ⁄ 587 actual size) to study the hydraulic effects of tidal currents on the enlarged and rerouted canal. During World War II , shipping again used the canal to avoid U-boats patrolling offshore. It was protected by coastal artillery batteries at the Sagamore Hill Military Reservation at

752-604: The Shawme-Crowell State Forest and the Massachusetts State Game Farm. The town is home to six beaches along the shores of Cape Cod Bay. The rest of the town's geography is typical of the rest of the Cape, with many small ponds and hills, with most of the trees being pine or oak. Sandwich is also the site of Old Harbor Creek, a large inlet with several other small creeks feeding it, which once served to provide

799-584: The Town Hall Square Historic District and Jarvesville Historic District within the town. Sandwich is also home to a major portion of Otis Air National Guard Base , including half the land that the runways are on. The Sandwich boardwalk is located in downtown and leads to the Town Beach on Cape Cod Bay. It is a popular tourist attraction and was elected by National Geographic in July 2010 as one of

846-594: The Wampanoag language . A group of settlers from Saugus, Massachusetts colonized Sandwich in 1637 with the permission of the Plymouth Colony . It is named for the seaport of Sandwich, Kent in England. It was incorporated in 1639 and is the oldest town on Cape Cod, together with Yarmouth . The western portion of the town was separated from the original Town of Sandwich and became the town of Bourne in 1884. Sandwich

893-845: The Wing Fort House , the Sandwich Glass Museum , the Thornton Burgess Museum, Hoxie House (the oldest house on Cape Cod), the Daniel Webster Inn, the Dexter Grist Mill (the oldest mill on Cape Cod), the Sandwich Friends (Quaker) Meetinghouse (the oldest in North America), and Shawme Lake. Sandwich is home to numerous art galleries, as well as rare book and antique stores. Many of these attractions are found within

940-599: The poverty line , including 3.3% of those under the age of 18 and 4.1% ages 65 years or older. Sandwich is represented by State Representative Steven Xiarhos in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Fifth Barnstable District, which also includes portions of Barnstable, Bourne and Plymouth. The town is represented by State Senator Susan Moran in the Massachusetts Senate as

987-1019: The Blue Knights, and their colors are navy blue, Columbia blue, and white. High school students may also choose to attend the Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Bourne free of charge (Sandwich taxpayers contribute to that school's budget) as well as Sturgis Charter Public School in Hyannis. Students may also choose to attend private schools in Barnstable, Bourne, Falmouth or other neighboring communities. A few Sandwich students choose to attend private high schools off-Cape, such as Tabor Academy , Sacred Heart High School , and Bishop Stang High School . There are several attractions in Sandwich, including Heritage Museums and Gardens ,

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1034-558: The Canal's historic and natural features. A spoof became popular during the late 20th century concerning a fictitious road tunnel, allegedly built in the 1960s, under the Cape Cod Canal. It came into popular usage in Massachusetts as a commentary on the severe traffic entering and exiting Cape Cod during the summer months. Since 1994, decals have been sold in shops around the Cape as popular souvenirs purporting to be "permits" allowing

1081-733: The Southeastern Massachusetts Regional Library System, and the Massachusetts Library Information Network. Sandwich has a public access television station (PEG) Sandwich Community TV which archives all government meetings on its website. Sandwich operates its own public school system. Forestdale Pre-K–2, Oak Ridge 3–6, STEM Academy 7–8. The STEM Academy is located in the town's High School. Sandwich High School , located in East Sandwich, operates Grades 7–12. The school teams are called

1128-563: The bearer to use the tunnel; the popularity of these "permits" briefly led to a lawsuit among several different sellers. In 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) said that it had studied the idea of adding a tunnel, but had no plans to do so. Sandwich, Massachusetts Sandwich is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts , United States and is the oldest town on Cape Cod . The town motto

1175-549: The canal under a presidential proclamation. Four days earlier, the German U-boat U-156 surfaced three miles (5 km) off Orleans, Massachusetts on July 21, 1918, and shelled the tugboat Perth Amboy and her string of four barges. The canal remained under government control until 1920, during which the United States Army Corps of Engineers re-dredged the channel to 25 feet (7.6 m) deep. In 1928,

1222-594: The canal. Construction of a canal was first considered by Myles Standish of the Plymouth Colony in 1623, and the Pilgrims scouted the low-lying stretch of land between the Manomet and Scusset rivers for potential routes. William Bradford established the Aptucxet Trading Post in 1627 at the portage between the rivers. Trade prospered with the Indians of Narragansett Bay and the Dutch of New Netherland , and this

1269-507: The east end of the canal and offers beach facilities as well as tent and RV camping. A 0.7-mile (1.1 km) trail there leads to Sagamore Hill, once an Indian meeting ground and the site of a World War II coastal fortification. Bournedale Hills Trail extends 1.4 miles (2.3 km) along the north side of the Canal from Bourne Scenic Park campground to the Herring Run. The trail includes a 0.8-mile (1.3 km) self-guided loop which interprets

1316-457: The east, Mashpee and Falmouth to the south, and Bourne to the west. It is approximately 57 miles (92 km) south-southeast of Boston . Sandwich is the site of the Cape Cod Bay entrance to the Cape Cod Canal . The northern point of Sandwich, where Sagamore Hill and Scusset Beach State Reservation lie, is divided from the rest of the town by the canal. The town is also the location of

1363-424: The effort slowed dredging. Another problem was cold winter storms which forced the engineers to stop dredging altogether and wait for spring. Nevertheless, the canal opened on a limited basis on July 29, 1914, and it was completed in 1916. The privately owned toll canal had a maximum width of 100 feet (30 m) and a maximum depth of 25 feet (7.6 m), and it took a somewhat difficult route from Phinney Harbor at

1410-432: The government purchased the canal for $ 11.4 million as a free public waterway, and $ 21 million was spent between 1935 and 1940 increasing the canal's width to 480 feet (150 m) and its depth to 32 feet (9.8 m). As a result, it became the widest sea-level canal of its time. The southern entrance to the canal was rebuilt for direct access from Buzzards Bay rather than through Phinney Harbor. Before construction began,

1457-594: The head of Buzzards Bay. Several accidents occurred due to the narrow channel and navigation difficulty, and these limited traffic and tarnished the canal's reputation. Toll revenues failed to meet investors' expectations as a result, despite shortening the trade route from New York City to Boston by 62 miles (100 km). On July 25, 1918, the Director General of the United States Railroad Administration took over jurisdiction and operation of

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1504-543: The journey around the cape for its approximately 14,000 annual users. Most of the canal is located in the town of Bourne , but its northeastern terminus is in Sandwich . Scusset Beach State Reservation lies near the canal's north entrance, and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy is near its south. A swift-running current changes direction every six hours and can reach 5.2 miles per hour (8.4 km/h) during

1551-614: The laborers were unpaid and forced to beg for food in Sandwich . In 1883, the Cape Cod Ship Canal Company reorganized under engineer Frederick Lockwood. The company used a bucket dredge to clear nearly a mile of channel through the Sandwich marshes before shutting down in 1891. On June 22, 1909, construction finally began for a working canal under the direction of August Belmont Jr. 's Boston, Cape Cod & New York Canal Company, using designs by engineer William Barclay Parsons . The canal engineers encountered many problems, such as huge boulders underwater. Divers were hired to blow them up, but

1598-420: The loss of ten lives. The canal reopened on July 31 after the wrecked Stephen R. Jones was removed with the help of 17 tons of dynamite. The canal is used extensively by recreational and commercial vessels. Service roads on both sides of the canal provide access for fishing and are heavily used by in-line skaters, bicyclists, and walkers. Several parking areas are maintained at access points. Bourne Scenic Park

1645-475: The national level, Sandwich is a part of Massachusetts's 9th congressional district , and is currently represented by William Keating . The state's junior (Class II) member of the United States Senate is Ed Markey . The senior (Class I) senator is Elizabeth Warren . Sandwich is governed by the open town meeting form of government. Day-to-day operation is led by a board of selectmen , which appoints

1692-454: The nearest national and international airport is Logan International Airport in Boston. As of the census of 2000, there were 20,136 people, 7,335 households, and 5,515 families residing in the town. The population density was 467.9 inhabitants per square mile (180.7/km ). There were 8,748 housing units at an average density of 78.5 persons/km (203.3 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of

1739-588: The northern entrance and the Butler Point Military Reservation at the southern entrance. The artillery was never fired in defense of the canal. The Mystic Steamship Company 's collier SS Stephen R. Jones was grounded and sank in the canal on June 28, 1942. Shipping was routed around Cape Cod, and the Liberty ship SS Alexander Macomb was torpedoed by the German submarine U-215 on July 3 with

1786-631: The receding ebb tide. The waterway is maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and has no toll fees. It is spanned by the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge , the Bourne Bridge , and the Sagamore Bridge . Traffic lights at either end govern the approach of vessels over 65 feet (20 m). The canal is occasionally used by whales and dolphins, including endangered North Atlantic right whales , which can cause closure of

1833-518: The top ten boardwalks in the United States. It is 1,350 feet long, from Scorton Creek to the Cape Cod Canal, and crossing the Creek Mill and the marsh. It was created in 1875 by Gustavus Howland, the son of Ellis Howland who built the town hall. In 1991, it was almost completely destroyed by Hurricane Bob . It was rebuilt in 1992, financed through the sale of 1,700 personalized planks with engravings. It

1880-401: The town was 97.75% White , 0.38% African American , 0.31% Native American , 0.54% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 0.32% from other races , and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population. There were 7,335 households, out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.0% were married couples living together, 8.1% had

1927-434: The waterway, and a variety of interactive exhibits. Corps Park Rangers staff the center and provide free public programs on a variety of subjects. The Visitor Center is open seasonally from May to October, and admission is free. It is located on Moffitt Drive in Sandwich near the canal's east end. A second seasonally staffed center is at the Herring Run along Scenic Highway. Scusset Beach State Reservation lies just north of

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1974-409: Was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $ 61,250 and the median income for a family was $ 66,553. Males had a median income of $ 49,195 versus $ 33,516 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 26,895. About 2.2% of families and 3.1% of the population were below

2021-780: Was a major factor enabling the Pilgrims to pay off their debt. In 1697, the General Court of Massachusetts considered the first formal proposal to build the canal but took no action. In 1717, a canal was created in Orleans, Massachusetts called Jeremiah's Gutter which spanned a narrower portion of the Cape some distance to the east, but it remained active only until the late 1800s. More energetic planning with surveys took place repeatedly in 1776 (commissioned by George Washington ), 1791, 1803, 1818, 1824–1830, and 1860. None of these efforts came to fruition. The first attempts at actually building

2068-493: Was constructed through the town starting in 1909, opening for travel in 1914. The Canal Generating Plant went online in 1968. According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 44.2 square miles (114.5 km ), of which 42.7 square miles (110.7 km ) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.8 km ), or 3.32%, is water. Sandwich is bordered by Cape Cod Bay to the north, Barnstable to

2115-709: Was one that had been served by Amtrak's Cape Codder train service (1986–1996); however, it has been eliminated from the schedule of the seasonal Cape Flyer train service. From the 19th century, under the Old Colony Railroad , and until 1964 under the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , passenger trains served Sandwich. Trains of the 1940s–1960s included the Day Cape Codder and the Neptune. The nearest private and regional air service can be found in Barnstable, and

2162-460: Was the site of an early Quaker settlement and today hosts the oldest continuous Quaker Meeting in the U.S. Early industry revolved around agriculture, with fishing and trading also providing for the town. Later, the town grew a small industrial component along the Scusset River and Old Harbor Creek and its tributaries. Today, most of its economy is centered on tourism. Deming Jarves founded

2209-422: Was withdrawn in 1943 when an Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) battery of four 90 mm guns called AMTB 934 was built. This battery had an authorized strength of four 90 mm guns, two on fixed mounts and two on towed mounts, plus two towed 37 mm M1 guns or 40 mm Bofors M1 guns. The site was disarmed in 1946. The two Panama mounts remain, but are partly buried. Cape Cod Canal The Cape Cod Canal

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