Camp Perkins was a

Massachusetts Army National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the oldest units in the United States Army. What is toda ...

camp located in Barnstable, Massachusetts near the site of the present

Cape Cod Airfield Cape Cod Airfield, in Marstons Mills, Massachusetts is a public airport owned by the Town of Barnstable. History Cape Cod Airfield is located on the former site of Camp Perkins, a Massachusetts National Guard camp which was active on the si ...

History

On June 8, 1921, Brig. Gen. John H. Sherburne announced that the 51st Field Artillery Brigade of the Massachusetts National Guard would hold their summer encampment in

West Barnstable, Massachusetts West Barnstable is a seaside village in the northwest part of the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts. Once devoted to agricultural pursuits, West Barnstable now is largely residential and historic. Originally founded in 1639 as part of its neighbori ...

. The camp bordered on Mystic Lake, between West Barnstable, Massachusetts and

Cotuit Cotuit ( ) is one of the villages of the Town of Barnstable on Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on a peninsula on the south side of Barnstable about midway between Falmouth and Hyannis, Cotuit is bounded by t ...

near the village

Marstons Mills Marstons Mills (sometimes spelled Marston's Mills) is a village in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It is primarily residential, located on Massachusetts Route 28, and rural in nature. Main roads also include Massachusetts ...

on a plateau ninety feet above the Lake. The camp was named Camp Perkins in honor of the deceased Col. Frank S. Perkins of the

Yankee Division The 26th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army. A major formation of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, it was based in Boston, Massachusetts for most of its history. Today, the division's heritage is carried ...

. Construction was delayed due to issues with the Federal appropriation for the camp. When the first guardsmen arrived on July 9, 1921, the camp was still largely incomplete. The camp was described in ''

The Barnstable Patriot ''The Barnstable Patriot'' is a weekly newspaper published in and for the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. Although it bills itself as "an independent voice since 1830", ''The Patriot'' has been owned, since 2019, by Gannett. ...

'' in 1921 as having water piped in to company streets, electric lights, a telephone system, a wireless system, and equipment to listen into messages from the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

and Tufts College band concerts. The listening equipment could also pick up storm warnings along the coast of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. It was also described as having 400 horses, which watered in the nearby lake, something which was a daily source of enjoyment for the infantry men. The camp also fired at a range on the nearby

Sandy Neck Sandy Neck Cultural Resources District is a historic district in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Sandy Neck is a long spit of land extending east–west on the northern shore of the lower portion of Cape Cod, sheltering Barnstable Harbor. This are ...

, a barrier beach on the north side of Barnstable. The guns themselves were described as being just north of the

New Haven Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

. Full charges were also used, with both shrapnel and high explosives. The men also visited the nearby village of

Osterville Osterville is one of seven villages within the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. The village of Osterville is located on the south side of Barnstable on Nantucket Sound. Osterville is a residential community that includes marshes, ...

in their free time. As many as 600 men and 400 horses would visit the camp each summer. According to the

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

, the

101st Field Artillery Regiment The 101st Field Artillery ("Boston Light Artillery") regiment is the oldest field artillery regiment in the United States Army with a lineage dating to 13 December 1636 when it was organized as the South Regiment. It is one of several National ...

and 102nd Field Artillery Regiment trained at the Camp in 1922. On September 10, 1922, the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Adjutant General Jesse F. Stevens requesting that the camp be discontinued "on the ground that is was a serious determent to the development of a considerable portion of the Cape". The letter accused the Guard of damaging property and using land without permission. In 1923, the units that were encamped at Camp Perkins the previous summer were ordered to

Camp Devens Fort Devens is a United States Army Reserve military installation in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Due to extensive environmental contamination it was l ...

instead. In 1929, the Massachusetts National Guard returned to the former site of Camp Perkins when the 26th Division Air Service began performing training and maneuvers at Cape Cod Airfield.

References

{{Coord, 41, 41, 07.0, N, 70, 24, 08.1, W, type:airport, display=title Installations of the U.S. Army in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Barnstable, Massachusetts Installations of the United States Army National Guard 1921 establishments in Massachusetts Military installations closed in 1922 1922 disestablishments in Massachusetts

History

See also

References