Long Point is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

located in

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...

, at the extreme tip of

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

, as it curls back in on itself to create

Provincetown Harbor Provincetown Harbor is a large harbor#Natural harbors, natural harbor located in the town of Provincetown, Massachusetts, Provincetown, Massachusetts. The harbor is mostly deep and stretches roughly from northwest to southeast and from northea ...

. The

Long Point Light Long Point Light Station is a historic lighthouse at the northeast tip of Long Point in Provincetown, Massachusetts. As a navigational aid, it marks the southwest edge of the entrance to Provincetown Harbor. The United States Coast Guard Light ...

was built on this point in 1827. The lighthouse once shared this peninsula with a settlement of fishermen that came to be known as Long Point, Massachusetts. This Provincetown village grew and thrived from 1818 until the late 1850s. When the settlers decided to leave Long Point, they took most of their houses with them – about 30 structures in all – by floating them across the harbor. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the military established a defensive

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

post and

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

at this location. The Long Point Battery came to be known as "Fort Useless" and "Fort Ridiculous" among the local residents. Today, nothing remains of the village of Long Point, except for the lighthouse and an earthen mound, the last remnant from the earlier military post.

Early history

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

named John Atwood built the first house on Long Point in 1818. He was followed by Prince Freeman, and next by Eldridge Smith. Others soon followed in increasing numbers, and in 1822, Prince Freeman, Jr. became the first child born on "The Point", as it was called by the locals. The initial lure that attracted so many fishermen to this area was its proximity to prime fishing grounds, and the amount of fish that could be caught from the shore. Using sweep seines (that were hand-knit by their wives), fishermen caught an abundance of

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

shad The Alosinae, or the shads,Alosinae

and bass from shore. There are reports of up to seventy-five barrels of white shad caught in one haul, fetching $16 per barrel – accounting for inflation, that single haul netted roughly $ in today's dollars. By an act of Congress on May 18, 1826, the government earmarked $2,500 (roughly $ today) to acquire four acres at the extreme tip of the point, and to construct a lighthouse, which was completed in 1827. By 1830, the lighthouse became the site of Long Point's first school, starting with only three children. The Long Point community continued to grow, and by 1846, the Town of Provincetown voted to build a schoolhouse on Long Point. By then, the village was home to 38 fishing families, with nearly 200 adults and 60 children. In describing the experience of living on Long Point in the early 1800s, one author wrote: 1836 Provincetown Long Point US Topo Bureau

1836 Provincetown Long Point US Topo Bureau

The village had its own post office, a bakery, boat landings for 20 cod-fishing vessels,

breakwaters A breakwater is a permanent structure constructed at a coastal area to protect against tides, currents, waves, and storm surges. Part of a coastal management system, breakwaters are installed to minimize erosion, and to protect anchorages, h ...

, and several

saltworks A saltern is an area or installation for making salt. Salterns include modern salt-making works (saltworks), as well as hypersaline waters that usually contain high concentrations of halophilic microorganisms, primarily haloarchaea but also othe ...

with nine

windmills A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some par ...

that were used to pump seawater into about of drying pans. With low costs and an endless supply of raw materials, the collection of

sea salt Sea salt is salt that is produced by the evaporation of seawater. It is used as a seasoning in foods, cooking, cosmetics and for preserving food. It is also called bay salt, solar salt, or simply salt. Like mined rock salt, production of sea sa ...

was extremely profitable in the first part of the 19th century. Not only was salt shipped out for domestic consumption, but it was also used to supply the fishing industry, which dried and salted the catch to preserve the fish for shipment. The annual output of the saltworks on Long Point reached "five to six hundred

hogshead A hogshead (abbreviated "hhd", plural "hhds") is a large cask of liquid (or, less often, of a food commodity). More specifically, it refers to a specified volume, measured in either imperial or US customary measures, primarily applied to alcoho ...

s", or , "of extra quality salt." That represented just under 10% of Provincetown's total annual salt production of .

Challenges

Production of salt did not retain its lucrative luster for long, however, for downward price pressures had hit that industry from several angles. For one, the completion of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

in 1830 meant a sharp increase in competition from companies that were mining massive

salt deposit Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations. History Before the advent of the modern internal combustio ...

s in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

. Local competition had increased as well – by 1837, Provincetown had 78 saltworks, and the selling price had fallen from a high of eight dollars per bushel at the turn of the nineteenth century, down to only one dollar. Around that same time, demand for salt-cured fish began to decline, yielding to a growing consumer preference for

ice harvesting Ice cutting is a winter task of collecting surface ice from lakes and rivers for storage in ice houses and use or sale as a cooling method. Rare today, it was common (see ice trade) before the era of widespread mechanical refrigeration and air ...

and storage. John Atwood Jr., the son of Long Point's founder, boasted that "In 1848 I brought the first mackerel ever received on ice to Boston. It was August. I took them in the

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

smack ''American Eagle''." He later pioneered the use of a jib topsail to shorten his time-to-market, so as to meet the growing appetite for fresh-caught fish. Provincetown before after railroad

Living on Long Point presented its own share of challenges as well. The geography of Provincetown as a whole made for an isolating existence throughout most of its history, as the town was essentially cut off, not just from the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

, but in many ways, even from neighboring towns on Cape Cod. The town was surrounded by water in every direction: :*

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 ...

, to the north :*

Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its ...

to the northwest :*

Cape Cod Bay A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

to the west and southwest :*

to the south and southeast :*

East Harbor East Harbor is a tidal estuary in Truro, Massachusetts that was originally a harbor until it was cut off from Cape Cod Bay to form a salt marsh lagoon, later renamed Pilgrim Lake. It is now within the Cape Cod National Seashore. Original Harbor U ...

and a

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

to the east Until late in the 19th century, there was not a single road leading in or out of Provincetown – the only way to travel by land to the rest of Cape Cod was to first head north, traversing a series of tall, rolling

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

, and to then follow the thin strip of beach along the northern shore line, known as the "backshore". A wooden bridge was erected over the East Harbor in 1854, only to be destroyed by a winter storm and ice two years later. Although the bridge was replaced the following year, a traveler using it still had to traverse several miles over a sand route, which, together with the backshore route, would occasionally be washed out by storms. Prior to the railroad's arrival in 1873, Provincetown was like an island, in that it relied almost entirely upon the sea for its communication, travel, and commerce needs. All of this was ''doubly'' true of Long Point, being isolated from its own nearest neighbor, the rest of the town of Provincetown. To reach the closest edge of town from Long Point by land, one had to make a difficult trek across a beach route past Wood End to Herring Cove, and then another mile () over continuously shifting sand dunes. To complicate matters, portions of that route were underwater twice each day with the high tide. Although salt was plentiful, there was no source of ''fresh'' water on Long Point. Plank

cisterns A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

were built throughout the village to collect and store rain water for daily use. During periods of drought, barrels of water had to be filled up in Provincetown, and then transported over to the point. Beyond the challenges imposed by the occasional drought, however, the residents of Long Point came to recognize the potential for a much greater natural force – one that threatened to impact them with little advance warning. While Long Point provides a natural barrier to protect Provincetown and its harbor from many storm hazards, the point bears the brunt of such a storm when it does so: Ptown Floater Plaque

Moving

Sources differ and remain unclear as to the specific reasons for leaving Long Point; it is also unclear whether there was a triggering event which caused a wholesale departure, or whether there was instead a more orderly migration. Sources all agree, however, that beginning in the 1850s, families began to leave Long Point and return to the main town. Most of the families took their houses with them when they left Long Point – the local Deacon's specialty was moving buildings, and the houses, about 30 in all, were placed on rafts and floated across Provincetown Harbor to the town's West End. "They say that so gently were these houses eased off that the moving didn't interfere with the housewife cooking her dinner," wrote

Mary Heaton Vorse Mary Heaton Vorse (October 11, 1874 – June 14, 1966) was an American journalist and novelist. She established her reputation as a journalist reporting the labor protests of a largely female and immigrant workforce in the east-coast textile indus ...

. By the time of the

(1861–1865), only two houses were left on Long Point. A 1942 article in the ''Cape Cod Standard Times'' tells the following variation of the story: Provincetown Floater House 1890

Many of those historic "floater homes", as they came to be called, are still standing in Provincetown's West End, and can be identified by a distinctive blue and white plaque that indicates the home's historic journey. The schoolhouse was among the last buildings to leave Long Point; it was moved to Commercial Street in the center of town.

Long Point Battery

During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, the British navy had controlled Provincetown Harbor. Seeking to correct the lack of fortifications, the U.S. Army surveyed the harbor from 1833–1835, and noted that "the point had a large civilian population". The Army returned to build the planned Long Point Battery during the American Civil War. Army documents state that: Long Point Battery 1865 Army Corps Engrs

Long Point Battery 1865 Army Corps Engrs

The batteries were designed by and built under the supervision of Major Charles E. Blunt of the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

. The Army, however, did not actually "construct" the officer's quarters – instead, the company's three officers were headquartered in the last remaining house from the earlier village. On March 5, 1864, the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

ceded "an indefinite area (approximately 150 acres)" of Long Point to the United States Government. The new barracks housed a company of 98 enlisted soldiers from the Unattached Companies of Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. The 12th Unattached Company, which had been detached from an existing regiment of the

Massachusetts Militia This is a list of militia units of the Colony and later Commonwealth of Massachusetts. *Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (1638) *Cogswell's Regiment of Militia (April 19, 1775) *Woodbridge's Regiment of Militia (April 20, ...

, at first served a 90-day tour of duty at the post from May through August 1864. Most of the men reenlisted for another 100-day tour, this time as the 21st Unattached Company from August through November. In November 1864, they enlisted once again for a full year, but they were mustered out at the end of June 1865, as the war had come to an end. The enlisted barracks was floated across the harbor postwar, and still exists as 473 Commercial Street in Provincetown. The batteries on Long Point remained operational until the post was abandoned in 1872, but they were never used in combat. In the years following the war, the people of Provincetown, aware that they were protected against an enemy that would never materialize, soon labelled the batteries "Fort Useless" and "Fort Ridiculous". The earthworks of the batteries remain, eroded down to sand dunes.

Late 19th century to present

In 1873, a lighthouse inspection revealed that the original wooden light – whose unique architectural design came to be known as a " Cape Cod style lighthouse" – had deteriorated to such a poor condition that it might be destroyed by a strong storm. In 1875, that light was replaced with the brick tower that stands today. Even though the Army had moved out, they retained title to the land. Nevertheless, at around the same time that the lighthouse was rebuilt, the Cape Cod Oil Works built a cod fish oil and

whale oil Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tears, tear" or "drop"). Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the ...

factory in the area that had been the barracks. As the land was still a military reservation, the Army tried to have the factory removed a number of times in the ensuing years. Records from this period are scarce, but Army archives indicate that the factory was still operating in the middle of 1883 – another source from 1890 states that "John Atwood built a wharf on the north side of the point, which is standing to-day, used by the Cape Cod Oil Works, the only buildings now left excepting the lighthouse." The exact date of the factory's closing is unknown, but official Army correspondence in 1917 makes no mention of it. The only known photograph of the factory, taken in 1891 and retrieved from the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

is inscribed with the words "Condemned ... 1919". Long Point Lighthouse Provincetown

An oil house was built in 1904, in order to properly store the flammable materials used to illuminate the light. Aside from the lighthouse and the oil house, no other structure has survived to the present day. The mound of earth that formed the foundation of the outer battery appears as none other than a sand dune With photos. – no other hint of the early settlement, the military post, nor the oil factory can be found on Long Point today. One cultural artifact that is now visible atop the earthworks of the outer battery is a cross that honors the memory of Staff Sgt. Charles Darby – "an unsung soldier who loved the dunes". Darby was killed in action over the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1944.

Village detail, 1857

The image below shows the layout of the houses, stores and saltworks on Long Point as they existed in 1857. Clicking the image will lead not only to a larger image, but also to a legend key to the numbers. That list, which includes the names of each home/store owner, gives one a good sense of the extent of the community at that time.

Gallery

File:Long Point CACO Map.png , Present-day map of Long Point, from the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

. File:Long Point Light--Original built 1827.jpg , The original

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

and keeper's house. Note the three small children seated in front. File:1889 USGS Long Point Provincetown.jpg, 1889 map shows buildings at Long Point and Wood End, despite being replaced by Long Point Battery in 1864.

References

External links

Aerial drone view of Long Point
on YouTube {{authority control 1818 establishments in Massachusetts Cape Cod National Seashore Ghost towns in Massachusetts History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts Landforms of Barnstable County, Massachusetts Peninsulas of Massachusetts Populated coastal places in Massachusetts Populated places established in 1818 Provincetown, Massachusetts Villages in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Villages in Massachusetts