Whitewash Village was a village settlement on Monomoy Island in

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 ...

, established sometime around 1710. The village may have received its name from the whitewashed painted buildings, although whether this is true is unclear. There was a belief that the settlement contained vestiges of a strong economic framework. This had lasted for many years, and had been "bestowed upon it” by God. A tavern for rowdy sailors was opened up in the location of today's Hospital Pond, known then as Wreck Cove and also reputed to have housed prostitutes for passing sailors. There are legends of hauntings by prostitutes plying their wares with varying degrees of success. During the early 19th century, a very deep natural harbor at Monomoy's inner shore known as the Powder Hole attracted a sizable fishing settlement. At its height almost 200 ships were in port here. In its prime, Whitewash Village housed about 200 residents, a tavern inn called Monomoit House, and Public School #13, which boasted 16 students at one time. Cod, lobsters and mackerel brought in to the Monomoy port were dried and packed for markets in Boston and New York. Lobsters were plentiful, and Cod was plentiful and they did provide both food and income for the villagers. These villagers peddled them to mainlanders at about two cents apiece. There were residents of the village known as "wreckers” or “knackers” because they would oftentimes pray for, and sometimes even cause shipwrecks, which they would subsequently strip of any valuable items. The village was abandoned after its harbor was cut off by sand from a hurricane around 1860. Monomoy Island, on which the village was located, has an ever-changing geography, with many storms in the past disconnecting and reconnecting the island to the mainland. As of today, the only reminders that Monomoy Island was once inhabited are some fragments of the wood from shacks sticking up through the sands at low tide, and some brick foundations - and the

Monomoy Point Light Monomoy Point Light is a historic light in Chatham, Massachusetts. The station was established in 1823. The first light was a wood tower and brick lantern room on top of the keeper's house. The current tower, one of the first made of cast iron, ...

. Locals know the portion of the now underwater ruins of the former village is considered to be an excellent fishing spot.

References

1710 establishments in Massachusetts 1860 disestablishments in Massachusetts Chatham, Massachusetts Former populated places in Massachusetts Populated places established in 1710 Populated places disestablished in 1860 Villages in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Villages in Massachusetts {{US-ghost-town-stub

See also

References