Conceptual site plan, Martha Lyon Landscape Architecture, LLC, 2015
With the help of a noted historical architect, WHS&M developed a plan to implement our vision of a integrated building with new exhibition space and facilities.
Fun activities for the whole family. Build a small boat you can float in the pool, learn more about L.D. Baker and his connections to Jamaica and enjoy a banana split or some banana bread.
Read MoreEnjoy the 2021 Speaker Series, I Remember Wellfleet and the 2021 Annual meeting on Youtube by clicking these links.
Read MoreCheck out the plans for the museum as they are developing, watch this youtube presentation: https://youtu.be/ShLHX66_7X8 Let us know what you are interested in and how you’d like to be involved.
Read MoreWith the SALLY Project, we have the opportunity to learn about people who’ve been overlooked and forgotten. Women from the past who we know little or nothing about are finding a “voice” through visual artists who have chosen to pay homage in one way or another. Read Candy Hammond’s article here
Read MoreMichael Parlante learned about Wampanoag history and culture from Frank James during times when they went exploring together. Michael’s collection of Native artifacts is currently featured in the front room of the Museum.
Read MoreWELLFLEET — On the official seal of the town of Wellfleet, a party of pilgrims rows ashore in a dinghy as a crowd of indigenous people wait on the beach. The scene is labeled “1620,” and is encircled by the words “Town of Wellfleet Incorporated 1763.”
Read MoreVisit “Before 1620: Who Was Here?” to view our collection of Native artifacts, land deed and to learn more about Wampanoag history and present. Museum hours Wed-Sat 1-4.
Read MoreJohn Mulcahy’s sister, Catherine Mulcahy, bequeathed this artist self-portrait to us upon her death in September of 2019. John by John, 1997, is a beautiful, tender, exciting, abstract portrait with white beard.
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Mortar and Pestle #2000.6
The pestle is made from an oblong narrow stone 6” - The Mortar hand carved from a tree trunk (or limb) 6” high, 5” wide.
Given to Helen Olsen by Emma Fisher ………
Read MoreAs the evenings get cooler, sunsets are earlier and many of us turn our attention to spending time with photographs. These may be on fb or instagram, but in the latter half of the 19th century folks enjoyed looking at photographs using a stereoscope. This stereoscope was donated to WHS&M in 1963 by Colonel Herman Alvin Drehle.
Read MoreThe summer 2022 exhibition looked at the ways Cape Codders have historically made use of the great natural resource that surrounds and defines us, the water.
Read MoreThe highlight from our collection: The Clam Diggers: WHS2013.3 is a beautiful wood engraving by Clare Leighton 153/250, signed and undated. It depicts 4 clam diggers working at low tide. It was generously donated by Julie Heller.
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Penny rugs were originally made from scraps of wool fabric or felt, as they were an economical way of using pieces that were too small to braid or hook. 19th century women saved scraps from men’s suits, hats or blankets. Named “Penny Rugs” because coins were used as a template.
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The music box case is rosewood, inlaid with veneer bands of other woods and a mysterious ornamental cartouche on its top.
This beautiful music box was the wedding gift of Englishman, Carl Taylor, to his bride, Mabel Tubman, a Wellfleet native. At 38, Mabel was living with her parents before her 1919 wedding to Carl, 44. Carl was an engineer who came to Cape Cod with Marconi to establish the Wireless Station in South Wellfleet in 1903.
Carl donated this music box to the Historical Society in 1957, shortly after Mabel’s passing.
With a single winding, its spring-powered clockwork mechanism can play thirty minutes of eight different musical selections as pins on its slowly revolving brass cylinder strike tuned steel teeth that vibrate musically.
In the early 20th Century, music boxes were displaced by Thomas Edison’s phonograph but in their day music boxes were highly coveted.
WELLFLEET — It’s easy to see history on Main Street until you get to the actual Wellfleet Historical Society and Museum.
Since 1951, the town has had one small historical museum attached to an ungainly hulk of a two-family home. Like the original museum structure, the two-family dates back to the early 1800s. But its face was masked by a one-story addition to the front, which most recently housed the art gallery of the late John Mulcahy.
Read MoreWHS&M Board of Directors and community members witness the backhoe jaws devour and remove the crumbling front portion of the middle section of the museum. The portion that had been a painting studio for artist John Mulcahy for years was taken down and removed. Mulcahy passed away ten years ago and his paintings and personal energy are missed here in Wellfleet.
Mulcahy art studio prior to the Fall 2018 demolition
Photo taken Fall 2018 as demolition began
We are very excited about the renovation project currently underway. The community witnessed the restoration of the facades at 266, 258 and 262 Main Street into one continuous building with original mid-century color and appearance. The Period Garden returned with additional landscaping, making the building an attractive and welcoming feature to the entrance to downtown. The new open space and restored façade of the WHS&M remind us of days gone by.
Photo taken Spring 2022
The WHS&M Main Street façade has been restored to its original mid-nineteenth century color and appearance. An addition that will house code and ADA (American with Disabilities Act) compliant stairways, bathrooms, a kitchenette, formal lobby, and an elevator making the museum fully accessible is nearly complete. We are embarking on a plan to integrate the three structures to create uninterrupted interior flow (please see the working design below). Reconfigured interior rooms will include a reception area, Museum shop, interactive exhibit spaces, a multi-purpose space, and a climate-controlled room for archival storage. We will upgrade the museum computers and IT systems.
Consider collaborating with us to make this our accessible and inviting entrance to the museum.
In this working design, subject to change, you can see the addition of stairways, accessible ramp and restrooms, place for an elevator and a welcoming entrance to the entire museum.
If you are as excited as we are about the potential for our newly renovated Museum, please consider a donation to our Capital Campaign. Every contribution brings these plans a bit closer to realization.
In the final phase of the building and restoration project, we will upgrade the museum computers and IT systems, install the elevator, and complete the exterior landscaping, painting, disability parking, and front and rear ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible access. Once completed, the entire community as well as out-of-town visitors will benefit from the newly renovated, state-of-the-art museum.
Photo taken Spring 2022