Mill Lane, the oldest road in Yarmouth

Mill Lane, the oldest verified way in Yarmouth, began its existence in 1638 as an oxen path.  It was the first settled part of the town of Yarmouth, extending east to Chase Garden marshes.  

Mill Pond in the 1860s.

Long before the 1630s, when the first English settlers arrived in Yarmouth, many generations of indigenous peoples made their home here. The area was known to them as “Mattakeese.” They lived in simple structures called a wetu, domed dwellings made of bent red cedar saplings and covered with rush matting and bark with smoke holes and doorways [you can visit a wetu next to our Yarmouth Port Nature Trails]. Game was plentiful and was supplemented with shellfish and fish caught in traps and weirs. By 1640 Mattakeese had been renamed Yarmouth by the settlers after a seaside town in their native England.

Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower was the first settler in the Mill Pond area.  He was allowed to come here from Plymouth and take advantage of the salt marsh lands to feed the hay to his cattle.

At the end of 1642 Andrew Hallet purchased Stephen Hopkins’ house from Giles Hopkins, his son. It was located near the corner of what is now Mill Lane and Old King’s Highway and was a one room cabin made of hand-sawn boards, cracks daubed with clay, a thatched roof, a stone chimney and oiled paper windows. Within a few years he acquired some 300 more acres in the area. 

Nathan Matthews on the bridge, next to the old mill, late 1800s.

The first mill, from which the pond and creek got its name, was mentioned in town records as early as 1647 - the tidal gristmill located on the left side of Mill Pond, owned and operated by Andrew Hallet. He later sold a portion of his land, along with the gristmill, to John Gorham who ran a tannery on the right hand side of the pond.  The mill business was vital to the community and millers were exempt from military service. 

48 Mill Lane

It is believed that Captain Ansel Hallet, born in Yarmouth in 1770, built the Federal style home at 48 Mill Lane shortly after his marriage to Anna Eldridge in 1798, though the house could be older. He was a pioneer in establishing the packet ship lines between Yarmouth and Boston. He died in 1832 when his ship Messenger, which had gone aground on a sand bar in Yarmouth Harbor, rolled over and crushed him. Captain Oliver Hallet later occupied this house. He was known for helping to plant in 1843, along with Amos Otis and Edward Thacher, the many elm trees that once lined OKH. 

Yarmouth’s elm trees along Old King’s Highway.

The creek from Mill Pond was much wider and deeper then, with wharves that allowed vessels the size of brigs to load and unload their passengers and cargo.  Yarmouth had several packets that sailed in and out with regular trips to Boston. However, when the railroad came through, the packet ships were unable to compete and ceased service in 1871.

A dam was built in 1889, at the cost of $61.50, to control the flow of the tidal waters. In 1898 the Portland Gale partially destroyed the bridge which was rebuilt. During a storm on Dec. 26, 1909, the tide washed over Mill Lane to a depth of 15 inches and broke completely over the railing of the bridge at Mill Pond. A portion of Thacher Shore Road was also submerged.  

Carrie & Mary Park have their photo taken by the bridge in the late 1890s.

During the 1900s the Lovells, a fishing family from Barnstable, built a fishing shack/boat house along the creek next to the bridge.

Today Yarmouth residents enjoy fishing off the bridge, swimming in the creek and taking in the beautiful views. It is still a very appreciated part of Yarmouth Port.

Herbert Lovell’s fishing shack on Mill Creek.

Excerpted from an article by Pat Tafra.

The story of Baxter Mill

Baxter Mill is a gristmill that has existed for more than three hundred years. If it weren’t for a severe injury to a hand during the King Philip’s War, the mill never would have been built. And, if Edward Sturgis hadn’t died at a fairly young age, Thomas Baxter, the man with the injured hand, wouldn’t have married his widow. 

Thomas Baxter was a bricklayer, and his injury prevented him from returning to his trade. Marrying Temperance Sturgis put him in contact with Shubael Gorham, his wife’s brother, and together they built a fulling mill on Swan Pond River, now Parker’s River.

His sons, together with his step-son and brother-in-law, then built a grist mill about 1710 to grind corn nearby on what is now known as Mill Brook. Corn was the most important vegetable at this time. Once dried, it could be ground by the miller and used as flour. Cornbread, often called Johnnycake by those along the south coast of New England, was a staple at every meal. A family of six needed 100 bushels each year.

A 19th century poem was written that is still known today:

"The Baxter boys, they built a mill. 
Sometimes it went, sometimes stood still; 
And when it went, it made no noise. 
Because ‘twas built by Baxter's boys." 

Before the mill could be built, the Baxters built the dam. The original mill had an undershot waterwheel on its east side. The pond wasn’t high enough to support an overshot wheel. The mill ownership passed from John and Shubael Baxter, sons of Thomas, to their children, Richard and Jennie, first cousins who married each other {not too unusual back then}. The mill stayed in the family – from their son Prince who made repairs and improvements, to his son Prince Jr. Junior’s guardian, David Scudder, sold half interest to the Bakers and the other half to 2nd cousin Alexander Baxter.

About 1860, the mill was changed from waterwheel to turbine, to limit the damage caused by water freezing around the wheel each winter. More was done in October of 1875. According to the Patriot on October 19, “The Baxter Mill, which is situated in the confines of the village of West Yarmouth, and which to a stranger would seem to belong to Hyannis, has lately been undergoing extensive repairs, some $2000 having been expended. Among improvements, a new stone has been put in, new hoppers and bins built. excellent arrangements have been perfected for the proper drainage of the main pond, a new road has been built, branching off from the main road, and running along by the old, between it and the pond, thereby enabling farmers to bring their corn to the door in the upper story of the mill, which, of course, enables them to unload and load with much less labor then by the old method.”

Baxter Grist Mill about 1875

Even though repaired and improved, operations ceased a few years later. Then, in 1890, “Mr. Q. T. Seabury has succeeded in purchasing about all the land surrounding the mill pond at West Yarmouth….After several hitches, we understand these gentlemen have succeeded in securing the old Baxter Mill and all the privileges connected therewith.” (Barnstable Patriot)

What happened next wasn’t anticipated. In March of 1904 the dam gave way, “so badly damaging part of the state road [now Route 28] that it will have to be rebuilt.” (Barnstable Patriot). But the dam wasn’t fully rebuilt. A 1915 article by Daniel Wing, Yarmouth historian, writing about West Yarmouth homes, said that “the dam has been allowed to wash away…this once beautiful and interesting spot is now grown up with rushes.”

Dr. E.F. Gleason, later achieving prominence by having his estate become the first Cape Cod Hospital, bought the land across from the mill from the Baxter family and in 1917 he acquired the land across the road, including the old mill.

During the 1920s, Route 28 in West Yarmouth blossomed into an entertainment center for Cape Cod, the automobile allowing people to travel further. Just east of the Baxter Mill an entertainment/eating spot opened in 1924. Called The Old Mill Tavern, the owners built a 40’ by 40’ building with a 12 foot piazza featuring both great food and dancing. With Prohibition in full swing, the Tavern was officially dry, and that, combined with the Great Depression starting just five years later, doomed the Tavern in the 1930s.

Old Mill Tavern

 It’s little known that Henry Ford approached Gleason about buying the Baxter Mill for his historic collection, but Gleason turned him down. The Mill languished through the Depression and World War II years, with a brief revival after the war as a gift shop and a lobster shack. At this point, A. Harold Castonguay, local lawyer and benefactor of many gifts to the town, including the West Yarmouth Library, bought the land and mill and started restoration in August 1960. All of this restoration is well documented in his 1962 booklet, “Two Men On A Mill.”

The mill was given to the Town of Yarmouth and is the only surviving 18th-century water-powered mill on Cape Cod. Baxter Grist Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

Excerpted from an article by Nate Rowe and Duncan Oliver

Baxter Mill today

Yarmouth Port in Victorian times

Life in Yarmouth Port between 1850 and 1900 had a flavor all its own. The population of the entire town in 1885 was 1,856 and social life was very important.  Visiting friends and neighbors was a daily routine.  During this time Yarmouth Port was considered to be the area between Barnstable town line on the west and on the east the North Side School, which is now the present sight of the fire station. Locals called this “upstreet.” Freeman Howe’s field was an area located behind the fire station and used for large celebrations. It is now part of Clipper Ship Village.  

Lyceum Hall was originally constructed in 1848 and was home to many public lectures, meetings and other events; a community center. It was a very popular spot for shows, music and social affairs, most of which were followed by refreshments and dancing to “expand minds and refine and elevate taste.”  The price of admission was usually 10¢ and if it was a show of professional actors or musicians 25¢. At some dances you could pay one price to dance or just watch for a lower price!

One noted performance was a group of young ladies appearing at the Hall as the Broom Brigade doing routines with their brooms and ending with a farce called “Champion of her Sex.” Afterwards, a few hours of dancing was enjoyed by all. An invitation was extended to every person in town who enjoyed dancing, to participate in the sociability of Thanksgiving night at Lyceum Hall where Kenney’s orchestra furnished the music. The Hall was destroyed by fire in 1880 and quickly replaced by the present structure at 206 Old King’s Highway, now a private home. 

Another community gathering place was the New Church with organ recitals given by Charles. A. Clark or later, Benjamin Hallett. Short plays were performed followed by ice cream and cake.  Admission was 10¢. In the 1880s and 1890s there was an explosion of clubs everywhere and Yarmouth was no exception. Whist clubs, music clubs, political organizations, religious societies, service clubs and temperance groups, literary and historical clubs were all active. Something for everyone! 

It wasn’t all fun and games, but people created a busy lifestyle for themselves and a feeling of community.  Daily chores included bringing in firewood, caring for livestock, laundry done by hand, cooking, cleaning, caring for children and more. Depending on the season there was berry picking time, cranberrying and preserving of food such as fruit, sweet pickles and citron. Cod was salted and dried. To prepare a house for cold weather, seaweed was often piled around the foundation as insulation.

In the winter women had sewing circles and held meetings with readings and music. Popular games were Eucher, a card game that introduced the Joker into the deck and Halma, a game similar to Chinese Checkers. The young people would go ice skating on Dennis Pond.  They would build a bonfire and skate by moonlight, one of the pluses of a clear winter night, or go sleighing.

After a snowstorm men would have to shovel a path to the animals, wood pile and privy; walkways to churches, stores and schools were cleared by hand. Streets needed paths wide enough for the horse and buggies and were also shoveled by hand or compacted by a large roller drawn by a horse. 

In August of 1889, the inside fixtures of T. T. Hallet’s new drug store was fitted and the counters and showcases arranged - it was the town’s new pharmacy.  Other stores along the street included Crocker’s store at Willow Street, Zenas Snow’s dry goods store, Soranus Hall’s meat market, B. T. Gorham’s shoes and boots, and a harness maker.

The simplicity of rural life and the pace it set in Yarmouth Port changed at the close of the century.  Introduction of conveniences such as the telephone and radio, automobiles and macadam roads speeded up the daily routines of Yarmouth Ports citizens and tourism brought many visitors to our little town, creating a whole new industry and way of life.
(Excerpted from an article by Pat Tafra)