I am so blessed to have this beautiful cluster of historic homes and lighthouse in my distant view when I walk along Sandy Neck Bay. I understand that these homes have no electricity and I can only imagine how beautiful they are lit by kerosene and candlelight. To get to them is a 6 miles hike through the dunes or a four wheel drive adventure, but as the land is private, they are generally admired from the water. I spent this morning reading about the lighthouse which has been beautifully restored and has been run by one family over the last sixty years. Here is an notation I read about how the lighthouse came about:
Sandy
Neck comes by its name honestly, with shifting sands constantly
redefining the margins of this thin, ½-mile wide, six-mile long
peninsula on the north side of Cape Cod. In the 19th century, Barnstable
was an important port for fishing, whaling, and coastal trade, and
Sandy Neck was home to a tryworks for rendering whale blubber into oil.
On May 18, 1826, Congress approved $3,500 for a lighthouse on
Sandy Neck’s eastern extremity, known as Beach Point. In a show of
support, the town of Barnstable sold a two-acre parcel for the light for
only one dollar. On October 1, 1826, Sandy Neck Lighthouse, which cost
in total $2,911.25, went into service. Joseph Nickerson, its first
keeper, earned $350 per year and remained at the light for seven years.
