April 2015

Springtime on Chappaquiddick

Cape Cod Life  /  April 2015 / ,

Writer: Matthew J. Gill

Springtime on Chappaquiddick

April 2015

Cape Cod Life  /  April 2015 / ,

Writer: Matthew J. Gill

When Jones died in 1965, his children returned the property to Wakemen with the understanding that it would be preserved as a public garden. In 1976, Wakemen donated the land to the Trustees, but remained involved and even donated funds to cover the cost of gardening fees through 1984, when she passed away.

In 1991, Hurricane Bob wreaked havoc across Cape Cod and the Islands, and at Mytoi, more than half of the pitch pines—the property’s signature native feature—were felled. Many other trees and shrubs in the garden were either uprooted or damaged by the fallen pines. Following the storm, the Trustees’ staff as well as landscape designer, Julie Moir Messervey, and gardeners, Don Sibley, and Lindsay Allison, collaborated to redevelop the property. Due to the extensive damage, it was determined that the garden could not simply be rebuilt as it was, so the decision was made to design a new layout, incorporating new “rooms” and other features visitors experience today.

John Vasconcellos, a regional director for the Trustees, describes Mytoi as fascinating and highly unusual. “What you find is a very thoughtfully laid out garden that invites you to explore,” he says. “It’s serene. It’s contemplative. It’s a break from any hustle and bustle you might experience when you’re on vacation—but then again, you’re on Chappaquiddick where hustle and bustle doesn’t exist.”

Since the Trustees took over stewardship of the property in 1984, Vasconcellos says the organization has promoted the garden as a destination, while maintaining Wakemen’s desire that it remain open to the public, free of charge. Much of the work involved with maintaining the property is completed by a devoted group of volunteers, some who visit the garden daily. “I think it’s a lovely place to visit year-round,” Vasconcellos says, “but the Rhododendrons are a highlight if you’re talking about spring.”

The Trustees of Reservations also owns and maintains two larger properties on Chappaquiddick: the Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge and Wasque Reservation. Each of the properties offers dramatic coastline scenery, recreational opportunities, and the chance to interact with nature.

A seven-mile barrier beach serves as Chappaquiddick’s eastern shoreline and includes Leland, a state beach to the south, and Cape Poge to the north. Vasconcellos says Cape Poge is “one of those points in New England, where, obviously you are still on land, but you are as remote as one can be—and still be in New England.”

Springtime on Chappaquiddick

Kennedy says the area is a great spot to enjoy the whole day, whether swimming, sunbathing, fishing, walking, or viewing wildlife. Vehicle and walking trails provide access from the Dike Bridge to Cape Poge; however, over-sand vehicles are required for the journey. From Memorial Day to Columbus Day, the trustees offer daily kayak and seaside tours as well as tours of the historic, Cape Poge Light.

Wasque—Chappaquiddick’s southeastern-most tip—has been featured in the news a lot in recent years due to the break in the Norton Point Beach. A Nor’easter in April of 2007 punched a quarter-mile hole through the south-facing barrier beach to Katama Bay; since then, the ‘break’ in the beach has migrated continually eastward, carrying with it, Kennedy says, “hundreds of millions of cubic yards of sand.”

Though the eastern edge of the beach will likely reconnect at Wasque Point later this year, the forces of nature have dramatically altered the coastline these past eight years. Both the beach at Wasque Point and the swan pond are gone, and stairs and boardwalks that led down to the beach have been destroyed or swept into the ocean.

Kennedy says every time he looks out over the water from Wasque, the view before him has changed. “Sometimes [the sandbar] will grow as much as 50 feet in a day,” he says. “For someone like me who loves nature, who likes looking at change in the natural world, it’s astounding.” Wasque, Kennedy adds, is “probably the most dynamic coastline, certainly in the Northeast—and it could very well be [the most dramatic] in the U.S. as well.”

Commenting on Chappaquiddick in general, Vasconcellos says visitors to the island get their money’s worth. “It’s unlike any other place they have ever been,” he says. “It’s unlike any place on the Vineyard. It’s another world—and you can fill up a day going to see all these things, and just be in nature in its rawest form. It’s where the great Atlantic Ocean meets the coastline.”

For more information about Mytoi, Cape Poge, Wasque and other trustees’ properties, visit thetrustees.org. To schedule a Chappaquiddick tour, call (508) 627-3599.

Matthew J. Gill

Matthew Gill is the former editor of Cape Cod LIFE and Cape Cod ART magazines. A graduate of U-Mass Dartmouth, Matthew has worked as a journalist since 2003 and has written on topics ranging from the sinking of Nantucket’s whale ship Essex and the history of the Barnstable-Falmouth Thanksgiving football rivalry, to the Cotuit Rowing Club, Provincetown’s Art’s Dune Tours, and more! A relative newcomer when it comes to the Cape, Matt and his wife Melissa just celebrated a Cape Cod-themed wedding.