Hurricanes in Sandwich

Past and Future

By Lucy Gauthier

17th Century Storms

1635

Aptuxcet Trading Post1635

Aptuxcet Trading Post

The real Aptuxcet Trading Post was destroyed in the first recorded hurricane in 1635 when its roof was blown off. It was never repaired, but it was later replicated.

Taken on 11 Nov 2007 by Lucy Gauthier at the Aptuxcet Trading Post.

20th Century Storms

1944, 1954, and 1985

Jarves Street at Cross Street1944

Jarves at Cross Street -past

Jarves at Cross Street -present

The 1944 hurricane damaged many places on the Cape, including uprooting a tree on Jarves Street at Cross Street.

Taken in 1944 courtesy of the Sandwich Archives at Jarves and Cross Street.

Taken on 10 Nov 2007 by Lucy Gauthier at Jarves and Cross Street.

Jarves Street at Railroad1944

Jarves Street and Railroad -past

Jarves Street and Railroad -present

The hurricane of 1944 also caused trees to be strewn across the railroad crossing on Jarves Street.

Taken 10 Nov 2007 by Lucy Gauthier at the Railroad crossing on Jarves Street.

Taken in 1944 courtesy of the Sandwich Archives at the Railroad crossing on Jarves Street.

Embroult House1944

The Embroult House was an old house located on Jarves Street. The hurricane of 1944 sent a tree crashing into the roof. When I searched for this house and couldn’t find it, I came to the conclusion that it is no longer there.

Taken in 1944 courtesy of the Sandwich Archives at the Embroult House.

Brown Jug (Main Street)1944

The gale of 1944 devastated Main Street in Sandwich, as it is seen from this view of the Brown Jug where Camp Edwards troops (above) are attempting to clear the streets. Taken 10 Nov 2007 by Lucy Gauthier on Main

Street in front of the Brown Jug.

Taken in 1944 courtesy of the Sandwich Archives at Main Street in front of the Brown Jug.

Camp Edwards Soldiers Quarters + Front Portico

1944

Taken in 1944 courtesy of the Sandwich Archives at Camp Edwards in a soldier’s quarters (above) and of a front portico (right).

Walls and all were ripped from buildings in the horrible 1944 hurricane.

Home on Jarves Street1954

Taken in 1954 courtesy of the Sandwich Archives at a house on Jarves Street

Nothing was safe from the storm of 1954. This mess is the remnants of a tree who collapsed in the hurricane.

Route 6A1985

Taken in 1985 by Milton Moore on Route 6A in Sandwich.

Telephone poles were tilted at awkward angles, presenting a hazard to trees, buildings, people, and cars.

Thornton Burgess Museum1985

Taken in 1985 by Judy Koenig in front of the Thornton Burgess Museum.

Taken on 10 Nov 2007 by Lucy Gauthier in front of the Thornton Burgess Museum.

Hurricane Gloria in 1985 exposed the roots of the oldest tree in Sandwich to the public.

The Storm of the Century

1938

Sandwich Casino

Taken in front of the Sandwich Casino before 1938 courtesy of Barbara Gill (top) and the Sandwich Archives (bottom).

The Sandwich Casino was damaged, and since no one repaired it, it was later torn down for good.

Taken by Lucy Gauthier on 10 Nov 2007.

Tupper Street at Main Street1938

Taken in 1938 courtesy of the Sandwich Archives. Taken by Lucy Gauthier on 11 Nov 2007.

A large tree fell down at the intersection of Tupper and Main Street in the storm of 1938.

St. John’s Church (Main St.)1938

Taken by Lucy Gauthier on 10 Nov 2007.Taken in 1938 courtesy of the Sandwich Archives and printed on The Great Hurricane: 1938.

A massive tree wreaks havoc on Main Street in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Canary Street1938

A large elm tree barely missed this home on Canary Street when it fell in the great hurricane of 1938. Although I did try, I could not find this house on Canary Street.

Taken in 1938 courtesy of the Sandwich Archives and printed on The Great Hurricane: 1938.

Tropical Storm Noel

2007

Harvest Lane2007

All of these images were taken by Lucy Gauthier at her home on Harvest Lane on 3 Nov 2007 at noontime.

I was able to experience Noel even from my front yard. The wind whipped through the trees and brought down branches and leaves.

Highfield Drive2007

Both these images were taken by Lucy Gauthier on 3 Nov 2007 at 2:15 pm on Highfield Drive.

As shown in these pictures of a house just down the road from my own, trees were falling and the roads were hazardous.

Sandy Neck2007

Both these images were taken by Lucy Gauthier on 3 Nov 2007 around 2:30 pm at Sandy Neck Beach.

Huge waves crashed against the shore—even at low tide! Noel also proved to be hard to stand and face.

Hemi-Sphere Parking Lot2007

Taken by Lucy Gauthier on 3 Nov 2007 around 2:45 pm at the Hemi-Sphere parking lot.

Here is a shot of the open ocean, where the white caps and waves are as clear as they get against the dreary gray sky.

Boardwalk2007

Both of these pictures were taken by Lucy Gauthier on 3 Nov 2007 at the Boardwalk.

At low tide, the water was swirling violently around the Boardwalk, but it wasn’t until high tide that the Boardwalk was completely submerged in water.

All of these images were taken by Lucy Gauthier on 3 Nov 2007 at the Sandwich Marina (top left), Route 6A (bottom left) and in her car (bottom right).

1) Top left – signs were knocked over in the winds of Noel.

2) Bottom left – this tree was cracked right through to its roots.

3) The ocean coated everything with a blanket of salt.

Future Storms

Evacuation Route

Both of these images were taken by Lucy Gauthier on 11 Nov 2007 on Chase Road. The second image (right) was a manipulation of the first photo, done by Lucy Gauthier.

The Evacuation Route signs, strategically placed around the Cape, point towards the way to exit the Cape in case of an

emergency, such as a hurricane.

Route 6ABoth of these images were taken by Lucy Gauthier on 10 Nov 2007 on Route 6A behind the Fire/Police Station.

The areas pictured are a part of the 100 year floodplain. Can you imagine looking at this same place after a hurricane and seeing nothing but water? That day might not be far off.

Scorton Creek

Both these images were taken by Lucy Gauthier on 10 Nov 2007 at Scorton Creek.

Sandwich would face major problems if a strong hurricane hit. Scorton Neck could easily turn into Scorton Island. The areas pictured could be flooded with water.

Scusset Beach

Taken by Lucy Gauthier on 10 Nov 2007 at Scusset Beach.

Scusset Beach is one of the critical facilities in case of emergency, according to the Sandwich Department of Planning.

Bourne & Sagamore BridgesAll of these images were taken by Lucy Gauthier on 11 Nov 2007 at the Bourne Baseball Field of the Bourne Bridge (top left) and on the Sagamore Bridge (bottom left and right).

These bridges will be closed with 75 mile an hour sustained winds. Clearly, that would create an evacuation problem for Cape Cod.

Works Cited“Camp Edwards Front Portico.” Sandwich Archives. 1944.

“Camp Edwards Troops.” Sandwich Archives. 1944.

“Canary Street.” 1938 Hurricane. 1938

“Embroult House.” Sandwich Archives. 1944.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Aptuxcet Trading Post.” 11 Nov 2007

Gauthier, Lucy. “Boardwalk 1.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Boardwalk 2.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Bourne Bridge.” 11 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Brown Jug.” 10 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Casino.” 10 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Claire and Lindsey.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Evacuation Sign.” 11 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Higgins House 1.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Higgins House 2.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Jarves Street at Cross Street.” 10 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Noel at Home 1.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Noel at Home 2.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Noel at Home 3.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Parking Lot.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Jarves Street at Railroad.” 10 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Route 6A 1”. 10 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Route 6A 2”. 10 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Sagamore Bridge.” 11 Nov 2007.

Works Cited (contd.)Gauthier, Lucy. “Sagamore Bridge Sign.” 11 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Salt.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Sandy Neck.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Scorton Beach.” 10 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Scorton Creek.” 10 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Scusset Beach.” 10 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Sign.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “St. John’s Church.” 10 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Thornton Burgess Museum.” 10 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Tree.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Lucy. “Tupper at Main Street.” 11 Nov 2007.

Gauthier, Vicki. “Lucy in Noel.” 3 Nov 2007.

Gill, Barbara. “The Casino with Doris (Smith) Kershaw”. Sandwich: Cape Cod’s Oldest Town.

“Home on Jarves Street.” Sandwich Archives. 1954.

“Jarves Street at Cross Street.” Sandwich Archives. 1944.

“Jarves Street at Railroad.” Sandwich Archives. 1944.

Koenig, Judy. “Thornton Burgess Museum.” The Broadsider. 1985.

Moore, Milton. “Route 6A – Sandwich.” The Cape Cod Times. 1985.

Sandwich Historical Society Archives. “The Casino.” Sandwich: Cape Cod’s Oldest Town.

“Soldier’s Quarters.” Sandwich Archives. 1944.

“St. John’s Episcopal Church.” 1938 Hurricane. 1938.

“Tupper and Main Street.” Sandwich Archives. 1938.

By Lucy Gauthier