Imagine what it was like at the turn of the 20th century, when ships left port with no way to communicate with land. On this trail, you will walk in the footsteps of pioneers in radio technology who created a wireless lifeline for those at sea. . . . — — Map (db m159332) HM
At the foot of the trail is the Marconi/RCA receiving station complex, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The station is significant for its engineering , its architecture, and its long and distinguished role in the history of . . . — — Map (db m159483) HM
On this trail, you will see several different types of antennas that are representative of some of the antennas which were used at WCC, both here and at the transmitter site on Forest Beach in South Chatham. There are several half wave dipole . . . — — Map (db m159432) HM
Chatham’s only active hostilities
during the Revolutionary War occurred in Chatham Harbor,
near this site, on 20 June 1782.
At sunrise, crew members from a British privateer were discovered in Chatham’s East Harbor, attempting to sail away . . . — — Map (db m78440) HM
Placed in memory of Captain David F. Ryder, born on Bar Cliff Avenue in 1915, who fished out of this harbor for 56 years. Always a hook fisherman, he and his partners landed their catches from the wooden boats "Betty", "Alice" & "Nancy", "Alice & . . . — — Map (db m234501) HM
In Memory of
The Hero of the Monomoy Disaster
1862 Captain Elmer F. Mayo 1935
Chatham, Mass.
and his gallant rescue of
Surfman Seth L. Ellis
from a watery grave on Shovelful Shoal
off Monomoy Point
March 17, 1902
In . . . — — Map (db m158416) HM
Native Americans have harvested fish and shellfish in Chatham waters for millennia. Weirs – stationary structures of twine nets and wooden poles driven into the seabed – were the traditional method for catching finfish and squid. Weir fishing is . . . — — Map (db m234503) HM
The Old Village, encompassing the land between Chatham Harbor on the east and Mill/Little Mill Pond on the west, became the town center in the 1800’s probably due to the Old Harbor area becoming less navigable. A concentration of small stores on . . . — — Map (db m159151) HM
A 2-6-0 coal fired steam locomotive coupled to a string of freight cars wait for departure at the Chatham Railroad Depot in 1932. The Chatham Railroad Company constructed seven miles of tracks as a branch line with stations in Chatham, South . . . — — Map (db m159095) HM
Revolutionary War 1775-1783
Honoring Chatham Patriots
In the Cause of Liberty
Notable Leaders
Col. Benjamin Godfrey · Cpt. Nathan Bassett · Lt. David Buck · Sgt. Joseph Paine · Cpt. Joseph Doane, Jr. · Lt. James Ryder · Cpt Thomas Hamilton . . . — — Map (db m283248) WM
This set of bell chimes began their existence in the clock tower of one of this town’s notable historic homes overlooking the Old Harbor in North Chatham. The house, originally built in 1806 by George Kendrick, was purchased in 1917 by Rufus and . . . — — Map (db m159773) HM
From the Municipal Fish Pier, the
Chatham commercial fishing fleet, the
Cape's largest, heads to the Atlantic.
Most days, the hard-working fleet
brings in high-quality seafood-over
25 million pounds a year-destined
for local, national, and . . . — — Map (db m234502) HM
This Lighthouse lantern room dates back to 1887, when it was installed atop the south tower of Chatham’s twin lights, the third set to be built on the bluff known as James Head overlooking Chatham Harbor and the Atlantic at the elbow of Cape Cod. . . . — — Map (db m159757) HM
We Have Always Been Here
For thousands of years Wampanoag have lived in this area inhabiting the shore during the warmer months and moving to less exposed areas in winter. Time has eradicated most of the remains of their earliest . . . — — Map (db m160412) HM
(Front)
Here lies buried
Dr. Samuel Lord
who died of smallpox
after devoted service
to the citizens of
Chatham in the
epidemic of
1765 – 1766
(Back)
This monument was erected by
the Town of Chatham in . . . — — Map (db m160407) HM
Employee Residence of the Marconi-RCA Wireless Station
Built in 1914 for the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America
Known as the “Hotel Nautilus”
In 1994 this building and the entire site
were placed . . . — — Map (db m159331) HM
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has” – Margaret Meade
This land and the view you see before you were . . . — — Map (db m159214) HM
This wind powered grist mill was built in 1797 by Colonel
Benjamin Godfrey on a hill by his home on Stage Harbor Road
Overlooking the Mill Pond, where it served the growing needs of
Chatham residents for corn meal, a staple among early . . . — — Map (db m159325) HM
Six 350-foot masts were built by the Marconi Company to support a mile long horizontal antenna, intended to receive radio signals from a sister station in Norway. Five masts were removed in 1919. The remaining mast and several 100-foot steel . . . — — Map (db m159439) HM
The first European to land on the shores of Chatham was Samuel de Champlain, who took refuge in Stage Harbor in October, 1606. Although relations with the Natives were initially friendly, after about ten days tensions increased and a battle . . . — — Map (db m158345) HM
Like all towns in the country, Chatham was very much involved in the Civil War. More than 264 men saw action on the battlefields, of whom 16 lost their lives. But the conflict had little effect on the way Chatham people lived their lives, as the . . . — — Map (db m158564) HM
The waters off Chatham are notoriously dangerous because of the treacherous shoals and currents. The need for lights to warn mariners was recognized in early days of the country, and in 1806, nine years after the erection of the first lighthouse on . . . — — Map (db m154912) HM
He came from Norwich England in 1637. He acquired from the Indians by a series of purchases prior to the year 1683 the greater part of the present Township then known as Monomoyick. He and his sons and sons-in-laws Robert Nickerson • Samuel . . . — — Map (db m68997) HM
The Josiah Mayo House sits along Main Street across from the Town Hall, as it has since it was built nearly 200 years ago by Josiah himself, a blacksmith who came to town from Brewster. Although it’s been moved on the site – it originally . . . — — Map (db m166801) HM
This is an original antenna that was used here at the WCC as a receiving antenna on the “MF” band. It was originally located on the other side of Orleans Road, across from the Hotel Building (now the Education Center). It was . . . — — Map (db m159408) HM
A group of Separatist from the Church of England, later named Pilgrims, left England for Holland in 1608 in settled in Leiden in 1609. After staying there for 11 years, the group sailed back to England on the ship Speedwell, where they joined by . . . — — Map (db m78321)
Erected In Honor of
The Men of Chatham
Who Left Their Daily Tasks
Among Us to Serve Our
Country During the World War
★ ★ 1917 – 1918 ★ ★
And In Memory Of Those Who
Made The Extreme Sacrifice . . . — — Map (db m158572) WM
William Nickerson, founder of Chatham, arrived in Salem in 1637 aboard the ship, John and Dorothy, with four children, his wife, Anne Busby and her parents. A weaver by trade, he left Norwich, England to escape the persecution of Bishop Wren of . . . — — Map (db m268905) HM
Operations Building of the Marconi-RCA Wireless Station
Built in 1914 for the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America
Operated with distinction as Coastal Marine Station WCC, Chatham Radio from 1921 - 1997
In 1994 this . . . — — Map (db m159494) HM
One of the most spectacular small boat rescues on the east coast of the United States occurred on February 18, 1952. The tanker Pendleton broke in half off the coast of Chatham during a fierce Nor' caster storm. In blinding rain and sixty foot . . . — — Map (db m63406) HM
The house of William Nickerson built about 1664, stood south 51 degrees west at a distance of 19 1/5 rods (about 105 yards) from this marker. He was the first settler in Monomoit where he purchased from the Indians most of what is now Chatham. . . . — — Map (db m157368) HM
Somewhere within gunshot of this stone lies the remains of Squanto, Indian guide, friend and counselor of the Plymouth Colony, who died in 1622 on the sloop “Swan” in Stage Harbor. — — Map (db m159026) HM
Tisquantum (also known as Squanto), the most famous Native American to encounter the Pilgrims, died near here in 1622, roughly 40 years before William and Anne (Busby) Nickerson established their homestead on this site.
Born at Patuxet, a . . . — — Map (db m159031) HM
