40 - 3/3/11 - Marconi Site

Initial Impressions

Christopher Setterlund

40 – 3/3/11

Marconi Site - Walking on History 

            When I was in college I did a research paper all about the effects that erosion had been having on Cape Cod throughout history.  I wrote about Stellwagen Bank located just north of Provincetown and how it used to be dry land where mammoths used to roam.  I wrote about Billingsgate Island, now known as Billingsgate Shoal.  Located at the end of Jeremy’s Point a mile off of Wellfleet’s coast there once was a thriving community spanning sixty acres.  Erosion tore through the unprotected island forcing the families onto the mainland; it was gone by the early 1940’s.  Only at low tide are the remnants of the island visible, you can even see the remains of the base of Billingsgate Lighthouse.

            I also wrote about the Marconi Wireless Station in Wellfleet as well.  It was here that the first wireless transmission took place in 1903 between President Theodore Roosevelt and England’s King Edward VII.  Guglielmo Marconi’s station, a precursor to RCA, once had four 210-foot tall wooden towers.  It was here that the first distress signals from the Titanic came but the signal was intermittent at best. 

            Erosion claimed much of the station, it was shut down in 1920 and the towers taken down as the two closest to the ocean were only fifteen feet from the cliff at the time they were removed.  The station was moved down to Chatham, there are still concrete pillars located behind Forest Street Beach that once held the radio tower up.

            The Marconi Site was always a fun place to visit with the White Cedar Swamp close by.  It was neat to look at the model of what the station looked like while it was in use and look out toward the ocean and imagine what used to be.  It was something to be imagined but never seen or touched.  That was until a few weeks ago.

            After another major storm ripped through the area the remains of the base of one of the towers resurfaced as the sand was washed away.  Sure, every winter parts of the towers may be seen but it was never like this as far as I remember.  For me, after all of the research I did in college and all of the childhood and adulthood memories, having a chance to touch a piece of the Marconi Station was something I could not pass up.

            I parked at Marconi Beach on Wednesday and walked the mile and a half to where the remains of the tower sat.  It was extremely windy with sand blowing everywhere but once the concrete, wood, and steel came into view I knew it was worth it.  I came up at low tide which meant I was able to walk around the three separate collections of debris and keep my feet dry.  There were some collections of bricks, some wooden pieces still bolted to the steel, and big chunks of concrete. 

            I was in awe of the whole scene realizing what I was seeing and standing on.  The silence surrounding me, only broken by the lapping waves, only added to the surreal scene.  After snapping a ton of photos I stopped, put the camera away, and stood in the middle of the largest section of the resurfaced tower.  Never had I imagined I’d be doing what I was doing on that day.  I wanted to enjoy it a bit more but ominous rain clouds began to move in and with a mile and half walk in the sand still to go I took one last look and left the remains of the Marconi Site in the rearview.  It was a great afternoon, one that I would recommend to anybody who likes history, or hikes, or both.  Make sure it’s low tide though or you won’t see too much.  Cheers! 

Photos: 

How it used to look.