Sandwich, Massachusetts

8 9 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 9 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 9 SANDWI CH MASSACHUSETTS preservation funds” to offset the price of development and keep these units affordable. Another development project, the restoration of the Deacon Eldred House, will be featured on the popular HGTV show, “Houses with History”. A private residence since 1757, the house was purchased by the town of Sandwich in the 70s and resold in 2022 after it was realized that they were not able to finance the restoration that the historic gem deserved. Vitacco recounts, “We were very fortunate that through our marketing process Mike Lemieux and Jenn Macdonald came across it. They are fully aware of how to maintain a historic home and they have been working with the Massachusetts Historical Commission. We’ve done studies in the past, and it would have cost the town about $700,000. As a municipality, we have to make choices about where we want that $700,000 to go. It could go to education, or to first responders. So, it was a good choice to go out into the marketplace to see if we could find someone who will respect the building and care for it.” With the sale including a promise to open the home to the public twice a year, there is also an intention to use it as a vacation rental, a draw for those seeking a truly historical experience. As a designated historic district, downtown Sandwich is home to a number of century homes. The town is also part of the Old King’s Highway Historic District, which includes the communities of Barnstable County, from its founding in the late 1630s until the mid-19th century. Home to a glass museum, the public library, the Dan’l Webster Inn, and several small shops and restaurants, Sandwich’s three-block Main Street area has undergone building projects over the years, but preserving the area’s historic significance remains a priority. “We do have a committee in place that helps with the preservation,” says Vitacco, noting, “A lot of those homes are privately owned, so we’re fortunate that the people who purchase the homes are intent on keeping them.” The Town of Sandwich also owns two of the buildings in the district, including the town hall, an 1830’s structure that underwent rehabilitation in 2010, and an old school house, previously used by the children of glass factory workers. “It is called Sand Hill School and the town renovated it about six years ago. We have a lot of our regulatory meetings, and our board meetings are in there now. It is pretty neat because the Historical Society hung up photos from when the school was active,” he says. Another restoration project underway in the community is the rebuilding of a boardwalk, which was once a mode of transport for goods between the beach and the glass factory, and is now a meaningful part of Sandwich’s landscape, taking people over marshlands onto the beach. “The boardwalk has been battered about and unfortunately, in recent years, it’s taken some serious hits,” says Vitacco. Mentioning that it was the early 90’s the last time this boardwalk was rebuilt, he shares how the community had a fundraiser at that time, offering a chance to buy a board and have a name engraved on it. “As we dismantle the current boardwalk, we were looking to return those boards to the owners if they were still around to accept them,” he conveys, adding, “Unfortunately, back in January, Mother Nature beat us to the punch and lifted up about a third of them and dumped them into Cape Cod Bay, and they came back into the Marsh.” Through a community effort, these boards were recovered and the hope is that they will still be returned to their original owners. To continue with this tradition, the new boardwalk will offer another opportunity to purchase a plank and have it engraved. Located at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal, the town of Sandwich is currently battling erosion. Vitacco explains, “The canal was dug about 100 years ago, and being an unnatural structure, the sand would roll around and try to make its way back into the canal. So about 50 years ago, the Army Corps of Engineers built Jetties to try to keep the sand from rolling around and into the canal. Unfortunately, it impeded the