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Learn more about the authentic history of Hyannis in a marvelous

7 page PDF created by

Mary-Ann Agresti.

CAPTAINS’ ROW

Pleasant Street, while only 800 feet long in the block between Main Street and South Street, encompasses no less than the history of Hyannis. The bottom of the street adjacent to the harbor was an original settlement of Iyannough, the Native American sachem who gave Hyannis its name, he said. Also on that end of the street beginning in 1666, a Quaker named Nicholas Davis was considered the first European settler of Hyannis, having been granted lands by the Native Americans who lived here. He raised oysters in Lewis Bay.

On the other end of the street, near Bradford’s, was the home of Alexander Baxter, a daring sea captain who broke the British blockade during the War of 1812 who later became a banker who was considered the “father” of Hyannis. Eleven of the 14 properties on the street date possibly back to the 1740s and up to the 1890s.

MURAL at BRADFORDS

When is a mural not just a mural? When it revitalizes a neighborhood.

That is the goal of architect, educator and artist Mary-Ann Agresti of Yarmouthport, who along with artist Jackie Reeves of Sandwich, has painted a mural on the wall of Bradford’s Hardware on the corner of Pleasant Street and Main Street in Hyannis. The mural, nine panels stretching 24 feet long and 12 feet high with colors of blues, greens, yellow and sepia tones, has images hearkening back to the 1850s, depicting Hyannis’s illustrious past as a bustling seaport. Agresti used historic photos from the Hyannis Public Library to find images of Hyannis and people from the era to use in the mural. . . .

Credit: CapeCodWave.com

1884 Hyannis Map

Boston Public Library Collection

• click to enlarge •

A fun 1926 Map of Cape Cod created by Mélanie Elizabeth Leonard (1868-1933).

The elegant sea monster stretches from Sandwich to Provincetown. Zoom in to see some peculiar action aimed at a bootlegger off of Town Neck.

(image via DigitalCommonwealth in the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library)

Click map to enlarge it.

Research newspaper archives in the Library of Congress to learn more about local history! Start here!

Hyannis, Massachusetts the ex NY NH &H RR roundhouse.

The photo taken from the Hyannis railroad yard, of the

Cape Cod & Hyannis RR

Photo by Pat Fahey July 17, 1984.

“A Roundhouse Right”
Ed Maroney

It appears that the old brick railroad roundhouse behind the Hyannis Transportation Center won't be torn down to allow more parking, as a previous owner intended, but instead will be used as a glamorous garage for car collectors' vehicles.

Trent Gelo of Hampton, N.H., spoke with the Hyannis Main Street Waterfront Historic District Commission last month about plans for Engine Room, LLC, the new name for the 1901 New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad treasure that once hosted the Pufferbellies nightclub.

(Fun fact: That sometimes rowdy venue was satirized in a 2011 "Barnstable Parody" wraparound of The Barnstable Patriot in which the club was changing its name to Tinkerbelle's and scheduling Cape Symphony concerts and Fancy Nancy tea parties).

Said to be the last remaining roundhouse on the Old Colony Division of the NYNHH, the high-ceilinged structure, likely built of bricks baked in West Barnstable, was used to service locomotives. A long-gone turntable outside the building moved the massive vehicles in the railyard to the proper entrance.

In 2019, the previous owners asked the waterfront historic commission to approve demolition of the building. That didn't sit well with the Hyannis Historical Society, which joined with the Greater Hyannis Civic Association in advocating preservation.

"Demolition of this signature resource and its potential, all to accommodate ferry parking, would be a crime," GHCA President Deb Krau wrote. The owners withdrew their request and later sold the building.

Gelo's local contractor, Chad Hill of Complete Home Group, described Gelo to the commission as "the proud new owner of this magnificent historical building." Later, he added, "Our goal is to restore this building to its original state as much as possible." The board will hear more specifics at its March 5 meeting, when a vote is expected.

The lesson the Hyannis Historical Society hopes is clear is this: history is worth fighting for. Just think of the other buildings in Hyannis that have special stories to tell but may be suffering from neglect. Those who care about our heritage should continue to spotlight such properties until they, like the roundhouse, get their second chance.