The name Antone Costa might not be a name that jumps to mind when thinking of Cape Cod, but his story is the stuff of nightmares. Luckily it is safe now, for the time being of course. Even back when he visited Thoreau noticed the threat erosion proposed to the lighthouse, his thoughts on erosion rang true when the lighthouse had to be moved 450 feet to the west of its original location in 1996. However there was a time when its survival was in question. It still stands today and can be toured and climbed during the summer. The current brick tower was built in 1857 and is the oldest and tallest lighthouse on Cape Cod. This tower was built in 1797 under the authority of President George Washington.

He was able to visit Highland Lighthouse in Truro in the 1850’s when it was the original brick tower. Along the way up toward the Outer Cape and what is now the Cape Cod National Seashore Thoreau meets many locals and sees many sites, some of which are still standing in their same locales.įurther up the coast, Thoreau encountered another well known historic spot. Originally published in 1865, three years after his death, Cape Cod is Thoreau’s account of his adventures on the pristine peninsula in the early 1850’s. The easiest and most obvious place to start any discussion of historical and natural beauty when it come to Cape Cod is to turn to Henry David Thoreau and his appropriately titled book Cape Cod.

That being said, I believe that there are many places that have received an even larger stamp of approval from a series of well-known authors and books either about the Cape or written while on the Cape. My opinion of what constitutes historical significance or natural beauty may be a bit biased and skewed thanks to my own long history on Cape Cod I believe that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of places deserving of their own chapter in the book of Cape Cod. Where else can one have such natural beauty and historical significance all at their fingertips? Beaches, lighthouses, cranberry bogs, kettle ponds, windmills, and countless historic homes each make up their own chapters in the book of Cape Cod.

Follow him on Twitter on Cape Cod is in many ways just like a storybook. Chris loves travel writing and photography, has spent almost his entire life on Cape Cod, and is an avid runner in his free time. His second book, In My Footsteps: Nantucket & Martha’s Vineyard, is scheduled for Summer 2015. This is a guest post by Christopher Setterlund, the author of In My Footsteps: A Cape Cod Travel Guide, released in October 2013.

In His Garden by Leo Damore