Captain Cobb House

In The Kitchen.

The Captain Cobb House, is a museum that is kept and managed by the historical society of Brewster MA. it is operated by a force very dedicated volunteers. The objects in the house, were donated largely by families and private owners of the chapter of our American history commonly referenced as Maritime. These kind people, understand that history belongs to all of us. So they parted in some cases, with precious family artifacts passed down for generations from the old days, of cupolas on the roofs of houses (little glass rooms,) and widows walks, where women would watch for the return of their sea faring husbands. The Wildflower Farm Book Club, felt beyond welcome when we entered Captain Cobb House. We felt as if we were entering the book Ahab’s Wife, by Sena Jeter Naslund, that we had just finished. We would like to thank those who have donated to this museum, the wonderful knowledgeable volunteers, and the historical society for making this place available to us so that this month’s book could come so much more to life than we ever dreamed possible. Thank you all so very very much… It was an education you gave us. We appreciate the time and the artifacts you have all put in, more than we can possibly ever express.

I thought I would start by showing some photos of the clothing from the era and the textiles. The Heroine of Ahab’s Wife, made her living as a seamstress. In an era in which women had no independence, she was independent using the tools of a woman, she obliterated the barriers that kept her from searching and finding her own fulfillment in life. Captain Cobb House, had some beautiful examples of the textiles of the era.

Captain Cobb House, Quilt.

Captain Cobb House, Textile.

Spinning wheels, a flax wheel for fiber for summer clothing. Wool wheel for winter fiber for clothing. In this time period women made their clothes from the ground up.

Captain Cobb House, chronicles a time in Maritime history from the mid 1700s through the 1800s. Our book took place in the 1800s. Captain Cobb’s first command was aboard the ship, Jane. Over his life time he would captain several others as well. He is the most famous sea captain of this adorable little bay side town that sits in the bend in the arm of the peninsula that is Cape Cod. Captain Cob, had many wild adventures… Which the Captain Cobb House volunteers, are better able to discuss than I am. When Captain Cobb, passed, the house was passed on through the family for some time. Today, I do believe it is the property of the Brewster Historical society. This is a wonderful museum to go to to learn about maritime history and the history of this region.

Art

The portraits and art are truly exquisite.

Knots, the kind a sailor might use…. Or a cabin boy….

An old dress possibly a wedding dress?

Matching shoes.

The detail from this time period I think might be what was most impressive. Every object created and used was designed and crafted for longevity and in excessive detail. Each object was an art piece.

Old hair pieces and jewelry.

Purses.

I would love to share this museum with anyone and everyone because it really is such an amazing place… But I feel I should stop here, as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, by over sharing. I can not recommend this place enough. it was highly relevant to our book of the month, highly informative, and absolutely beautiful with very nice people who shared the history and information contained with the greatest of exuberance and joy at being able to share this chapter of history with the world.

In addition, to this history, there was a room dedicated to the summer camps of Cape Cod. That was a fabulous exhibit also though not at all relevant to our book the reason we made our pilgrimage to Cape Cod, as close to Nantucket as we could get. It also has a beautiful old exhibit on native american tools and objects found in the region. There was also a small exhibit on the life one might find in the tide pools or out on the sand flats, as well as a small exhibit on Helen Keller. But what might have been the most impressive thing for all of us in the book club, was the old doll house. The kind of toy the heroine of our book might have had made for her own children. The detail was absolutely amazing. I have never seen anything quite like it.

Native artifacts.

View through the Dollhouse window…

I could go on forever… But as I said, I really don’t want to ruin this for anyone by over sharing. If you are ever in Brewster Cape Cod, go check out Captain Cobb House, you won’t be sorry.

Thank you to the Captain Cobb House, the volunteers, historical society, and the donators.
You all gave this book club the most amazing and immersive experience and a far better understanding of our monthly book. We will be forever grateful.
Thank you to my readers, I can’t encourage you harder to go check out the Captain Cobb House, it is totally worth it on a rainy afternoon down the cape.
Thank you for reading.
Amanda of Wildflower Farm

Tags: Book club

About wildflowerfarm

Wildflower Farm, is a small New England homestead, B&B and AirBnB, in the Baystate. We came out here 7 years ago, when we returned from the better part of 10 years as peripatetic aristotelian nomads, for my husband's post docs. Upon our return, we had a plan. We had a lovely home. Everything was so clear. Then, I got sick. Things I used to eat all the time during our travels elsewhere in the world and even here before I left almost 10 years earlier made me ill. It took a couple trips to the ER and a trip to specialist... It became clear, something had changed in the way food is processed in this country since last I lived here. Some off label things was inevitably going to be my demise.

My husband and I looked around to see the clear path we were on, had exploded in front of us. We decided we had to create a new path for ourselves. We put children on hold. We found a small piece of land with a house we loved in a rural suburb in a right to farm area. I began researching how to do it ourselves. Grow it ourselves, make it ourselves, survive on our own as much as possible. We bought the property, and began plotting a new course. One that didn't involve off label chemicals. Closer to nature, with a lot more DIY, gardens, and animals for the products they provide. We created a life we loved though it hasn't always been easy and has of course come with compromise with each other, and even with ourselves.

Our family thought we had lost our minds. What were we doing leaving the city? We had no idea how hard this would be. They thought we would be back in 6 months. That was over 7 years ago, now. We have been making it work. They were not wrong, it isn't easy. But has anything worth doing ever been easy? And for us, avoiding as much store bought food as possible was simply necessary so I could live given how sick I was getting.

Then Covid hit.... We were lucky to have this place. It has allowed us a lot less need for public use territories which has kept us a lot safer and spared us much of the risk others face daily. This place, has given us a privilege through this of great meaning to us. To be of use in a difficult time. We have been able to help friends family and even strangers in need when things couldn't be found on store shelves. Or money was tight due to not working, rent being due and a child at home, or some other draining situation. We are so very grateful to have been able to not be helpless like so much of society through this miserable time. Our families, got used to it some time ago, us being out here. They made peace with it the day there was no bread and they had to ask me for some. Or when fresh vegies were rotten due to supply chain issues but they could find plenty in my garden.

Wildflower Farm, was a place I dreamed of. One of those sweet pastoral dreams a city dweller grows up knowing will never come true, that became unavoidable when I became ill. I never expected to get to do this. I never thought I had what it takes to make this work. I have learned pacing myself is important, compromise is critical, hard work never ends, burn out is real so breaks are just a necessary evil.

We are not fully self sufficient, but we work hard in that direction as we create a new path through life for ourselves, always reaching to do even more ourselves and to get closer to the ideal we envision. We are however far more self sufficient than many in this world. 7 years in, we continue to learn and grow in this homesteading lifestyle. We welcome comments and advice and ideas and questions.

We welcome visitors from all over to our home with strict covid policies in place. We spend our time learning to live all over again in a more environmental and sustainable way though even there we are far from perfect always learning and growing doing better as we know better.

This little homestead farm is a magical place named for the New England wildflowers that grow all around. A place where a physicist, watches the night sky on clear nights with the aide of mirror and glass, and a woman, works endlessly in the gardens, the kitchen, and a variety of projects to create and to keep a very unique life style running and functioning. Wildflower Farm, has become so much more than simply a piece of land we can grow a few vegetables on. The longer I spend here, the more alive the land seems, the more I learn about it's function and the more meaning it has. My place in the universe and the next steps on our new path become ever more clear.

We welcome you on this journey with us.

	April 2024
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

Captain Cobb House

Captain Cobb House

About wildflowerfarm

Add Comment

Cancel reply