A white whale and a man called 'Fish': Odd tales from the Bourne and Sagamore bridges
I've been zooming off-Cape with some regularity in recent months: stuff like soccer games, college pickups and visits to the epic Hearth Artisan Bread bakery in Plymouth. Of course these vital missions involve thrilling spins over the Bourne and Sagamore bridges, those beautiful, if somewhat antique, canal spanners.
Since it seems possible that we'll be seeing replacement bridges at some point in the future, I try to enjoy every crossing. If I have a passenger, I always insist on a full Cape Cod Canal vessel report as we miraculously hop onto the mainland. And I think about the history of the area, from the bridges to the canal and beyond.
This led to a deep dive into the Sturgis Library's digital newspaper archive, an amazing storehouse of big and little stories about Cape Cod from times past. I figured there must be some odd stories about the bridges and the canal squirreled away in a dusty corner of cyberspace. The answer? Yup.
Some of the stories are funny, some are tragic and some are just kinda interesting. Here we go!
Aug. 19, 1933, Yarmouth Register
"The Cape Cod Canal was navigated practically from end to end Sunday for the first time by a swimmer. Crawford 'Fish' Earnhardt, 26-year-old swimming instructor at Oyster Harbors, accomplished the feat, swimming the 8.3 miles between the Bourne and Sagamore bridges in one hour and 29 minutes.
"Young Crawford, a native of Daytona Beach, Fla., and graduate of Duke University, made his record swim starting at the new state pier at Buzzards Bay before a large throng. When he ended his test swim at the Sandwich Coast Guard pier, Crawford though chilled and exhausted had enough reserve to aspire to a longer swim and added better than a mile to bring the total distance to 9½ miles."
Dec. 18, 1915, Yarmouth Register
This tragedy started when a car broke down in Sagamore and one of the occupants phoned a local hotel for help, back in the days when the Sagamore was a drawbridge.
"The proprietor of the hotel, P.P. Cooney, donned his fur overcoat and went in his own car to assist them and Mrs. Starck and Miss Pierson were transferred to his car. They returned over the drawbridge which when they were halfway across opened to let a vessel through.
"The car and occupants were hurled into the canal. Miss Pierson was swept toward the bay by the current and when picked up later by a tug was lifeless and although the pulmotor was used at the hospital it was ineffectual. After some difficulty Mr. Cooney and Mrs. Starck were rescued."
Sept. 1, 1928, Yarmouth Register
"Quite a little stir was created one day last week when a pure white whale, possibly the one seen off Gloucester recently, was seen swimming up and down the Cape Cod canal between the eastern entrance and the Sagamore bridge.
"The whale was pure white except for a dark spot on the nose and was about 25 feet long."
Dec. 27, 1935, Hyannis Patriot
This story has one heck of a headline, "Opening of Two New Bridges Saturday Marks Biggest Day in History of Cape," and perhaps gives us a look at what the party might be like when the Bourne and Sagamore bridges are replaced.
"A new chapter in the history of Cape Cod and of southeastern Massachusetts opened last Saturday when Governor Curley Col. John B. Kingman pulled the ribbon to open the Bourne bridge to traffic. A crowd estimated at much over 100,000 made the region near the bridge seem like a big city.
"Starting at 4:15 p.m., a three-mile parade, the longest and most brilliant Cape Cod has ever seen ushered across the long line of automobiles. About two hours later Mrs. August Belmont and Colonel Kingman opened the Sagamore bridge, concluding the procession."
Eric Williams, when not solving Curious Cape Cod mysteries, writes about a variety of ways to enjoy the Cape, the weather, wildlife and other subjects. Contact him at ewilliams@capecodonline.com. Follow him on X: @capecast.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Odd history tales from the Bourne and Sagamore bridges on Cape Cod
