The Wellfleet Beachcomber is the former site of the Cahoon Hollow Life Saving Station,
originally built in 1853, and re-built in 1897 after it was destroyed by fire. This is the only
Station of the 9 original Stations that remains at it's original site. The Life Savers who
manned these 9 stations were credited with saving over 100,000 lives during the tenure
of their operation.

The "Backside of Cape Cod" is well known for it's unpredictable Nor'easters, and has been
the site of thousands of shipwrecks over the years. The Cahoon Hollow lifesavers were
responsible for an eight mile stretch of the shoreline. They walked the beach or the dunes 
four miles to the north, and four miles to the south were they exchanged checks with the
surfmen from the Truro and Nauset stations. They were a "hearty" bunch, and served for 
up to a month at at time away from their families.

One of the more famous Wellfleet shipwrecks was the "Whydah" captained by the infamous
pirate Sam "Black" Bellamy. Barry Clifford and the crew of the Explorer discovered remains
of the wreck approximately two miles south of the Beachcomber. A museum with a display
of some of the artifacts, and a history of Pirates is located in Provincetown at the Whydah
Museum.

The Lifesaving Stations were de-commissioned in the late forties, and some of the original
ones were either razed or moved. In the 1960 with the passage of the National Seashore Act
the entire Backside of Cape Cod became part of the National Seashore Park. Some of the
properties remained individually owned, the Beachcomber being one of them.

We welcome you to the Beachcomber and we hope you enjoy your visit to Cape Cod !

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Photo by : Herbert W. Gleason 1903

Photo: Bob Rostkowski Aug. '02