This Marstons Mills house tour includes an 1885 hearse. What else will you encounter?

Barbara Clark
·5 min read

EDITOR'S NOTE: A change was made to this story on Oct. 14, 2022, at 11:40 a.m. to correct the spelling of Marstons Mills in the headline.

MARSTONS MILLS — The village of Marstons Mills is a quiet way station near the mid-point on Cape Cod where there are many landmarks to see and enjoy: a historic old airfield that once entertained a flying circus; a church that traveled to Main Street all the way from Yarmouth Port nearly 200 years ago; a farm that dates from before the Revolutionary War and a classic old hearse straight out of the horse-and-buggy era.

These and other landmarks are among the stops on Marstons Mills Historical Society’s second annual self-guided Historic House Tour, free to the public, taking place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22. Maps and descriptive brochures to guide participants are available at the Community Church (2135 Main St.) on that day — incidentally, it’s the first stop on the tour. Members of the Historical Society will be on hand at each location to highlight notable features. Refreshments will be served at the church at the close of the event.

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Once every village had a horse-drawn hearse

David Martin, president of the Marstons Mills Historical Society reflects up in the window of the town's old horse drawn hearse housed in a small shed dating to 1880 at the Marstons Mills Cemetery off Route 149 in that town.
David Martin, president of the Marstons Mills Historical Society reflects up in the window of the town's old horse drawn hearse housed in a small shed dating to 1880 at the Marstons Mills Cemetery off Route 149 in that town.

A highlight of the day is sure to be a visit to the Hearse House at the Marstons Mills Cemetery (Route 149) to view the original horse-drawn hearse that was used in the village until the 1930s. This is the only surviving carriage of its kind in the seven villages, which each had a hearse during that era, and it may be the last of its kind in southeastern Massachusetts, according to David Martin, president of the Marstons Mills Historical Society.

Built in 1885 by noted carriage maker George L. Brownell Co. of New Bedford, the iron-wheeled, glass-paneled carriage has tasseled side curtains and curved glass rear doors. It will be displayed for the first time since it was moved from Barnstable’s Trayser Museum (now the Coast Guard Heritage Museum) in the early 2000s to reside back at its original home in the old Hearse House, built especially to hold the carriage.

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State-of-the-art features of the time included a container beneath the central carriage to hold ice (as a preservative), as well as brass dowels that adjusted to hold the coffin in place and keep it from sliding out. Decorative finials provide somber decoration on the carriage roof.

The hearse, which is owned by the town of Barnstable, is due for minor preservation work, which will be carried out by a local specialist, and some climate-control features may be in order in the Hearse House to help prolong the life of the old carriage, Martin said.

This 19th century hearse will be on display later this month during a historical tour which will make a stop at the Marstons Mills Cemetery off Route 149.
This 19th century hearse will be on display later this month during a historical tour which will make a stop at the Marstons Mills Cemetery off Route 149.

Visit these other historical Marstons Mills sites on tour

Tour-goers will have an opportunity to visit a number of other landmark locations, including the iconic Marstons Mills Airfield on Race Lane, which dates back to 1929 and the era of flying circuses and daredevil flyboys.

As for the present day, where else could you see wildflower-dotted grass runways, learn to skydive or take a sightseeing biplane flight above the Cape Cod peninsula? The airfield is also a landing field for private aircraft, and home to two historic DC-3 aircraft — veterans of World War II.

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In 1839, a team of oxen pulled a small, shingled church from Yarmouth Port to Main Street in the Mills, where it originally served a Methodist congregation. Several remodeling projects followed, including the 1959 addition of a parish hall that had once served as a surplus barracks at the former Otis Air Force Base. In other periods, the property housed a dance studio and a nursery school, until it became the present Community Church in 1981.

In early days, Marstons Mills had many flourishing farmsteads, with its lakes, rivers and kettle hole ponds dotting the landscape. Tour stops include farms that date from 1750 through the 1800s.

David Martin, president of the Marstons Mills Historical Society makes towards the town's old horse drawn hearse housed in a small shed dating to 1880 at the Marstons Mills Cemetery off Route 149 in that town.
David Martin, president of the Marstons Mills Historical Society makes towards the town's old horse drawn hearse housed in a small shed dating to 1880 at the Marstons Mills Cemetery off Route 149 in that town.

At the Fuller Farmstead (Route 149), farm buildings did not survive, but the 22-acre property, developed in the 1800s, is deeded to remain a farm, and current development includes garden space, pollinator fields, walking trails and a working barn.

In 2019 the Luther Hamblin House (Santuit-Newtown Road) won the Outstanding Preservation Award from the Town of Barnstable for its restoration by Harry and Terrie Rigollet, who purchased the property in 2015. They returned it to a working farm with gardens and livestock, while keeping intact much of the 1836 house and barn, restoring such features as original beams and central fireplace.

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The Isaac Crocker Farm (Olde Homestead Drive), originally from 1750 and unusual for its bow roof design, remained in the Crocker family for more than 100 years, and later was owned by CapeAbilities. Passing back into private hands in 2017, it’s again a fully working farm. With the original farmhouse still standing, it’s considered the oldest working farm on Cape Cod, recommended for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Federal-style Cape shingle-and-clapboard Burgess House (Route 149), located near the cemetery, was passed down through generations of the Hinckley family. A former owner added beautiful flower gardens and landscaping. Today the grounds host a popular disc-golf course, and it’s home base for the Marstons Mills Village Association.

If you go

Marstons Mills Historical Society’s self-guided Historic House Tour takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 22. Maps and descriptive brochures to guide participants are available at the Community Church (2135 Main St.) from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. that day. The tour is free to the public, with donations welcomed. For further information, contact David Martin at 508-527-0460, or email davidmartindr@aol.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Visit historic Marstons Mills farmsteads, airfield and 1885 hearse