Manomet Community Center & Village Common - North and South Rivers Watershed Association

29 Manomet Point Rd, Plymouth, MA 02360, USA

Plymouth Parks & Forestry: 508-830-4162, ext. 12116

https://manometvillagecommon.org/?fbclid=IwAR2mXg8kRzKh15Z0RCRF8vpCgSGC_ivn-8LeBPl5Fr1Eqe7hgZ1XBBbIbSM

Owned By: Manomet Village Common, Inc.

Directions

Community center and town commons in the village of Manomet.

Features

According to the website of Manoment Village Commons, the Joseph A. Simes House is a historic Victorian residence, built c. 1863, and renovated by the Town of Plymouth with Community Preservation Act funds. This multi-use facility features a community center, business offices, and affordable housing units, all under one roof. The Community Center is comprised of four meeting/event rooms on the first floor that can be rented by community organizations, businesses and individuals. Community Center facilities are available to all Town of Plymouth boards and committees for meetings free of charge.

According to the Simes House Foundation website, Joseph Simes — a tea and coffee merchant — acquired this property in 1857, as a second residence. Assessment records from 1863 indicate that this “gentleman’s farm” included an ornate Second Empire style dwelling, along with barns, a shed, a corn crib, and a hen house, plus 20 acres of mowing and tillage, and 80 acres of pasture. In addition, the assessment included “four horses, two cows, two heifers, five swine, two top buggies, two carry-alls, two horse carts and farm wagons.” Edward J. Gladding and Frank W. Crocker were subsequent owners.

After that, the property was subdivided, with the original plot reduced to 6 acres. The dwelling was then employed as a 20-room inn (1893), boasting a commanding view of the ocean. In later years, the property became a nursing home known as Broadview (1907), as well as a branch of the YMCA (1923), and Esta Naula, a camp for underprivileged girls from the Boston area (1939). Later, its name changed to Camp Bazely, to honor a significant donor. In 1954, the dwelling became a rooming house owned by Dr. A. Franklin Trask, and the land was subdivided again, with the main property reduced to a single acre. After the house was taken for taxes in 2009, the Simes House Foundation was established in order to save it, and to create a village common.

This land is within the region of the Wampanoag tribe, who in earlier times, maintained a fishing weir at the mouth of Bartlett’s Pond, nearby. To learn more about our local tribes, we encourage you to interact with their members. The Mashpee Wampanoag and the Herring Pond Wampanoag both share information on their websites.

The name Manomet has been interpreted to mean “bearing of a burden,” possibly referring to the baskets used by the Wampanoag on trails between their settlements at Patuxet (Plymouth) and Cape Cod.

The history below was gleaned from interpretive signage at St. Catherine’s Chapel Park.

European settlement of what was then known as the Manomet Ponds began as early as 1639. From then until about 1880, the area was home to a sparse network of farms and fishermen’s homes. Summer visitors began building cottages on Manomet Point in the 1850s, coming to the area to enjoy extended vacations on the shore. Lodging houses, inns and shops soon followed. Shooting and fishing were popular pastimes. In 1899, trolley service became available, making the area much more accessible. Trolleys continued to run until 1928. There was a trolley station at the intersection of White Horse Beach Road and Rocky Hill Road, just south of where St. Catherine’s Chapel Park stands today.

White Horse Road was laid out in 1883, and paved in 1922. Taylor Road was constructed between 1912 and 1925, and then extended to Manomet Point Road in 1935. While today there are no businesses along Taylor Road, from the 1920’s to the 1990’s there were numerous commercial enterprises there, including the Whip-Po-Will Lodge, White Horse Playland, and later the Sandpiper Inn and White Sands.

In 1901, the Coast Guard established a station at Manomet Point, replacing the the 1874 US Life Saving Service station #5.