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Pirates? A disappearing island? A brand-new technology that would change the world? It isn't science-fiction, this is the history of Wellfleet, Massachusetts, and its neighbor, Billingsgate Island.
Originally settled by Europeans in the 1650s as Billingsgate, Wellfleet became a town with an important, if overlooked history, located between the “tip” and the “elbow” of Cape Cod. Today, the town may be famous for its oysters, but there is so much more to this small town than what may be immediately apparent. In 1717, the pirate “Black Sam” Bellamy was sailing his ship nearby when it crashed, sending 4 tons of gold and silver, as well as 143 men, to a watery grave— the shipwreck was discovered in 1984, the first of only two confirmed pirate shipwrecks ever recovered. By the time of the American Revolution, Wellfleet was well-known not just for their oysters, but their success in the whaling industry. As whaling declined in the late 19th century, it wasn't long before the spotlight once again shone on Wellfleet with Guglielmo Marconi built America’s first transatlantic radio transmitter on the coastal bluff of South Wellfleet. Perhaps the most interesting story about Wellfleet isn't about Wellfleet at all, but Billingsgate Island. Generations lived there and built homes, wharves, a school, a lighthouse, and even founded a baseball team. By 1922, the sea swallowed this Wellfleet island, leaving nothing but a brick-strewn shoal, visible only at low tide. Sometimes called the “Atlantis of Cape Cod,” locals can still access the island by boat on the occasions the tide leaves the land exposed, a perfect spot for picnics or shellfishing.
