Historic Cape Cod House Miraculously Survives Nor'easter, Will Live Another Day

This historic house teetering on the eroding dunes in Truro,
Massachusetts narrowly escaped falling into the Atlantic
Ocean during a late January nor'easter. It was moved
back from the brink shortly after the storm.  Photo
by David Ryan, Boston Globe. 

The day before a huge nor'easter struck New England on January 29, images of a house in Truro, Massachusetts made the rounds.  It was teetering over the edges of fast-eroding sand dunes. 

The house on outer Cape Cod would surely succumb to the waves the next day. 

It would have been a shame, really.  The house was built as long ago as 1850, (nobody is quite sure)  and nobody likes to see historic structures go.

Crews frantically reinforced the pilings under the house hours before the storm arrived and somehow, it worked! More of the sand dunes were swept away in the storm, and the only a small corner of the house was still on land.  But the pilings somehow held.

That would have been a brief victory. The next storm would have finished the house off. But more good fortune arrived. The house has been moved further back and is at a temporary spot firmly on sand dunes. They're looking for a permanent place for it. 

The Boston Globe reports the home is owned by the Dennis family, whoever they are, who could not b reached for comment.  The Dennises paid to move the house to its temporary spot off the stilts.  They'll need to obtain permits from the town of Truro to move it to a permanent location. 

I do hope that works out, as the historic house has gone through so much, so now we're left rooting for it. 

I mean, if walls could talk. The Boston Globe gives us a quick rundown of its history:

"Massachusetts Historical Commission records state that the building was constructed between 1880 and 1890, but Truro assessing records say it was built in 1850. It was originally built as a boathouse for the Pamet Life Saving Station, which had a full time staff that patrolled the beach for wrecks. The building housed rescue boats and eventually converted to a residential cottage after the station closed in the 1940s, according to Massachusetts Historical Commission records."

Cape Cod and the rest of coastal Massachusetts are dense with historic old buildings and houses. There's even an entire HGTV show called "Houses With History" which follows the exploits of three preservationists rescuing houses on parts of Cape Cod and the Massachusetts South Shore.

While many of the historic places in New England are very safe from any coastal erosion, some are not.  A combination of sinking land and rising sea levels due to climate change regularly endanger coastal landmarks. Two Massachusetts light houses had to be moved back from the shore back in 1996, and Nauset Light Bathhouse had to be moved in 2000.

The Boston Globe said many areas on the Cape lose three feet of land per year due to coastal erosion and a single bad storm can erase more than 60 feet of land.  This house in Truro is certainly not the last that will have to be moved inland from the shore on Cape Cod. Or worse, fall into the Atlantic Ocean. 

Cape Cod will continue to ever so slowly shrink as sea levels continue rising and the coastline erodes. Not only is this difficult for the people who have to move buildings, but for the entire communities affected.

Towns and cities in Massachusetts live or die by property tax revenue. Less property, less property taxes.  Plus, the beachfront homes are worth the most, so those create the most tax revenue. Get rid of those homes, and you leave a big hole in the budget. 

These are problems that will gradually keep getting worse as the years and decades go by.  The house in Truro this winter is just one symptom of that.