The Houses of Captains’ Row

Captains’ Row is the stretch of Route 28 in West Harwich from the Herring River to the Dennis town line. This mile of Route 28 wears its deep historical and cultural significance in its wide array of buildings, each a fine example of a major style of American residential architecture from the 1740s to the 1940s. Captains’ Row is a multi-generational dialogue about the good life, played out in architecture, from the colonial days through the age of the great sea captains, and on to early motorized tourism. The current exhibit, “The Houses of Captains’ Row,” at the Harwich Historical Society traces the evolution of this neighborhood in all its visual splendor.

This exhibit highlights eight of these amazing buildings, explaining the architectural styles and details, and noting the Harwich families who built them and lived in them.  A map helps orient you to the neighborhood, and a video of  drone footage gives a “bird’-eye view.”   This exhibit is not to be missed!

The exhibit was researched and written by Dr. J. Duncan Berry, an architectural historian who lives in one of these wonderful homes, and  designed by Orr Studios.

Dr. Berry gave a talk about the “Sea Captains of West Harwich” on July 21, 2019. If you missed it, you can watch it on YouTube here: