06/18/2026
Yesterday was a BANNER day for Town of Harwich, the Village of West Harwich, and the community of Captains' Row.
This after turning another major corner — pardon the pun — last week with the schedule of the first rehabilitation of Route 28 from the Dennis line to the Herring River in two generations. This represents fully $18M in Commonwealth funds, a sure evidence of the enduring value of this rich vein of cultural, social, economic, and architectural value in Harwich and on the Cape.
Town Meeting voted unanimously to approve funding of the exterior restoration of the West Harwich Baptist Church as proposed by John and Piper Carey, developers of the West Harwich School House housing complex.
Last night the Harwich Historic District and Historical Commission voted unanimously to permit the Careys to undertake the removal (demolition) of all the cheap plastic siding that has concealed our beautiful Greek Revival gem at the apex of the curve of Route 28 in West Harwich.
The nuclear option of tearing this masterpiece down has been averted, and our coherent village center is being brought back to life.
But wait! There's more!
Following the Carey's appeal to the HDHC, Mr. Jeffrey Handler, and his in-laws, announced that they had taken full ownership of Job Chase, Sr.'s *second* dwelling on Captains' Row, popularly known as Bishop's Terrace.
After presenting a moving account of the plight of the structure over the course of the last four decades, he described the process of coming to an agreement with the former owner -- which was equally as moving, and a tad more entertaining.
Here too, the HDHC did the right thing and green-lit the request to begin the restoration of one of Harwich's FINEST residential structures, a magnificent example of Georgian architecture. certainly one of the finest in the Commonwealth and filled with mind-bending history of hope, despair, loss, and victory. Five generations of an American dynasty on a par with the Adams, Marthers, Kennedys and more.
It was a triumphal night for Harwich.
And we owe both the Careys and the Handler group our deepest and most sincere thanks for working with the Town to salvage these colonial and Federal era gems in our midst.
And we owe our Town boards and committees a big round of applause for see the right thing, and acting accordingly!
Hip, hip, Hoorah!
Below is a link to last night's HDHC meeting, queued up right at the Carey item, followed immediately by the Handler item.
June 17th 2026 meeting of the Harwich HDHC
