bleboro, Maine only a few weeks shy of his 80th birthday. His death sparked renewed interest in The Outermost House the book and shack. People traversed the Great Beach to gaze upon the inspiration for Beston's greatest work. Though erosion had been its greatest threat it was something totally unforeseen that spelled the end of Fo'castle.
Between February 6-7, 1978 one of the most historic blizzards in New England history caught the region mostly by surprise. It was snow that covered most of the region, however it was wind and storm surge that affected Cape Cod. The high tide of 16-feet tore through the Outer Cape, briefly making the area north of Fort Hill in Eastham an island. Coast Guard Beach in Eastham was decimated. The vast 350-space parking lot collapsed forever changing the landscape of one of the Cape's most popular beaches. South of the Coast Guard station Fo'castle was pulled into the ocean by the raging waves. It was pushed back into the marsh and eventually torn to pieces.
The Outermost House was claimed by the very sea that Henry Beston romanticized in his book. Today there are no remains of the shack on the sandy spit south of Eastham's Coast Guard station. Since 1969 the beach has lost over 300-feet of shoreline making the Outermost House's original resting place under water now.
Despite the changing shoreline due to erosion the solitude of the beaches on the Outer Cape are still soothing. They are a tremendous reminder of a simpler time on Cape Cod and in the world. They are also a reminder of how small we as humans are in this world. Henry Beston captured much of the allure and spirit in the Outermost House. Luckily one can still enjoy the expanse of sand and sea even if Fo'castle itself is all but a memory.
In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - Bill Cox's Sea Grill
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