Heavy Surf at Brant Rock

March 16, 2008

Brant Rock, Marshfield, MA

I took a drive down to the South Shore this afternoon and walked around on the deserted beach at Brant Rock, one of my favorite small summering villages on the South Shore of Massachusetts. This location, not far from Plymouth and about 20 miles from Cape Cod Canal (as well is 22 miles over the water to Provincetown, the tip of Cape Cod), is named for a large, natural rock outcropping just beyond the surf that is accessible by walking on a man-made rock jetty to the end. From here, one is surrounded by large waves on either side as they rapidly make their way to the shore.

Brant Rock is also the location of two significant points in early 20th century history. Just south of this beach, now in a trailer park, stands the base of a 420-foot radio tower constructed in 1905. From here, Reginald Fessenden achieved two-way trans-Atlantic radio contact by Morse Code with Machrihanish, Scotland, in January 0f 2006. Just before the end of that year, he also
conducted the first audio broadcast over radio...playing "O Holy Night" on a violin and reciting a verse from the Bible to ships crossing the Atlantic. Prior to this, Guglielmo Marconi had achieved the first one-way radio contact from Cape Cod, near Wellfleet. While Marconi's efforts are perhaps more celebrated today (through the establishment of Marconi Beach and historical sites on Cape Cod National Seashore), it was here, from Brant Rock, that true back-and-forth communication across the Atlantic was established. Sadly, the tower was dismantled in 1917, yet many photographic images and postcard views of it remain.

Today, the beach was desolate...I was the only one on the sand at the time. Most of the cottages facing the shore are boarded up for the winter...3 months from now, however, the place will be full of beachgoers. The only sign of life at this time of year is some light traffic and the smell of crabcakes and lobster cooking in some of the area's small restaurants, undoubtedly to keep some lingering locals satisfied through the winter.