By Ruth M. Weissberger
Thursday, November 20, 2003
What is the Taylor-Bray Farm? Why is it called the Taylor-Bray Farm? Where is it located? You'll find Yarmouth's farm at the north end of Bray Farm Road, which runs north from Route 6A near the Dennis-Yarmouth line and it has a long, interesting and frequently confusing history.
To start, one must identify who first owned the farm. While it's easy to specify Richard Taylor as the farm's first owner, it's not so simple to identify who he was, as two men named Richard Taylor lived in Yarmouth during the middle 1600s. One was a farmer, the other a tailor. Not only that, each married a woman named Ruth. One can only imagine how often people of Yarmouth confused one Richard Taylor with the other! Eventually, one came to be known as Richard Tailor Taylor, based on his profession, and the other became known as Richard Rock Taylor. Richard Rock Taylor was the first owner of the Taylor-Bray Farm. In order to appreciate the correct history of the Taylor-Bray Farm one must first separate the histories of these two men.
Richard Tailor Taylor was associated with Gabriel Whelden. The date of Gabriel Whelden's arrival in North America and his place of landing is not known. Eventually, Gabriel Whelden arrived in Yarmouth with grown children and was licensed by Plymouth court to dwell at Mattacheese and have land there. Mr. Whelden's daughter, Ruth, married Richard Tailor Taylor Oct. 27, 1646. As was the case with many men who lived in Yarmouth, Richard had more than one profession. Records show that June 3, 1668, Richard Taylor was constable of Yarmouth and also that The will of Captain William Hedge of Yarmouth, dated June 30, 1670, names his beloved friends Mr. Edmond Hawes and Richard Taylor, Tailor, as overseers. While Richard Tailor Taylor lived a long life, his life unfortunately ended in tragedy. According to records, his wife Ruth perished shortly before Dec. 4, 1673 in the wreck of a boat in which she had probably intended to go from Yarmouth to Plymouth or Duxbury. A jury of inquest was formed in Duxbury where the boat appears to have been found, which rendered its verdict on Dec. 4, 1673. Ruth had drowned in the boat. Her husband, now advanced in age and most likely shaken by his wife's death, died before Dec. 13 of the same year.
Richard Rock Taylor, departed from Gravesend, England, June 10, 1635, on the ship Truelove bound first for Bermuda. The Truelove reached the New England coast sometime in 1636. In 1639, Richard Rock Taylor built his house near a huge rock on the line between the Indian lands of Hockanom and Nobscusset, the location of today's Yarmouth-Dennis town line. Richard's name, Richard Rock Taylor was given to him in recognition of this rock.
In 1643, at the age of 24, Richard married Ruth Burgess of Sandwich. Together they raised their seven children, Richard, Mehitable, Keziah, Jasher, Hannah Elisha and Mary, on the farm.
The house that Richard and Ruth built and lived in was not where the present house stands. It was on the south side of today's Hockanom Road, across the street from the present house and its location is marked by the large rock inscribed by the Bray brothers with the inscription:
Ye Old Taylor Rock
Near this rock
about the year 1639
Richard Taylor
Built His House
Erected by George F.
and William F. Bray.
The word erected in the inscription indicates that the Brays inscribed the words on the rock, not that they erected the house. The original house, which burned in the 1700s, was replaced by the house we can visit today on the north side of Hockanom Road. The barn, located near the new house on the site of today's barn, once served as a stagecoach stop and turn-around for horses. Drivers spent the night at the farm and changed horses before continuing on their journey. Hockanom Road, in front of the house, was a major road and connected to what is now Old King's Highway. As a working farm, the landscape was quite different from what we see today. No trees adorned the property when the Taylor family lived in the house. In addition to pasture and grazing land, the terrain included dunes and marshland.
Generations of Taylors continued to live in the farmhouse until Lucy Taylor sold the farm to George and Willie Bray in 1896. The property that Lucy sold for $400 included 50 acres of uplands and adjacent marshlands which were capable of producing six tons of a combination of salt and fresh hay a year. The deed described the property as being in that part of Yarmouth known as Hockanom.
When the Brays lived on the farm they grew produce including strawberries, blueberries and corn along with hay from the marshlands. The Bray brothers were often seen on Old King's Highway selling their strawberries and blueberries from a wheelbarrow.
According to an article published in the Cape Cod Compass magazine more than 30 years ago, George and Willie had an unusual pet. Written by G.S. Williams, the article reports:
"Still another case of isolated living involved the Bray brothers of old Yarmouth, a pair of elderly brothers who dwelt by themselves ... in a home some distance on the seaward side of Cranberry Highway. Perhaps they would have been granted isolation even if they had not sought it, for as the years went on their house developed gaps and sags, and they cultivated an ominous-looking companion that took advantage of the holes in the floor boards. He was a sizeable snake, long and fat, and when the Bray brothers would sit down to eat, they would place a platter of milk on the floor beside their chairs and rap on the wood with their heels. And up would come the snake, slithering through the floor, to join the Brays for dinner."
George and Willie Bray also operated an antique shop out of the old Taylor barn near the location of the original house on the south side of the street. This building remains part of the farm and is now used as a private residence. The stone wall adjacent to the present barn may have been built by the Bray brothers.
As was the custom in earlier years, a small herb garden was planted by the house outside of the kitchen door and the herbs served both culinary and medicinal needs. Walking onions were used in cooking or pounded and used in poultices to treat abscesses. Thyme was used for flavoring in cooking but also as an expectorant to clear lungs and nose. Yarrow was good to have on hand to stop fresh wounds from bleeding.
When one is born into a large family and has many cousins, people often mistake one for another person, especially when cousins have the same last names. Even today, George and Willie Bray are frequently confused with their distant relatives, William and Isaiah Bray of the Bray Ship Yard, which was located off Chase Garden Creek on White's Brook. Although related to William and Isaiah Bray, George and Willie did not participate in ship building.
When George Bray died in 1941, the farm was sold. In 1987, after the farm had passed through several families, the farm was about to be sold for a residential subdivision. Upon hearing this news, a group of Yarmouth's citizens suggested that the farm be purchased by the town and used as a community resource, bringing their recommendation to Yarmouth's Town Meeting. With the intent to maintain the farm for historic preservation and conservation, the Town of Yarmouth voted to purchase the farm along with 22 acres of marshland and upland.
In order to preserve the farm's unique legacy, the Taylor-Bray Farm Preservation Association was formed in 2001 in strong partnership with Yarmouth's Historical Commission, the town's oversight body for the farm. In the summer of 2002 a program to repair the barn was initiated in collaboration with the Historical Commission and the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School.
Because of the foresight and hard work of many individuals, the Taylor-Bray Farm is now open for everyone to enjoy at any time of the year. There are picnic tables, woodland walking trails and beautiful views of Black Flats marsh. Sheep roam the pasture, newly acquired chickens reside in reconstructed chicken coops, osprey spend the summer months at their nest over the marsh and a wide variety of wildlife can be seen in their natural habitat. With the support of a number of town departments, a community garden allows citizens to once again raise vegetables on the farm. There is even an educational program describing farm life for elementary school children taught by Tom Sheret. Taylor-Bray Farm is being transformed back into a working farm for everyone's enjoyment.
You will not want to miss the annual sheep festival at the farm every spring. This festival includes sheep shearing, sheep herding by gifted dogs and craft demonstrations, along with costumed characters telling their stories from the past.
In the fall the farm is decorated for the Harvest Festival with pumpkins and hand made crafts. You may even meet pilgrims who tell their stories of settling in Yarmouth. There are hayrides for both adults and children to enjoy. A holiday open house Dec. 6 and 7 offers wagon rides, handmade holiday decorations, Christmas trees, baked goods and of course mulled cider!
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Taylor-Bray Farm Preservation Association and helping Yarmouth's farm continue its restoration and growth, you may pick up a membership application at the farm or visit the farm's Web site at www.taylorbrayfarm.org . There you will find additional information about the farm and may print a membership form.
But whatever your interests, take a moment to visit the farm with your family. It is a unique town resource and a lovely setting.
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