Wilfred Wheeler, a local Massachusetts agriculturist, was worried about the loss of farmland within the state in general and Cape Cod specifically in the early 20th century. He devised a plan for the Coonamessett Ranch Company to start a modern dairy and truck farm in Hatchville to train farmers, which led to the ranch gobbling up over 14,000 acres of land in Massachusetts from 1916-1920. In return, the ranch settled on a deal to give Wheeler 350 acres to farm, produce, and can dairy products for distribution. This contract with Wheeler had expired by 1924, leaving the Coonamessett Ranch 350 acres on which they decided to start an upscale resort overlooking the Coonamessett Pond, including a golf course, airstrip, tennis courts, a polo field, and beach cabanas. By 1929 Deveruex Emmet and his design partner, Alfred Tull, had draped a wonderfully strategic golf course over the hilly, sandy-soiled terrain. Today, though, the Golden Age gem’s future is in limbo.
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Take Note…
Long Fish, White Pine Place. Coonamessett Country Club– the original name for the golf course– was named after the nearby Coonamessett Inn, which is a Wampanoag (native american tribe) word for “Long Fish, White Pine Place”. The course then had a two-year stint under the name Treadway Inn, before being called Clauson’s Inn and Country Club from 1957-1977. At that point it finally became Cape Cod Country Club.
Falmouth Playhouse. In 1949, a theater was built as a part of the Coonamessett Resort. It became a popular Cape attraction until it burned down in 1994, with the owners suspected of arson. Today, a portion of the building serves as an embankment for the perched up practice chipping green. A turf mat allows you to practice high-lofted wedge shots over a 10 foot wall remaining from the building.
Solar Farm. In 2021, C.C.C.C. owner David Friel wanted to sell his golf course, claiming it was a sunk cost and that golf was in a decline. Amp Energy, a renewable energy company, became a willing buyer of the 140-acre property with plans of developing a large solar farm on the site. In 2022, the Falmouth town council voted in favor of the new solar array plans. The future of the course is currently in a stand still, with owners waiting for approval from the Cape Cod Commission. If the Commission approves the new development, the course will likely be lost forever.
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