A Whale Bone Welcome

Captain Edward Penniman, born in Eastham, earned his fortune as a whaling captain and built this house for his family in 1868, leaving a reminder of both his success and a way of life shaped by whaling. The whale bones he placed at his entry gate were a proud symbol of his identity, and he originally used the lower jaw of a sperm whale in the 1860’s. Whale bone gates appeared in places around the world where whaling was an important way of life. Today’s bones are the third set at this location; they are the lower jawbones of a 63-foot finback whale that washed ashore in Wellfleet in 1966, and regular coatings of whitewash help preserve them. Sperm whales were among the most prized in the whaling industry because their oil was an excellent lubricant and a valuable lamp oil.

Eastham, Massachusetts · United States