Stephan Cohen presents a deep dive into the fabled Portuguese fishing settlement at Herring Cove.

Join us to explore the history and legends of Helltown and its courageous dorymen.

Helltown, a cobbled-together winter shantytown of Portuguese dorymen’s huts at Herring Cove in the late 1800s, was a far cry from the tidy fishing village founded on Long Point in 1818. Those houses were floated to Provincetown in 1858 and eventually adorned with blue plaques. The Helltown shacks were far less elaborate.

Stephan Cohen, a retired associate professor of education, modern dancer, and author, is a year-rounder who has spent many a liberating summer at Herring Cove, also known as New Beach. He became interested in Helltown after reading Provincetown classics such as Time and the Town by Mary Heaton Vorse. He is currently writing a book about Helltown.

Supported by a grant from the Provincetown Community Compact.