A grand old Victorian guest house, The Moorlands was built at the turn of the century by Captain Atkins Hughes as a showplace to replace the more modest home that was originally located on the site. Captain Hughes was a merchant seaman and owner of the Truro Cold Storage fish packing plant. He is also the great-great uncle of the present owners, Skipper Swords Evaul and her husband, artist Bill Evaul.
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Upon the death of Atkins Hughes, his heirs sold the Moorlands in August 1923. The property included the house, carriage house and a barn, plus 20 acres of land running
to Cape Cod Bay.
Before the living room was expanded, the porch ran around the entire North side of the house. There was a lovely picket fence along the entire road frontage with two elegant gates and boardwalks to the front and back doors. The North lawn was full of apple trees and the cellar housed a large wooden cider press. There were also vineyards and commercial hops fields.
The small house on the corner was the site of a large windmill for the water system. Later, a kerosene-powered pump in the cellar replaced the windmill. Electric power came from a kerosene burning single cylinder 32 volt generator feeding a bank of glass cased batteries, all in the corner of the carriage house.
The two cottages were added in the 1950's and the lot was subdivided. In the early 1990's, the Moorlands began to operate as a Bed & Breakfast.
Great care has been taken to restore the original charm of the Moorlands, both inside and out. Among the many antiques are several Hughes family heirlooms, including Captain Hughes' personal autographed copy of The American Coast Pilot that he used to navigate the North and South Atlantic Oceans. In the drawing room is a carved English walnut desk that was a wedding gift from Captain & Mrs. Hughes to Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Swords, Skipper's great-grandparents
