For the first time in 300 years, the public can now explore Sipson Island.
The island, which was bought by white settlers from the native Monomoyick people in 1711, is located in the Pleasant Bay area of Cape Cod and covers 24 acres of pristine land.
“It is really important for us as an organization and community to be able to communicate the importance of this indigenous history, and teach the values of those that lived on the island before 1711,” Sipson Island Trust President Tasia Blough told CNN.
Visitors can only arrive on boats less than 22 feet long and enter via the eastern shore due to the island’s sensitive ecosystem. Once there, day guests have the option of hiking, wandering the sandy beaches and snorkeling.
“When it was for sale … there were a number of conservation organizations who wanted to find a way to raise the money … [to] protect it, preserve it, preserve it and make it accessible to the public,” Blough told CNN.
While there are four structures on the island, three of them will be removed “to create and build an open-air research and education center.”
Funds are still being raised to buy the eight acres on the island that are not in the trust’s name.
