Popponesset Island

Popponesset Island is home to 76 properties connected to the “mainland” by a short timber-wood bridge, allowing one vehicle to pass at a time. Its pedestrian walkway invites folks to stop and enjoy the picturesque views on each side. Bikers, joggers and walkers with kids and dogs in tow, cross over to explore the quaint streets and sit at the reserved area overlooking the Popponesset Spit.

At less than 0.4 square miles, Popponesset Island is its own CDP (Census Designated Place) in Mashpee with 0.08 square miles of land and 0.31 square miles of water. At one time in its history, the island was rented as camping grounds for visitors to the village of Popponesset, separated by just a shallow waterway.

Although approval was given to build a bridge to Poppy Island in 1908, only a footbridge was built. In 1941, the Army Corps of Engineers built a bridge to the island allowing trucks and supplies to be brought over. This bridge was a flat bridge with little head clearance over the water. In the early 1940s, Popponesset Beach and the Spit were used for military training exercises as were the beaches on Martha’s Vineyard and
Nantucket Island. Popponesset Island acted as a training site for amphibious assault as well. This was a great area for training as the climate and beaches were similar to the landing beaches of Normandy in France during World War II!

The Poppy bridge held up well until Hurricane Bob in 1991, which severely impacted its structural integrity. The bridge was subsequently deemed unsafe and closed. A small group of Poppy Island residents led an effort to rebuild the bridge with the cost shared by the landowners on the island. The new bridge was completed in 1992 with a curved arch enabling small boat passage underneath and included a single vehicle lane and a pedestrian walkway. The bridge itself was built in upper state NY and transported to the Cape and put in place by a local engineering company. During the construction, residents had to walk across floating docks to the New Seabury Marina area to get on and off the island! This bridge still stands today with the Popponesset Island carved stone and wooden bulletin board colorfully decorated for each season to welcome folks to the island.

Popponesset Island is a shared Bright Coves and Mashpee community with the homes on the Popponesset Creek side being part of the Village of Bright Coves and the homes on the Popponesset Bay side remaining part of the town of Mashpee. The Popponesset Island Association works in partnership with the Bright Coves Association to sustain, improve and protect the natural beauty of the island.