About Cape Cod & the Islands
Official Town Info for Falmouth MA, Bourne, Mashpee, Sandwich
History of Cape Cod History of Cape Cod*
Cape Cod consists of four portions: The Upper Cape is the section of Cape Cod closest to the mainland. This portion of the Cape includes the towns of Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee, and Sandwich. While part of the town of Barnstable is located on the Upper Cape, it is more commonly considered to be in the Mid-Cape area. Falmouth is the home of the famous Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and several other research organizations, and is also the most-used ferry connection to Martha's Vineyard. Falmouth is composed of several separate villages, including East Falmouth, Falmouth Village, Hatchville, North Falmouth, Teaticket, Waquoit, West Falmouth, and Woods Hole, as well as several smaller hamlets that are incorporated into their larger neighbors (e.g., Davisville, Falmouth Heights, Quissett, Sippewissett, and others).
The Mid-Cape includes the towns of Barnstable, Dennis and Yarmouth. The Mid-Cape area features many beautiful beaches, including warm-water beaches along Nantucket Sound, e.g. Kalmus Beach in Hyannis, which gets its name from one of the inventors of Technicolor, Herbert Kalmus. This popular windsurfing destination was bequeathed to the town of Barnstable by Dr. Kalmus on condition that it not be developed, possibly one of the first instances of open-space preservation in the US. The Mid-Cape is also the commercial and industrial center of the region. There are seven villages in Barnstable, including Barnstable Village, Centerville, Cotuit, Hyannis, Marstons Mills, Osterville, and West Barnstable, as well as several smaller hamlets that are incorporated into their larger neighbors (e.g., Craigsville, Cummaquid, Hyannisport, Santuit, Wianno, and others). There are three villages in Yarmouth: South Yarmouth, West Yarmouth and Yarmouthport.
The Lower Cape is the narrower portion of the cape, where it bends sharply to the north. This section includes the towns of Brewster, Chatham, Harwich, and Orleans.
The Outer Cape is the outermost part, containing the towns of Eastham, Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet. This area is home to some of the most popular beaches in America, namely Coast Guard and Nauset Light beaches in Eastham.
The large area of water enclosed by Cape Cod and the mainland seacoast to the north is Cape Cod Bay; west of Cape Cod is Buzzards Bay. To the south lie Nantucket Sound; Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard (both large islands); and the mostly privately owned Elizabeth Islands in the town of Gosnold, of which the most populated is Cuttyhunk.
Cape Cod is connected to the mainland by a pair of canal-spanning highway bridges from Bourne and Sagamore that were constructed in the 1930s, and a vertical-lift railroad bridge. The entire Cape is roughly bisected lengthwise by U.S. Route 6, locally known as the Mid-Cape Highway. Commercial air service to Cape Cod operates out of Barnstable Municipal Airport and Provincetown Municipal Airport. There is also a ferry connection from Boston to Provincetown.
Islands Off Cape Cod
Like Cape Cod itself, the islands south of Cape Cod have turned from being whaling and trading areas to resort destinations for the Northeast, attracting old, wealthy families, celebrities, and prosperous tourists alike. The islands include Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, as well as the Elizabeth Island Chain, which includes the Forbes family-owned Naushon Island, which was purchased by John Murray Forbes with profits from opium dealing in the China trade during the Opium War. The only accessible Elizabeth Island is the southernmost one in the chain, Cuttyhunk, with its humble year-round population of fifty-two people. Several prominent families have established compounds or estates on the larger islands, making these Cape Cod offshore islands some of the wealthiest resorts in the Northeast, yet they retain much of the early merchant trading and whaling culture.
Nantucket
Nantucket is an island 30 miles south of Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the town of Nantucket and the coextensive Nantucket County, which cover all three islands. The region of Surfside on Nantucket is the southernmost settlement in Massachusetts.
Nantucket is a tourist destination and summer colony. The population of the island soars from approximately 10,000 to 50,000 during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. It has some of the highest property values in Massachusetts.
The National Park Service has designated the entire island as a National Historic District, paying particular note to the settlements of Nantucket and Siasconset. The island features one of the highest concentration of pre-Civil War structures in the United States.
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard (including nearby Chappaquiddick Island), is an island off the southern coast of Cape Cod and is often known simply as "the Vineyard". The Vineyard makes up most of Dukes County, Massachusetts (the rest of the county consists of Cuttyhunk and the other Elizabeth Islands and the island of Nomans Land). It was home to one of the earliest known Deaf communities; consequently, a special dialect of sign language, Martha's Vineyard Sign Language, developed on the island. The island is now primarily known as a summer colony, though its year-round population has grown quite considerably since the 1960s, despite being accessible only by boat and by air.
