Cape Cod & the Islands Guide to Historical Societies & Museums
Your portal to the past...
Historical Sites & Museums
1-15
1. Bourne Historical Society
30 Keene St., Bourne, MA 02532
2. Bourne Society for Historic Preservation
22 Sandwich Rd., Olde Bourne Village
3. Sandwich Historical Commission
142 Main St., Sandwich, MA 02563
4. Sandwich Glass Museum
129 Main St., Sandwich, MA 02563
5. Heritage Museums and Gardens
67 Grove St., Sandwich, MA 02563
6. Thornton Burgess Society
6 Discovery Hill Rd., E. Sandwich, MA 02563
7. Benjamin Nye Homestead and Museum
85 Old County Rd., Sandwich, MA 02563
8. Falmouth Museums on the Green
55 and 65 Palmer Ave., Falmouth, MA 02540
9. Woods Hole Historical Museum
579 Woods Hole Rd., Woods Hole, MA 02543
10. Highfield Hall and Gardens
56 Highfield Dr., Falmouth, MA 02540
11. Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
483 Great Neck Rd., South Mashpee, MA 02649
12. Cahoon Museum of American Art
9 North St., Mashpee Commons, Mashpee, MA 02649
13. Barnstable Historical Society
3087 Main St., Barnstable, MA 02630
14. Tales of Cape Cod
Route 6A & Rendezvous Ln., Barnstable, MA 02630
15. John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum
397 Main St., Hyannis, MA 02601
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Fascinating Cape & Islands history photos. These photos are some examples of the kind of photography you can see when you visit the websites below. Enjoy!
Courtesy of Historical Society of Santuit and Cotuit
Courtesy of Historical Society of Santuit and Cotuit
Courtesy of Historical Society of Santuit and Cotuit • Skiff
Courtesy of Tales of Cape Cod • Court House
Courtesy of Tales of Cape Cod • Crocker & Davis Homes & St. Mary's
Courtesy of Tales of Cape Cod • Henry Crocker's Houses
The Kennedy’s family tree on display at the JFK Hyannis Museum. Courtesy of the JFK Hyannis Museum
A statue of President John F. Kennedy welcomes visitors to the JFK Hyannis Museum on Main Street. Courtesy of the JFK Hyannis Museum
A night view of the JFK Hyannis Museum in Hyannis. Courtesy of the JFK Hyannis Museum
Charles Owen Dexter, who lived on the property of Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich from 1921 to 1943, was responsible for hybridizing all of the rhododendrons that Heritage is known for today. Courtesy of Heritage Museums & Gardens Archives
The Wing House in Sandwich (on the property of today’s Heritage Museums & Gardens). Courtesy of Heritage Museums & Gardens Archives
The Bourne Bridge. Courtesy of the Bourne Historical Society
A flyer for The Pageant of Cape Cod. Courtesy of the Bourne Historical Society
The Gray Gables Train Station in Bourne. In the late 1890s President William Howard Taft made his summer home on Cape Cod, and a special train stop was built in Gray Gables. Courtesy of the Bourne Historical Society
Courtesy of the Bourne Historical Society
Main Street in Centerville, circa 1850s. The photograph is looking south along Main Street, and shows the planting of trees along the street. Courtesy of the Centerville Historical Museum
Main Street in Centerville. The photo looks north on Main Street and is taken circa 1900. Note the canopy of trees covering the street—a stark contrast to the previous images. Courtesy of the Centerville Historical Museum
Monument Square in Centerville. The site has been home to war monuments and memorials dating back to the village’s Civil War Monument which was erected in 1866. The square is also the site of the first Centerville Post Office. Courtesy of the Centerville Historical Museum
Courtesy of Woods Hole Historical Museum • Quissett Harbor with the Quissett Harbor House - a popular hotel from the 1870s to early 1970s.
Courtesy of Woods Hole Historical Museum • Captain Thomas Davis
Courtesy of Woods Hole Historical Museum • Nobska Light House
Courtesy of the French Cable Station
The French Cable Station in the early 1900s. Photo by Henry K. Cummings
A photograph taken from the end of the boat pier at Town Cove in Orleans. The land surrounding the Cable Station was a pasture at that time. The photo was most likely taken in the fall as the boats were being laid up for the winter. Photo by Henry K. Cummings
Harwich’s well-known duck decoy carver Elmer Crowell. Check out Cape Cod LIFE’s recent article on Crowell at capecodlife.com/elmercrowell. Courtesy of the Harwich Historical Society
The Brooks Academy Museum in Harwich. The museum features the collection of the Harwich Historical Society including Cape Cod’s most extensive cranberry culture display. Photo by Stephanie Foster
A. Elmer Crowell’s barn in Harwich. The barn was recently reconstructed on the grounds of Harwich’s historical museum. Courtesy of the Harwich Historical Society
A large group of workers is busy in a Harwich field during the annual cranberry harvest, circa 1890. Courtesy of the Harwich Historical Society