Introduction
The Upper Cape region of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, consists of the four westernmost towns in the county: Mashpee, Falmouth, Sandwich, and Bourne. The Towns of Mashpee and Falmouth have shores on the Nantucket Sound, with Falmouth also containing a southwestern shore on the Vineyard Sound and a western shore on Buzzards Bay. Of the four towns, only Sandwich contains a shoreline on the Cape Cod Bay, though the Town of Bourne contains a shoreline further into Buzzards Bay on the opposite side.
Town of Mashpee
The Town of Mashpee is located immediately to the west of the Town of Barnstable in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States of America. While the nearby Town of Barnstable is notable for the Cahoon Museum of American Art, the Town of Mashpee is notable for serving the children with the Cape Cod Children’s Museum in the southern part of the town area near the village of Popponesset. Along the northern edge of the town is the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Museum, with the overall community remaining home to numerous smaller resorts, communities, and private residences scattered throughout the town villages.
Town of Sandwich
The Town of Sandwich is located along the Cape Cod Bay at the eastern end of the Cape Cod Canal. Though the outlying village of Forestdale is located at the southern end of the town, Sandwich is most notably home to the Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center, the Heritage Museums & Gardens, the Hoxie House, the Sandwich Glass Museum (closed each January), the Green Briar Nature Center and Jam Kitchen, the Wing Memorial History Center, and the Nye Museum.
Town of Bourne
Home to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in the village of Buzzards Bay at the western end of the Cape Cod Canal, the Town of Bourne is located at the northern end of Buzzards Bay to the west. Though located along Buzzards Bay, the town, along with Falmouth and the Elizabeth Islands, is not identified as included within the SouthCoast definition of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (which extends into Rhode Island). To the south of the Cape Cod Canal, the principal attractions of the town area include (from west to east) the Museums at Aptucxet, the Bourne Society Historic House, and the Bourne Hedge Sign, the latter of which is located inside a rotary area involving Route 28.
Town of Falmouth
Within the Town of Falmouth are the eponymous village of Falmouth and numerous related communities of the area, most notably the village area at Woods Hole at the southwestern end of Cape Cod near the Elizabeth Islands between Buzzards Bay and the Vineyard Sound. Today, the North Falmouth area is identified as the North Falmouth Village Historic District, with the Bourne Farm further south in the area approaching West Falmouth. Within the East Falmouth area is the Cape Cod Cape Verde 🇨🇻 Museum and Cultural Center.
To the west into Buzzards Bay are the Bird Island and Cleveland Ledge Lighthouses, potentially visible from the western edge of the town area along Buzzards Bay. The village of Woods Hole is home to the Nobska Lighthouse, the Woods Hole Science Aquarium, the Woods Hole Inn, the seasonal Woods Hole Historical Museum, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Ocean Science Discovery Center and Store.
At the edges of the central village area of Falmouth are the Falmouth Pumping Station and the Highfield Hall and Gardens. Within the central village area, however, are the Falmouth Historical Society, the Main Street Gallery, the Gallery on Main, and the Falmouth Art Center.
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