Hype for the Future 66E: Upper Cape

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.

Hype for the Future 65C: Martha’s Vineyard, the Island of Dukes County

Introduction

While the Elizabeth Islands that separate the Buzzards Bay from the Vineyard Sound are located off the coast of the Woods Hole area and contain the Town of Gosnold, the vast majority of the approximately seventy (70) permanent residents are exclusively within the area of the village of Cuttyhunk on Cuttyhunk Island specifically, as the remaining islands are largely identified as privately owned by the Boston Brahmin Forbes family.

The vast majority of Dukes County, Massachusetts, is largely identified by the location on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard, opposite the Vineyard Sound from the Elizabeth Islands, which are in turn opposite the Buzzards Bay from the larger area of the South Coast of Massachusetts, containing Bristol County and such communities as New Bedford and Fall River.

Towns

The seven towns associated with Dukes County are the Towns of Gosnold (on the Elizabeth Islands), Aquinnah, Chilmark, West Tisbury, Tisbury, Oak Bluffs, and Edgartown, from west to east. The Towns of Tisbury, Oak Bluffs, and Edgartown provide ferry services to elsewhere in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including both the Nantucket area and the mainland of the Commonwealth.

Ferries

From the Tisbury village area of Vineyard Haven, ferry services are accessible to Woods Hole (Falmouth) and to New Bedford. The Martha’s Vineyard Fast Ferry provides access from the Oak Bluffs Harbormaster to North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, while the primary ferry dock associated with the town provides services to New Bedford, Woods Hole, Falmouth, Hyannis, and Nantucket. Edgartown provides access to the Falmouth community also, albeit on a separate axis due to beginning further east on the island.

Aquinnah and Chilmark

Located on the western end of Martha’s Vineyard, the Town of Aquinnah is home to the Gay Head Light, the Aquinnah Cliffs Overlook, the Red Gate Farm, and Toad Rock. To the east is the Town of Chilmark, home to the Mememsha Public Beach, the Great Sand Bank Overlook, the Brick Yard, the Former Home of James Cagney, and the Magical Sculpture Trail and Pottery Shop at Island Folk Pottery.

(West) Tisbury

Most of the larger village areas within Martha’s Vineyard are located along the northern shore of the island and relatively east within. Tisbury, Oak Bluffs, and Edgartown are the primary towns containing relatively larger villages within the county. Within the Town of West Tisbury, the primary attractions are the Heath Hen Monument and the Granary, Davis House, and Field Galleries.

Outlying Areas in the East

While the Town of Edgartown serves as the county seat of Dukes County, Massachusetts, the southern portion of the town is actually relatively empty in comparison. At the southern end of the island is the area of the Katama South Beach, with the area just to the north home to the four-star Winnetu Oceanside Resort. While located closer to a central village area, the southern part of the Town of Oak Bluffs is home to the Joseph Sylvia State Beach and the Featherstone Center for the Arts.

Town of Edgartown

Edgartown is the easternmost town and county seat of Dukes County, Massachusetts. Home to the Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse, the community is also highly notable for the Carnegie Heritage Center of the Vineyard Preservation Trust, as well as the Giant Pagoda Tree, the Edgartown Visitor Center, and the Vincent House Museum within the Edgartown Historic District. The following galleries are located within the Town of Edgartown:

• Old Sculpin Gallery
• Eisenhauer Gallery
• The Christina Gallery Incorporated
• North Water Gallery
• The Edgartown Art Gallery Incorporated (located within the Charlotte Inn)

Town of Tisbury

The Town of Tisbury is the location of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum in Dukes County, Massachusetts. The Vineyard Arts and Louisa Gould Galleries are located at the center of the central village area, with the historic Nathan Mayhew Schoolhouse located further to the north.

Town of Oak Bluffs

Though the Town of Edgartown is the county seat of Dukes County, the Town of Oak Bluffs may be identified as a larger community within the county, home to the Moore Family Gallery, the Harthaven Gallery, and the Eastville Point Beach in the outlying area of the village as well as the East Chop Lighthouse at the northernmost point of the inner village.

More centrally located within the village of Oak Bluffs, the Oak Bluffs Harbormaster is the aforementioned marina providing access to the Fast Ferry to North Kingstown in southern Rhode Island. In the southwestern area of the village are the MVCVA ART, Knowhere Art, Alison Shaw, and Crossroads Galleries, the latter of which contains Michael Blanchard Inspirational Photography. Craftworks may also be located within the Vineyard Haven area, though the facility may be seasonal or no longer effective.

Within the Oak Bluffs portion of the Oak Bluffs area are the Corbin Norton Gallery, the Healy Square, Craftworks, the Cousen Rose Gallery, the Center of Knowhere, the site of the Mariposa Museum with And Still We Rise (Oak Bluffs), the Gingerbread Houses, the Flower of the Winds, and the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association with the Cottage Museum.

On the Horizon 25D: The Town of Acushnet, Massachusetts

The Town of Acushnet is located on Martha’s Vineyard on Dukes County, Massachusetts. At the western extreme of the county, Acushnet is largely determined by maritime life and just a few lighthouses and mostly private property located within.

On the Horizon 25C: The Town of Gosnold, Massachusetts

The Town of Gosnold, Massachusetts, is located on the Elizabeth Islands, all of which are claimed by Dukes County, and all but two of which are also claimed by the Boston Brahmins by way of the Forbes family. Cuttyhunk Island is home to the vast majority of the approximately seventy people of the Town of Gosnold, the smallest of the towns of Massachusetts.