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Barnstable |
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The Town of Barnstable is
comprised of 7 villages; Hyannis-02601,
Centerville-02632, Osterville-02655,
Marstons Mills-02648, Cotuit-02635,
Barnstable Village-02630 and West Barnstable-02668.
There are also smaller areas within each village;
Craigville-02636, Cummaquid-02637,
HyannisPort-02647, and West Hyannisport-02672 |
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The Town of
Barnstable is located on
Cape Cod in
Massachusetts; it is the
county seat of
Barnstable CountyGR6.
The population was 47,821 at the 2000 census. The
town contains several villages (one of which is also
named Barnstable) within its boundaries. The village of
Hyannis is home to Cape Cod's commercial air hub,
Barnstable Municipal Airport |
History
The JFK Monument, Hyannis
Port.
Barnstable is the largest town, both in
land area and population, on Cape Cod.
It is named for
Barnstaple,
Devon,
England. The town was first explored
by
Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602. It was
one of the first towns to be settled, in
1636, and was incorporated in 1639, as
were the other Cape towns of Sandwich
and Yarmouth. The early settlers were
farmers, but soon fishing and salt works
became major industries in town. By the
end of the nineteenth century, there
were some 800 ships harbored in the
town. But this came to a decline with
the rise of the railroad, which had
arrived in 1854, and by steam ships.
By the late nineteenth century, however,
Barnstable was becoming world-renowned
as the tourist destination it is to this
day. Many prominent Bostonians spent
their summers on the Cape shores, as did
Presidents
Ulysses S. Grant and
Grover Cleveland. However, the most
famous family to summer in the town was,
and still is, the
Kennedy family, who can still be
found living in their compound in
Hyannis Port. It was the summer home of
President
John F. Kennedy during his
administration, and, in fact, Senator
Ted Kennedy's home address is still
listed as being in the town.
Today, tourists come in droves to the
town during the summer months. There is
abundant shopping in the quaint shops of
Hyannis, as well as the John F. Kennedy
Museum and several other museums. The
town's many beaches are popular as well.
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Geography and Transportation
Barnstable Harbor, as seen
from Millway Beach.
Barnstable is located at
41°39′33″N, 70°21′11″W
(41.659158, -70.353059)GR1,
about halfway along the "bicep" of the
Cape Cod "arm." According to the
United States Census Bureau, the
town has a total area of 197.5
km˛ (76.2
mi˛). 155.5 km˛ (60.0 mi˛) of it is
land and 42.0 km˛ (16.2 mi˛) of it
(21.26%) is water. It is bordered by
Cape Cod Bay on the north,
Nantucket Sound on the south,
Sandwich and
Mashpee on the west and
Yarmouth on the east. Barnstable is
approximately seventy miles southeast of
Boston.
The Town of Barnstable contains
seven villages:
Barnstable is a town of many facets. To
the north lie the dunes of Sandy Neck
along Barnstable Harbor, tipped by the
Sandy Neck Lighthouse. The central part
of the town is dominated by the pines
and oaks around Wequaquet Lake. The
south is where the bulk of the
population lives, many along the beaches
of Centerville and Hyannis Harbors.
Both
U.S. Route 6 and
Route 28 pass through the town from
west to east, with Route 6 being a
four-lane freeway through the town.
Routes
6A,
132,
149 and a brief, 1/10 mile portion
of
130 are also located in town. Route
6A follows an east-west route to the
north of Route 6, on its route between
Sagamore and the Orleans Rotary. Routes
132 and 149 are both entirely located
within town, and both begin at 6A and
end at Rte. 28.
The town is located along the Old Colony
Railroad line, which originally passed
through the entire southern Cape. Today,
the rail is seldom used, except along
the Cape Cod Railroad tourist line which
begins at the end of a spur which
follows the Yarmouth town line. The town
is the site of two airports. Cape Cod
Airport is a smaller airfield, used
primarily for private travel, and
Barnstable Municipal Airport at
Polando Field is used for regional
flights, especially between the Cape and
Islands. The nearest national and
international air service can be reached
at
Logan International Airport in
Boston. Hyannis Port is also the site of
the main ferry line to
Nantucket, as well as a seasonal
line to
Martha's Vineyard.
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Demographics
As of the
censusGR2
of 2000, there were 47,821 people,
19,626 households, and 13,012 families
residing in the city. The
population density was 307.5/km˛
(796.5/mi˛). There were 25,018 housing
units at an average density of 160.9/km˛
(416.7/mi˛). The racial makeup of the
city was 91.85%
White, 2.74%
Black or
African American, 0.59%
Native American, 0.81%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 1.67% from
other races, and 2.30% from two or
more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.70% of the
population.
There were 19,626 households out of
which 26.9% had children under the age
of 18 living with them, 52.4% were
married couples living together,
10.7% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 33.7% were
non-families. 27.7% of all households
were made up of individuals and 12.5%
had someone living alone who was 65
years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.38 and the average
family size was 2.88.
In the city the population was spread
out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 5.6%
from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44,
25.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were
65 years of age or older. The median age
was 42 years. For every 100 females
there were 91.6 males. For every 100
females age 18 and over, there were 87.9
males.
The median income for a household in the
city was $46,811, and the median income
for a family was $54,026. Males had a
median income of $41,494 versus $30,442
for females. The
per capita income for the city was
$25,554. About 6.3% of families and 8.8%
of the population were below the
poverty line, including 11.7% of
those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age
65 or over.
Recent population trends
Sources:
Massachusetts Institute for Social and
Economic Research and
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Div
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Geography,
Services and Education
Barnstable County Court
House, in Barnstable.
Barnstable is represented in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
as a part of the Second, Third and Fifth
Barnstable Districts. The town is
represented in the
Massachusetts Senate as a part of
the Plymouth and Barnstable and Cape and
Islands Districts, the former including
Bourne, Falmouth, Kingston, Pembroke,
Plymouth, Plympton and Sandwich and the
latter including the rest of Cape Cod,
Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.[2]
The town is patrolled by the Second
(Yarmouth) Barracks of Troop D of the
Massachusetts State Police.[3].
On the national level, Barnstable is a
part of
Massachusetts's 10th congressional
district, and is currently
represented by
Bill Delahunt. The state's senior
(Class I) member of the
United States Senate, re-elected in
2006, is
Ted Kennedy. The junior (Class II)
Senator, up for re-election in 2008, is
John Kerry.
The town is governed by the
council-manager form of government,
led by a
town manager and
town council. The town hall is
located within the village of Hyannis,
and the police station is located along
Route 132, closer to the geographic
center of town. There are eight fire
stations, seven libraries and ten post
offices located throughout the town,
with the largest or central branches
usually being in the downtown Hyannis
area. Hyannis also is the site of the
Cape Cod Hospital, which serves the
central Cape region. Also, as the county
seat of Barnstable County, the town is
the site of the county court house and
house of corrections, as well as the
offices of the Cape and Islands
district attorney.
Barnstable has the largest public school
enrollment of any town on Cape Cod, with
over 4,500 students. The town operates
an Early Learning Center for
pre-kindergarten students and eight
elementary schools serving various
grades, including: Centerville (K-4),
Cotuit (3-4), Hyannis (K-4), Hyannis
West (K-4), Marstons Mills (PK-2),
Osterville (K-2), Osterville Bay (3-4),
and West Barnstable (K-4). (In practice,
Marstons Mills students graduate to
Cotuit, and Osterville to Osterville
Bay). There is also the Marstons Mills
East
Horace Mann
Charter School, which offers grades
K-4. The Marstons Mills Horace Mann
Charter School is open to fifth and
sixth grade students, and all town fifth
grade students attend this school. The
Barnstable Middle School serves grades
six through eight, and is located on
Route 28 behind Barnstable High School,
which serves grades nine through twelve.
Barnstable's athletic teams are
nicknamed the Red Raiders (using a logo
similar to the
University of Utah), and their
colors are red and white. Their teams
are fairly successful, given the large
student body with which to choose from.
Notable town rivals of the Red Raiders
are Sandwich and Falmouth. With the
exception of 2006, which was canceleld
due to inclement weather, Barnstable has
played Falmouth in football on
Thanksgiving for over 100 years, and is
the 2nd longest lasting football
tradition in America.
In addition to its public schools, there
are also several private schools in the
town. There are three Christian schools:
Bayberry Christian Academy (K-3), Faith
Christian School (PK-12), and Trinity
Christian Academy (PK-11). There is a
Catholic school, Saint Francis Xavier
Prep, which serves fifth through eighth
grades. Barnstable is also home to the
Academy of Early Learning (PK-6),
Veritas Academy (K-8), and the Cape Cod
Academy, a private K-12 school. There
are also two special educations schools
(Southeast Alternative & Beacon Point),
as well as the Sturgis Charter Public
School, which serves high school-aged
students. Additionally, high school
students also have the option of
attending Cape Cod Regional Technical
High School in Harwich free of charge.
Barnstable is also the home to
Cape Cod Community College, a
two-year junior college affiliated with
Suffolk University in Boston.
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From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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