History
Bourne was first settled in
1640 as a part of the town of
Sandwich. It was officially
incorporated in
1884 as the last town to be
incorporated in Barnstable County. It
was named for Jonathan Bourne, whose
father, Richard Bourne, served in the
Massachusetts General Court at the time
of settlement, as well as helping to
found the settlement in Mashpee.[1]
The town lies at the northeast corner of
Buzzards Bay, and is the site of
Aptucxet Trading Post, the nation's
oldest store. It was founded by the
Pilgrims in 1627 at a site halfway
between the two rivers which divided the
Cape from the rest of the state. It was
out of this location that the
Cape Cod Canal was formed, in order
to save time and lives by eliminating
the need to sail around the hazardous
eastern shores of Cape Cod. Because of
the canal, Bourne is now considered the
"first" town on the Cape, as all three
bridges (the
Bourne,
Sagamore and the
Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge all
are located within the town. Also, due
to the Canal, the town is divided, the
majority of land lying on the Cape.
Bourne is also the site of the
Massachusetts Maritime Academy, a
marine college located at the southern
mouth of the canal on the western shore.
Otis Air National Guard Base is also
partially located in the town.
