|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
History
Brewster was first settled in
1656 as a northeastern parish of the
town of
Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The town
separated from Yarmouth as the northern,
more wealthy parish of
Harwich in 1693, and was officially
incorporated as its own town in
1803. Brewster was named in honor of
Elder William Brewster, the first
religious leader of the Pilgrims at
Plymouth Colony. The town's history grew
around Stony Brook, where the first
water-powered grist and woolen mill in
the country was founded in the late
1600s. There were also many other rich
sea captains in the town, who built many
of the mansions and stately homes which
now constitute the town's inns and
bed-and-breakfasts
|
Geography and Transportation
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the
town has a total area of 65.9
km˛ (25.5
mi˛). 59.5 km˛ (23.0 mi˛) of it is
land and 6.4 km˛ (2.5 mi˛) of it (9.70%)
is water.
Brewster is bordered on the north by
Cape Cod Bay, on the west by
Dennis, on the south by
Harwich, and on the east by
Orleans. The town is usually
separated into two villages, West and
East Brewster. Brewster is thirty-one
miles south of
Provincetown, seventeen miles east
of
Barnstable, thirty-one miles east of
the
Sagamore Bridge, and eighty-five
miles southeast of
Boston, Massachusets.
The town is bordered by extensive
mudflats to the north, along the
shores of Cape Cod Bay. The town is also
home to the William Nickerson State
Forest, the largest state forest on Cape
Cod. The town has several large ponds,
especially along the Harwich town line.
There are several brooks throughout the
town, all of which lead to Cape Cod Bay.
The bay is also home to several boat
landings and beaches in the town.
U.S. Route 6 and
Route 6A pass through the town from
east to west, and Routes
124 and
137 both have a northern terminus
along Route 6A in town. Short portions
of Routes
28 and
39 also pass through the
southeastern corner of town (the portion
of 28 is less than 100 yards long).
Route 6A is a limited-access, two-lane,
semi-divided highway through the town;
the other five highways are all surface
roads.
There is no rail or air service in
the town. The
Cape Cod Rail Trail, as well as
several other bicycle trails, pass
through the town. The nearest private
airfield is in Chatham, the nearest
regional airport is
Barnstable Municipal Airport, and
the nearest national and international
air service is at
Logan International Airport in
Boston.
|
Demographics
As of the
census2
of 2000, there were 10,094 people, 4,124
households, and 2,853 families residing
in the town. The
population density was 169.6/km˛
(439.2/mi˛). There were 7,339 housing
units at an average density of 123.3/km˛
(319.3/mi˛). The racial makeup of the
town was 97.24%
White, 0.76%
Black or
African American, 0.23%
Native American, 0.76%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.35% from
other races, and 0.63% from two or
more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.06% of the
population.
There were 4,124 households out of
which 25.7% had children under the age
of 18 living with them, 57.9% were
married couples living together,
8.9% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 30.8% were
non-families. 24.8% of all households
were made up of individuals and 12.6%
had someone living alone who was 65
years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.34 and the average
family size was 2.79.
In the town the population was
spread out with 20.9% under the age of
18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to
44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 26.2% who
were 65 years of age or older. The
median age was 47 years. For every 100
females there were 86.6 males. For every
100 females age 18 and over, there were
82.2 males.
The median income for a household in
the town was $49,276, and the median
income for a family was $57,174. Males
had a median income of $41,407 versus
$33,388 for females. The
per capita income for the town was
$24,638. About 1.6% of families and 3.7%
of the population were below the
poverty line, including 1.4% of
those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age
65 or over.
|
Government, Services and Education
The Old Brewster Town
Hall
Brewster is represented in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
as a part of the First Barnstable
District, along with Dennis and a
portion of Yarmouth. The town is
represented in the
Massachusetts Senate as a part of
the Cape and Islands District, which
includes all of Cape Cod, Martha's
Vineyard and Nantucket except the towns
of Bourne, Falmouth, Sandwich and a
portion of Barnstable.[2]
The town is patrolled by the Second
(Yarmouth) Barracks of Troop D of the
Massachusetts State Police.[3].
On the national level, Brewster 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.
Brewster is governed by the
open town meeting form of
government, led by an executive
secretary and a
board of selectmen. The town has its
own police and fire departments,
headquartered together at the
intersection of Routes 6A and 137. There
is a single post office near the
geographic center of town, as well as
the Brewster Ladies' Library, a
50,000-volume library which is a part of
the Cape Libraries Automated Materials
Sharing (CLAMS) network. The Long Pond
Medical Center, located just over the
Harwich line at the intersection of
Routes 6 and 137, serves the medical
needs of the town, as well as the
southeastern corner of the Cape.
Brewster is a member of the Nauset
Regional School District, along with the
towns of Eastham, Orleans and Wellfleet.
The town operates the Stony Brook
Elementary School, which serves students
from kindergarten through second grade,
and the Eddy Elementary School, which
serves students in third through fifth
grades. Middle School students attend
Nauset Middle School in Orleans, and
high school students attend Nauset
Regional High School in North Eastham.
Additionally, the town's high school
students may attend Upper Cape Regional
Technical School in neighboring Harwich
free of charge. There are also two
private schools, The Family School and
The Laurel School, both of which serve
elementary students.
See also:
Brewster (CDP), Massachusetts
|
Places of Interest
-
Brewster Historical Society
Museum
-
New England Fire and History
Museum
-
The Cape Cod Museum of Natural
History
|
|
|
|
|
From Wikipedia, the
free encyclopedia
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
| |
 |
|
|
|
 |
| |
|
 |
| |
|
 |
| |
|
 |
|
|
|
Click for large map of the Islands
|
|
