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The villages of Chatham include North
Chatham-02650, South Chatham-02659 and
West Chatham-02669. |
Chatham is a
town in
Barnstable County,
Massachusetts, Barnstable County
being coextensive with
Cape Cod. The population was 6,625
at the 2000 census. Chatham is home to
the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge,
located on
Monomoy, and to Monomoy Theatre.
For
geographic and demographic information
on specific parts of the town of
Chatham, please see the articles on
Chatham (CDP) and
West Chatham.
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History
Native American tribes that lived in the
area prior to European colonization
include the
Nauset, specifically the Manomoy or
Monomoy people. "Manamoyik" was a Nauset
village located near present-day
Chatham. Explorer
Samuel de Champlain landed here in
1606, contacting (and skirmishing
with) the Nauset. English settlers first
settled in Chatham in
1665, and the town was incorporated
in
1712, naming it after
Chatham, Kent,
England. Located at the "elbow" of
Cape Cod, the community became a
shipping,
fishing and
whaling center. Chatham's early
prosperity would leave it with a
considerable number of
18th century buildings, whose charm
helped it develop into a popular summer
resort.
Chatham is also the home to the
Chatham Lighthouse, which was
founded by President
Thomas Jefferson in 1808 to protect
the ships circling the Cape. Originally
consisting of two lights, the pair were
moved back and rebuilt in 1877, but the
second was moved to Eastham to become
the
Nauset Light in 1923, after both
were upgraded to rotating lights. Today,
the keeper's house is home to a
Coast Guard station which tends the
light.
Although sprawl has started to invade
the country and even
Cape Cod, the town of Chatham still
boasts a quaint and walkable
Main Street. Main Street is home to
numerous family owned and operated
shops, restaurants and businesses. The
main shopping area features
pedestrian-friendly crosswalks,
on-street parallel parking and some
parking lots that are off Main Street.
During the summer, concerts are held in
a
gazebo on Main Street, and not far
from the shops is where the Chatham A's
baseball team plays.
Notable Inhabitants:
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Louis D. Brandeis, Supreme Court
justice
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Bernard Cornwell, author
-
Franklin Cover, actor
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Todd Eldredge, champion figure
skater
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Julie Harris, actress
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Jack Hynes, newscaster
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Joseph Crosby Lincoln, author of
Cape Cod Stories
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Joseph Lord, Puritan pastor
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Christopher Seufert, filmmaker
-
Bob Staake, cartoonist &
illustrator
-
Allen St. Pierre, Executive
Director of
NORML
Historical Sites & Museums:
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Geography and Transportation
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the
town has a total area of 63.2
km˛ (24.4
mi˛). 42.0 km˛ (16.2 mi˛) of it is
land and 21.2 km˛ (8.2 mi˛) of it
(33.55%) is water. The town's villages
include Chatham Port, North Chatham,
Quitnessest, South Chatham and West
Chatham. Chatham is bordered by
Harwich to the east, Pleasant Bay
and the town of
Orleans to the north, the
Atlantic Ocean to the east, and
Nantucket Sound to the south. The
town is thirty-five miles south of
Provincetown and east of the
Sagamore Bridge, twenty miles east
of
Barnstable, and eighty-five miles
southeast of
Boston.
The mainland portion of the town is
typical of Cape Cod, with several ponds,
brooks, rivers, harbors and inlets
around the town. The town also includes
two narrow strips of land, the northern
of which is the southern part of the
Cape Cod National Seashore, which
serve as a barrier between the Atlantic
and the mainland. There are several
islands, including Strong Island, Tern
Island (which is a sanctuary), Morris
Island and
Monomoy Island, a 7-1/4 mile long
island south of the corner of the town
which is home to the Monomoy National
Wildlife Refuge.
All five roads which exit the town of
Chatham cross into Harwich. The two
state routes which pass through the town
are
Route 28 and the southern end of
Route 137. Route 28 circles through
the center of town before exiting and
heading towards
Route 6A, joining that route until
the roads end at the Orleans Rotary.
Rail no longer extends to the town; the
route is now a portion of one of the
several bicycle paths that pass through
the town. The town is also the home to
the Chatham Municipal Airport, which
provides local service to other small
airports on the Cape and Islands. The
nearest national and international air
service can be reached at
Logan International Airport in
Boston.
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Demographics
.
As
of the
census2
of 2000, there were 6,625 people, 3,160
households, and 1,886 families residing
in the town. The
population density was 157.7/km˛
(408.4/mi˛). There were 6,743 housing
units at an average density of 160.5/km˛
(415.7/mi˛). The racial makeup of the
town was 96.03%
White, 1.77%
Black or
African American, 0.18%
Native American, 0.27%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 0.92% from
other races, and 0.82% from two or
more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.00% of the
population.
During the summer months (generally
Memorial Day through Labor Day), the
population of the town triples to
approximately 20,000, not counting the
additional transient tourist population
hosted by the town's many hotels, inns,
motels, and bed & breakfasts. While the
tourist industry is very strong in
Chatham, fishing still represents the
town's main industry.
There were 3,160 households out of which
15.3% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 51.2% were
married couples living together,
6.0% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 40.3% were
non-families. 34.7% of all households
were made up of individuals and 18.8%
had someone living alone who was 65
years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.00 and the average
family size was 2.52.
In
the town the population was spread out
with 13.3% under the age of 18, 4.4%
from 18 to 24, 19.8% from 25 to 44,
28.2% from 45 to 64, and 34.3% who were
65 years of age or older. The median age
was 54 years. For every 100 females
there were 89.3 males. For every 100
females age 18 and over, there were 85.4
males.
The
local K-12 school system is comprised of
approximately 700 students, making for
average high school grade sizes between
30-40 students.
The
median income for a household in the
town was $45,519, and the median income
for a family was $56,750. Males had a
median income of $41,064 versus $30,365
for females. The
per capita income for the town was
$28,594. About 1.9% of families and 4.8%
of the population were below the
poverty line, including 5.1% of
those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age
65 or over.
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Government, Services and Education
Chatham is represented in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
as a part of the Fourth Barnstable
district, which includes (with the
exception of Brewster) all the towns
east and north of Harwich on the Cape.
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.[1]
The town is patrolled by the Second
(Yarmouth) Barracks of Troop D of the
Massachusetts State Police.[2].
On
the national level, Chatham 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.
Chatham is governed by the
open town meeting form of
government, led by an executive
secretary and a
board of selectmen. The town
operates its own
police department, which is
headquartered (along with the fire
department) near the center of town.
There is also a branch firehouse in
South Chatham. The town has four post
offices, all located at various points
along Route 28. The town is home to the
Eldredge Public Library, named for its
benefactor and designed by a student of
H. H. Richardson. The town operates
several piers, beaches, boat landings
and recreation areas throughout town.
The nearest hospital can be found at the
Long Pond Medical Center in neighboring
Harwich.
Chatham operates its own school system
for the town's 700 students. The Chatham
Elementary School serves students from
pre-kindergarten through fourth grade,
the Chatham Middle School serves
students from fifth through eighth
grade, and Chatham High School serves
grades nine through twelve. Chatham's
athletics teams are known as the Blue
Devils, and wear blue and white.
Additionally, high school students may
attend Cape Cod Regional Technical
School in Harwich free of charge. The
town is also the site of the May
Institute, a special education school.
Other private schools are located in
nearby Brewster and Harwich.
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References
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External links
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Click for large map of the Islands
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