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Eastham also includes North Eastham-02651. |
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History
Originally settled by the
Nauset tribe, Eastham was the site
of a hunting expedition of the
Mayflower on the Cape Cod Bay side
of town, which led to the first
encounter of the
Pilgrims and the local Nauset tribe.
It would not be settled, however, until
1644. The original lands included the
towns of Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham,
Orleans and a small portion of Chatham.
The town was officially incorporated in
1651. Fishing and especially farming
were early industries in the town, and
writers and artists also came to the
town. In fact, it was in Eastham that
Henry Beston wrote
The Outermost House. The town is is
discussed at some length in
Henry David Thoreau's
Cape Cod as the somewhat rugged site
of one of New England's largest summer
"camp-meeting" evangelistic gatherings
in the mid-1800s. The gatherings were at
times attended by at least "one hundred
and fifty ministers, (!) and five
thousand hearers" at a site called
Millennium Grove, in the northwest part
of town. (The area is now a residential
neighborhood, the only reminder being
Millennium Lane.)
Today, Eastham is mostly known as the
"Gate" to the
Cape Cod National Seashore, which
was founded in 1961 by President
John F. Kennedy to protect Cape
Cod's coast from erosion and
overpopulation. The town is the site of
many beaches, both on the Atlantic and
bay sides, as well as the
Nauset Light, which was moved to the
town in 1923 from its old location in
Chatham, and the Three Sisters
Lighthouses, which have since been moved
away from their now-eroded perches on
the coast to a field just west of Nauset
Light
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Geography and Transportation
Nauset Light, Cape Cod
National Seashore
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the
town has a total area of 70.6
km˛ (27.2
mi˛). 36.2 km˛ (14.0 mi˛) of it is
land and 34.3 km˛ (13.3 mi˛) of it
(48.66%) is water. It is bordered by
Cape Cod Bay and the
Atlantic Ocean on its western and
eastern sides, respectively. Eastham is
also bordered by the towns of
Wellfleet and
Orleans on its northern and southern
sides, respectively. Orleans is located
on the "forearm" of Cape Cod, and is
twenty-three miles south of
Provincetown and east-northeast of
Barnstable, thirty-eight miles east
of the
Sagamore Bridge, and ninety-two
miles (by land) southeast of
Boston.
Approximately one-third of the town is
located within the
Cape Cod National Seashore. There
are several ponds near the center of
town, the largest being called Great
Pond. Along the Atlantic coast, portions
of the CCNS include several islands,
divided by channels which lead from
Nauset Bay and Salt Pond Bay to the
ocean. The town also shares Town Cove
with neighboring Orleans. Also, several
creeks and the Herring River run inland
from the bay side.
U.S. Route 6 passes from south to
north through the town. The Nauset Bike
Route, as well as several other bicycle
routes, pass through the town. There is
no rail or air service in town; the
nearest regional air service is at the
Chatham Regional Airport, and the
nearest national and international air
service can be found at
Logan International Airport in
Boston.
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Demographics
The Three Sisters Lights,
North Eastham, 2005.
As of the
census2
of 2000, there were 5,453 people, 2,396
households, and 1,634 families residing
in the town. The
population density was 150.5/km˛
(389.8/mi˛). There were 5,535 housing
units at an average density of 152.8/km˛
(395.6/mi˛). The racial makeup of the
town was 96.31%
White, 1.49%
African American, 0.15%
Native American, 0.31%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 0.29% from
other races, and 1.41% from two or
more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.83% of the
population.
There were 2,396 households out of which
21.9% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 55.0% were
married couples living together,
9.9% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 31.8% were
non-families. 25.5% of all households
were made up of individuals and 12.4%
had someone living alone who was 65
years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.24 and the average
family size was 2.66.
In the town the population was spread
out with 17.7% under the age of 18, 5.0%
from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44,
27.6% from 45 to 64, and 26.0% who were
65 years of age or older. The median age
was 48 years. For every 100 females
there were 93.6 males. For every 100
females age 18 and over, there were 89.0
males.
The median income for a household in the
town was $42,618, and the median income
for a family was $51,269. Males had a
median income of $36,642 versus $32,109
for females. The
per capita income for the town was
$24,642. About 4.5% of families and 7.0%
of the population were below the
poverty line, including 6.5% of
those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age
65 or over.
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Government, Services and Education
Eastham 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.[2]
The town is patrolled by the Second
(Yarmouth) Barracks of Troop D of the
Massachusetts State Police.[3].
On the national level, Eastham 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.
Eastham is governed by the
open town meeting form of
government, and is led by a town
administrator and a
board of selectmen. The town hall,
police and fire department headquarters
are all located along Route 6 across
from Windmill Park. The Eastham Public
Library is located just west of the
park, along Samoset Road (which leads
from Route 6 to First Encounter Beach).
There are separate post offices for
Eastham and the village of North
Eastham, both of which are located along
Route 6 (the former being just across
from the town hall, south of the park).
Eastham, along with Brewster, Orleans
and Wellfleet, make up the Nauset
Regional School District. Each town is
responsible for operating its own
elementary schools, with the middle and
high school students attending regional
schools. Eastham Elementary School
serves students from kindergarten
through fifth grade, and is located near
the CCNS Visitor Center and the
Schoolhouse Museum. Middle school
students attend the Nauset Regional
Middle School in Orleans, and the Nauset
Regional High School is located in North
Eastham, on the edge of the Cape Cod
National Seashore. The school's teams
are known as the Warriors, and their
colors are black and gold. High school
students also have the option of
attending Cape Cod Regional Technical
High School in Harwich free of charge.
There are no private schools in Eastham;
the nearest are in Brewster.
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From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Click for large map of the Islands
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