Cape Cod Falmouth Massachusetts

Town of Falmouth
02540

Falmouth is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 32,660 at the 2000 census. Today Falmouth is well known as the terminal for the Steamship Authority ferries to Martha's Vineyard and as the home of several scientific organizations such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI, The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and the Woods Hole Research Center, WHRC.

The Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League play at Arnie Allen Diamond at Guv Fuller Field from mid-June to early August.

Falmouth is the home of its namesake Falmouth Road Race, an annual race started in 1973 that draws over 10,000 runners from all over the world.

For geographic and demographic information on specific parts of the town of Falmouth, please see the articles on East Falmouth, Falmouth Village, North Falmouth, Teaticket, West Falmouth, and Woods Hole. There are also the villages of Hatchville and Waquoit, which are not census-designated places.

History

Falmouth was first settled in 1660 and was officially incorporated in 1686, and named by Bartholomew Gosnold for Falmouth, Cornwall, England, his home port. Early principal activities were farming, salt works, whaling and shipping, and sheep. Sheep husbandry was very popular due to the introduction of Merino sheep and the beginnings of water-powered mills that could process the wool. In 1837, Falmouth averaged about 50 sheep per sq. mile.

Falmouth saw brief action in the War of 1812 when it was bombarded by several British frigates and ships of the line, and Massachusetts militia hastily entrenched themselves on the beaches to repulse a possible British landing which never came. By the 1872 the train had come to Falmouth and Woods Hole and some of the first summer homes were established. By the late 1800s cranberries were being cultivated and strawberries were being raised for the Boston market. Large scale dairying was tried in the early 1900s in interior regions. After the improvement in highways, and thanks in part to the heavy use of neighboring Camp Edwards during WWII, population growth increased significantly. There were large home building booms in the 1970s followed by others in the 1980s and 1990s.

It is the birthplace in 1859 of Katharine Lee Bates, lyricist of America the Beautiful.

Geography And Transportation

Juniper Point, the eastern point of Wood's Hole in Falmouth.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 141.0 km² (54.4 mi²). 114.6 km² (44.2 mi²) of it is land and 26.4 km² (10.2 mi²) of it (18.70%) is water. Falmouth, like all Cape Cod, sits on glacial sands composed of glacial outwash and morainal deposits. The climate is temperate marine. There is no exposed bedrock. Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year and averages 2 to 3 inches per month.

Falmouth lies on the southwestern tip of Cape Cod. It is bordered by Bourne and Sandwich to the north, Mashpee to the east, Vineyard Sound to the south, and Buzzards Bay to the west. At its closest point, Falmouth is approximately 560 yards from Nonamesset Island, the easternmost island of the town of Gosnold and the Elizabeth Islands. It is also approximately 3-1/3 miles north-northwest of Martha's Vineyard, the closest land to the island. Falmouth is approximately fourteen miles south of the Bourne Bridge, twenty miles east of Barnstable, and seventy miles south-southeast of Boston.

Falmouth's topography is similar to the rest of Cape Cod's, with many small ponds, creeks and inlets surrounded by the pines and oaks of the Cape and the often-times rocky beachfront. Falmouth's southern shore is notable for a series of ponds and rivers spaced very closely together, all of which travel some distance into the town. These include, from west to east, Falmouth Inner Harbor, Little Pond, Great Pond (which leads to the Dexter and Coonamesset Rivers), Green Pond, Bourne's Pond, Ell Pond (which leads to Child's River), and Waquit Bay, which lies along the Mashpee town line. The Buzzards Bay side of the town is similar, with the largest inlet being Megansett Cove along the Bourne town line.

Falmouth's main route is Route 28, which arcs through the town from the northwest corner to the southeast. From the Bourne town line until just south of its junction with Route 28A (which acts as a bypass), Route 28 is a divided, limited-access highway. For the rest of its distance, it is a surface road, snaking its way through the town. As it is one of the two major east-west routes on the Cape, Route 28 is extremely busy. However, due to its passage through congested and built-up parts of town, it would be impossible to expand the route.

Falmouth is also home to the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority. Daily ferry service brings tourists, residents and businesses alike from the mainland to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. It is the main ferry line between the Vineyard and the mainland (as Nantucket is further west, its main line leaves Hyannis). There is no rail service to the town. The nearest regional and private airfield is the Barnstable Municipal Airport, and the nearest national and international air service can be reached at Logan International Airport in Boston.

Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 32,660 people, 13,859 households, and 8,980 families residing in the town. The population density was 285.0/km² (738.2/mi²). There were 20,055 housing units at an average density of 175.0/km² (453.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.39% White, 1.82% Black or African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.92% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.44% from other races, and 1.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.28% of the population.

There were 13,859 households out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the town the population was spread out with 20.7% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $48,191, and the median income for a family was $57,422. Males had a median income of $41,797 versus $28,867 for females. The per capita income for the town was $27,548. About 4.5% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Politics and Government

Falmouth is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of two districts, the Third Barnstable (which also includes portions of Barnstable, Bourne and Mashpee), and the Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket District, which includes all of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a part of the Plymouth and Barnstable district, which includes Bourne, Kingston, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Sandwich and portions of Barnstable.[1] The town is patrolled by the Seventh (Bourne) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police.[2].

On the national level, Falmouth 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.

Falmouth is governed by the representative town meeting form of government, led by a board of selectmen. The town operates its own police and fire departments, with a central police station and five fire stations. The town's central library, currently (3/2007) closed and under repair, is located downtown, and there are also four branches located throughout town. There are seven post offices in town for the seven ZIP codes, although several overlap and the main office handles the majority of the work. Falmouth is also the site of Falmouth Hospital, which serves the Upper Cape region.

Schools

Falmouth's public school system serves about 4,500 students yearly. There are four schools (East Falmouth, Mullen-Hall, North Falmouth and Teaticket) which serve the elementary school population, from pre-kindergarten to fourth grade. Rather than one large middle or junior high school, Falmouth uses Morse Pond School for grades 5 and 6 and the Lawrence Middle School for grades 7 and 8. Falmouth High School covers grades 9-12. FHS's athletics teams are nicknamed the Clippers for the town's seafaring heritage, and their colors are maroon, white and gold. They compete in the Atlantic Coast League, having moved recently from the Old Colony League. Their chief rival is nearby Barnstable High School. The public schools are supported in part by the Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS), various PTO associations, the Falmouth Scholarship Association, the newly created Falmouth Education Foundation(FEF), and the Woods Hole Science Technology Partnership.

Falmouth is also the home of two private schools: Falmouth Academy, a private school which serves grades 7 through 12; and Heritage Christian Academy, a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school which is affiliated with the Assemblies of God. Falmouth high school students may also choose to attend the Upper Cape Regional Technical School in Bourne free of charge.