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The Town of Orleans also includes East
Orleans-02643 and South Orleans-02662 |
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History
Orleans was first settled in
1693 by
Pilgrims from the
Plymouth Colony who were
dissatisfied with the poor soil and
small tracts of land granted to them.
Originally the southern parish of
neighboring Eastham, Orleans was
officially incorporated in
1797. Orleans was named in honor of
Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans,
in recognition of France's support for
the 13 colonies during the
American Revolution, and because the
town did not want an English name, as
they had been captured twice by the
British during the war.
Early history, like much of the Cape,
revolved around fishing, whaling and
agriculture. As the fishing industry
grew, salt works sprang up in the town
to help preserve the catches. However,
the town's growth helped deplete the
town of lumber, a situation that did not
begin to be remedied until the railroad
came and brought lumber from the
mainland in the mid- to late-1800s. The
rail also helped bring tourism to the
town. The town's tourism industry was
helped in 1961 with the creation of the
Cape Cod National Seashore by
President
John F. Kennedy.[1]
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Geography and Transportation
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the
town has a total area of 54.6
km² (21.1
mi²). 36.7 km² (14.2 mi²) of it is
land and 17.9 km² (6.9 mi²) of it
(32.73%) is water. Nauset is bordered by
Eastham to the north, the
Atlantic Ocean to the east, Pleasant
Bay and the town of
Chatham to the south,
Harwich to the southwest,
Brewster to the west, and
Cape Cod Bay to the northwest.
Orleans is twenty-seven miles south of
Provincetown, twenty-two miles east
of
Barnstable, thirty-six miles east of
the
Sagamore Bridge, and ninety miles
southeast of
Boston.
Orleans is located on the inner "elbow"
section of Cape Cod. The town is dotted
with bogs and ponds in the western part
of town, with many inlets, islands and
harbors along the eastern coast of the
town, including Town Cove, Nauset
Harbor, Pleasant Bay, and Little
Pleasant Bay.
Cape Cod National Seashore lies
along the coast as well.
Orleans is the site of the termini of
Routes
6A,
28 and
39. Route 39 traces a portion of the
Brewster town line, before ending at the
intersection with Route 28. Route 28
ends at the intersection with Route 6A,
and Route 6A ends at a rotary with Route
6 at the Eastham town line. Other than
two small non-outleted lanes, only Route
6 and Bridge Road pass northward into
Eastham.
Orleans has no rail or air service in
town. The nearest regional air service
can be reached in nearby Chatham, and
the nearest national and international
airport is
Logan International Airport in
Boston.
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Demographics
The Orleans Inn, between
Town Cove and Route 28.
As of the
census2
of 2000, there were 6,341 people, 3,087
households, and 1,771 families residing
in the town. The
population density was 172.8/km²
(447.3/mi²). There were 5,073 housing
units at an average density of 138.2/km²
(357.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the
town was 97.57%
White, 0.58%
Black or
African American, 0.17%
Native American, 0.54%
Asian, 0.14% from
other races, and 0.99% from two or
more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.77% of the
population.
There were 3,087 households out of which
14.8% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 49.4% were
married couples living together,
6.0% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 42.6% were
non-families. 37.2% of all households
were made up of individuals and 21.9%
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 2.55.
In the town the population was spread
out with 13.8% under the age of 18, 3.5%
from 18 to 24, 17.3% from 25 to 44,
29.4% from 45 to 64, and 36.0% who were
65 years of age or older. The median age
was 56 years. For every 100 females
there were 87.4 males. For every 100
females age 18 and over, there were 84.2
males.
The median income for a household in the
town was $42,594, and the median income
for a family was $62,909. Males had a
median income of $44,246 versus $30,017
for females. The
per capita income for the town was
$29,553. About 2.7% of families and 6.5%
of the population were below the
poverty line, including 5.6% of
those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age
65 or over.
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Government, Services and Education
The Jonathan Young Windmill,
a restored, working
eighteenth-century windmill
next to Town Cove.
Orleans 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, Orleans 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.
Orleans is governed by the
open town meeting form of
government, and is led by a town
secretary and a
board of selectmen. The town has its
own police and fire departments, both
headquartered south of the Route
6A-Route 28 intersection. There are
three post offices, in East Orleans,
Orleans Center and South Orleans. The
Snow Library, named for the original
benefactor of the library, is located in
Orleans Center, and is supported by the
Cape Libraries Automated Materials
Sharing (CLAMS) network. The town also
operates several beaches, boat landings,
and small parks, and has a historical
commision which meets in the town's
original meeting house (across the
street from the current Town Hall).
Orleans is also the site of a county
courthouse, which serves much of the
lower Cape.
Orleans, along with Brewster, Eastham
and Wellfleet, belongs to the Nauset
Regional School District. Each town
provides schooling for their own
elementary students, and collectively
send their middle and high school
students to regional schools. Orleans
operates the Orleans Elementary School
for students from kindergarten through
fifth grade. The town is home to Nauset
Regional Middle School, which serves
students from sixth through eighth grade
for the district. High school students
attend Nauset Regional High School in
North Eastham, but also have the option
of attending Cape Cod Regional Technical
School in Harwich free of charge.
Orleans is also the home of the Cape Cod
Lighthouse Charter School, which serves
grades six through eight.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Click for large map of the Islands
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