Orleans is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable County coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 6,341 at the 2000 census.

For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Orleans, please see the article Orleans (CDP), Massachusetts.

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]

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