Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Barnstable County was formed as part of the Plymouth Colony on June 2, 1685, including the towns of Falmouth, Sandwich, and others to the east and north on Cape Cod.Cape Cod is described in a letter from the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano to Francis I of France, relating the details of a voyage to the New World made on behalf of the French crown in the ship Dauphine, the only surviving of a fleet of four.Details of the north end are not given, but subsequently they came to a "high country, full of very dense forests, composed of pines," which, according to Brevoort and others, resembles the coast of Maine.In March 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold set sail from Falmouth, Cornwall, in the ship, Concord, transporting a crew of eight, an exploration party of 12, and 20 colonists, with the intent of establishing a trading post in the New World.Intersecting the coast of Maine, they turned to the south, encountered what appeared to be an island, and dropped anchor in Provincetown Harbor.John Brereton, chaplain of the expedition, reported that they were dark-skinned, customarily nude except for deerskins over the shoulders and sealskins around the waist, and wore their long, black hair up in a knot.Subsequently, Gosnold sailed around the cape to discover an island, "full of wood, vines, gooseberry bushes, whortleberries, raspberries, eglantines, etc.," as well as large numbers of shore birds.He intended to place a trading post there, but when the time came for the return voyage, the colonists decided not to remain.Gosnold ventured a second time to the New World in 1608 as Captain John Smith's second in command of the Jamestown expedition.[5] In 1603, another mercantile expedition set sail from Bristol, England, in two ships, the Speedwell and the Discoverer, commanded by a 23-year-old captain, Martin Pring.Elizabeth I had died two weeks earlier, but Pring had secured permission from Sir Walter Raleigh, who held from the queen exploration rights to all of North America.It is the area contained within the borders of all cities and towns defined to be in the county by the Massachusetts General Court.[10] The highest elevation in the county is 306 feet (93 m), at the summit of Pine Hill, on Joint Base Cape Cod, in Bourne.Barnstable County is one of the oldest in the country, ranking in the top ten for highest median age (among those with at least 100,000 residents).Ronald Bergstrom (D-Chatham), Chair Sheila Lyons (D-Wellfleet), Vice-chair Mark Forest (D-Yarmouth), Commissioner The planning agency of Barnstable County is the Cape Cod Commission.In addition to and not necessarily based on these legal municipalities are the arbitrary divisions of the United States Census Bureau.
historical map of 1890
Barnstable County (disambiguation)CountyNauset LightEasthamKennedy CompoundBourne BridgeChathamMassachusettsNamed forTown of BarnstableBarnstableTime zoneUTC−5EasternUTC−42020 censuscounty seatCape CodDukes CountyNantucket CountyPlymouth ColonyFalmouthSandwichProvince of Massachusetts BayGiovanni da VerrazzanoFrancis I of FranceMadeiraRhodesshoalsNantucket ShoalsNew FranceQuebecBartholomew GosnoldFalmouth, CornwallProvincetown HarborCape Cod BayNausetWampanoag peopleJohn BreretonMartha's VineyardCuttyhunk IslandElizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth IslandsCaptain John SmithJamestownmalariaBristolMartin PringWalter RaleighU.S. Census BureauMassachusetts General CourtPine HillJoint Base Cape CodPlymouth CountyNantucketCape Cod National SeashoreMashpee National Wildlife RefugeMonomoy National Wildlife RefugeRivers of Massachusettsdrainage systemAtlantic OceanBuzzards BayAcushnet RiverAgawam RiverBack RiverCopicut RiverCrooked RiverMattapoisett RiverNasketucket RiverPaskamanset RiverPocasset RiverSippican RiverSlocums RiverWankinco RiverWestport RiverWeweantic RiverNantucket SoundBass RiverBumps RiverChilds RiverCoonamesset RiverMashpee RiverMitchell RiverOyster Pond RiverPopponesset CreekQuashnet RiverSantuit RiverTiasquam RiverGulf of MaineBluefish RiverEel RiverHerring RiverJones RiverLittle Pamet RiverPamet RiverTown BrookMassachusetts BayAberjona RiverAlewife BrookCanton RiverCharles RiverChelsea CreekCochato RiverFore RiverFresh RiverIndian Head RiverMalden RiverMillers RiverMonatiquot RiverMuddy RiverMystic RiverNeponset RiverNorth RiverSaugus RiverStony Brook (Boston)Stony Brook (Waltham)Stop RiverWeir RiverWeymouth Back RiverMerrimack RiverArtichoke RiverAssabet RiverBeaver BrookCochichewick RiverConcord RiverLittle River