Brewster is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population of Brewster was 10,094 at the 2000 census.
Brewster is twinned with the town of Budleigh Salterton in the United Kingdom.
The Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League play at the Stony Brook School from mid-June to early August.
History
Brewster was first settled in 1656 as a northeastern parish of the town of Harwich, Massachusetts. The town separated from Harwich as the northern, more wealthy parish of Harwich in 1693, and was officially incorporated as its own town in 1803 when the less wealthy citizens of Harwich were upset that the town's institutions were all on Brewster's main street (Route 6A), including the town hall and churches. Brewster was named in honor of Elder William Brewster, the first religious leader of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony. The town's history grew around Stony Brook, where the first water-powered grist and woolen mill in the country was founded in the late 1600s. There were also many rich sea captains in the town, who built many of the mansions and stately homes which now constitute the town's inns and bed-and-breakfasts.[1] Most notable of these is the Crosby Mansion on Crosby Lane by Crosby beach, which is currently undergoing renovations to allow for more weddings and other functions.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 25.5 square miles (65.9 km²), of which, 23.0 square miles (59.5 km²) of it is land and 2.5 square miles (6.4 km²) of it (9.70%) is water.
Brewster is bordered on the north by Cape Cod Bay, on the west by Dennis, on the south by Harwich, and on the east by Orleans. The town is usually separated into two villages, West and East Brewster. Brewster is thirty-one miles south of Provincetown, seventeen miles east of Barnstable, thirty-one miles east of the Sagamore Bridge, and eighty-five miles southeast of Boston, Massachusetts.
The town is bordered by extensive mudflats to the north, along the shores of Cape Cod Bay. The town is also home to the Roland C. Nickerson State Forest Park, the largest state forest on Cape Cod. The town has several large ponds, especially along the Harwich town line. There are several brooks throughout the town, all of which lead to Cape Cod Bay. The bay is also home to several boat landings and beaches in the town.
Brewster is home to the largest pond on Cape Cod, Long Pond. The Brewster-Harwich townline goes directly through the middle of the pond. The second largest pond is Cliff Pond located in Nickerson State Park. Both are popular motorsport destinations.
Transportation
U.S. Route 6 passes through Brewster from south to north, as a two-lane expressway with no exits in the town, although exits 9–12 provide access to Brewster via other roads. The five other numbered highways in Brewster are all surface roads. Route 6A passes through the town from east to west as Main St. through the town center. Routes 124 and 137 both have a northern terminus along Route 6A in town; short portions of Routes 28 and 39 also pass through the southeastern corner of town (the portion of 28 is less than 100 yards long). Brewster has one stop light at the intersection of Harwich Road (Route 124) and Long Pond Road (Route 137).
There is no rail or air service in the town. The Cape Cod Rail Trail, as well as several other bicycle trails, pass through the town. The nearest public airfield is in Chatham (Chatham Municipal, CQX); the nearest regional airport is Barnstable Municipal Airport (HYA), and the nearest national and international air service is at Logan International Airport in Boston.
Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 10,094 people, 4,124 households, and 2,853 families residing in the town. The population density was 439.2 people per square mile (169.6/km²). There were 7,339 housing units at an average density of 319.3/sq mi (123.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.24% White, 0.76% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.76% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population.
There were 4,124 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.79.
In the town the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 26.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $49,276, and the median income for a family was $57,174. Males had a median income of $41,407 versus $33,388 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,638. About 1.6% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The Old Brewster Town Hall
Brewster is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the First Barnstable District, along with Dennis and a portion of Yarmouth. 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.[3] The town is patrolled by the Second (Yarmouth) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police.[4]
On the national level, Brewster 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 2008, is John Kerry. The junior (Class II) Senator is Paul G. Kirk, who succeeded Ted Kennedy upon his death in August 2009.
Brewster is governed by the open town meeting form of government, led by an executive secretary and a board of selectmen. The town has its own police and fire departments. The fire department remains on Route 6A near the terminus of Route 137, while the police station is located about a half mile away on Route 124. There is a single post office near the geographic center of town, as well as the Brewster Ladies' Library, a 50,000-volume library which is a part of the Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing (CLAMS) network. The Long Pond Medical Center, located just over the Harwich line at the intersection of Routes 6 and 137, serves the medical needs of the town, as well as the southeastern corner of the Cape.
Education
Brewster is a member of the Nauset Regional School District, along with the towns of Eastham, Orleans and Wellfleet. The town operates the Stony Brook Elementary School, which serves students from kindergarten through second grade, and the Eddy Elementary School, which serves students in third through fifth grades. Middle School students attend Nauset Middle School in Orleans, and high school students attend Nauset Regional High School in North Eastham. There is also a public charter school available to middle school students from Brewster: The Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School in Orleans.
Additionally, the town's high school students may attend Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in neighboring Harwich free of charge. There are also two private schools, The Family School and The Laurel School, both of which serve elementary students.
See also: Brewster (CDP), Massachusetts
Points of interest
- Brewster Historical Society Museum
- The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History
- New England Fire and History Museum
- The Brewster Store
- Brewster Ladies' Library
- The Woodshed
- Cape Cod Sea Camps
Famous Associations
Helen Keller with Anne Sullivan in July 1888.
- In July 1888, Helen Keller, and her teacher, Anne Sullivan visited Brewster. In the photo, Helen is shown cradling a doll. The photograph was recently discovered almost 120 years after it was taken. The mother of the woman who provided the photograph was Helen's playmate at the Elijah Cobb House.
- Minnie Riperton's song, "Alone in Brewster Bay," refers to when Riperton and her husband, producer Dick Rudolph, vacationed on Cape Cod during the early 1970s, prior to the release of her 1975 hit single, "Lovin' You".
- Samuel M. Nickerson, president of the First National Bank of Chicago. S. M. Nickerson was one of the most influential business leaders of the time.[5]
Mr. Nickerson's shares in First National Bank of Chicago were sold according to the New York Times 9/29/1899 for $2.1M. The syndicate that purchased the shares included J.P. Morgan, E.H. Harriman & Marshall Field. The Nickerson summer house, Fieldstone Hall, in Brewster, MA, is now a condominium resort called Ocean Edge.ref>http://www.oceanedge.com/about-ocean-edge/</ref>
- The Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod baseball league has been home to many current and former major league baseball stars, such as Mike Aviles, Sean Casey, Chris Dickerson, Bobby Keilty, Aaron Rowand, Gaby Sanchez, Brian Bannister, Matt Herges, Mike Meyers, Billy Wagner and Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn and his son Tony Gwynn Jr.
References
External links
