History Provincetown,_Massachusetts

north-eastern view of provincetown, mass, new york public library

at time of european encounter, area long settled historic nauset tribe, had settlement known meeshawn . spoke massachusett, southern new england algonquian language dialect shared in common closely related neighbors, wampanoag.

on may 15, 1602, having made landfall west , believing island, bartholomew gosnold named area shoal hope . later day, after catching great store of codfish , chose instead name outermost tip of land cape cod . notably, name referred area of modern-day provincetown; wasn t until later that name reused designate entire region known cape cod.

on november 9, 1620, pilgrims aboard mayflower sighted cape cod while en route colony of virginia. after 2 days of failed attempts sail south against strong winter seas, returned safety of harbor, known today provincetown harbor, , set anchor. here mayflower compact drawn , signed. agreed settle , build self-governing community, , came ashore in west end.

though pilgrims chose settle across bay in plymouth, cape cod enjoyed reputation valuable fishing grounds, , harbor: naturally deep, protected basin considered best along coast. in 1654, governor of plymouth colony purchased land chief of nausets, selling price of 2 brass kettles, 6 coats, 12 hoes, 12 axes, 12 knives , box.

that land, spanned east harbor (formerly, pilgrim lake) – near present-day border between provincetown , truro – long point, kept benefit of plymouth colony, began leasing fishing rights roving fishermen. collected fees used defray costs of schools , other projects throughout colony. in 1678, fishing grounds opened allow inclusion of fishermen massachusetts bay colony.

in 1692, new royal charter combined plymouth , massachusetts bay colonies province of massachusetts bay. cape cod officially renamed province lands .

the first record of municipal government jurisdiction on province lands in 1714, act declared precinct of cape cod , annexed under control of truro.

on june 14, 1727, after harboring ships more century, precinct of cape cod incorporated township. name chosen inhabitants herringtown , rejected massachusetts general court in favor of provincetown . act of incorporation provided inhabitants of provincetown land holders, not land owners. received quit claim property, province retained title. land used had been beginning of colony — place making of fish. resources, including trees, used purpose. in 1893 great , general court changed town s charter, giving townspeople deeds properties held, while still reserving unoccupied areas.

the population of provincetown remained small through of 18th century.

the pilgrim monument, designed willard t. sears after torre del mangia in siena, italy; built 1907–1910.

the town affected american revolution same way of cape cod was: effective british blockade shut down fish production , shipping , town dwindled. was, happenstance, location of wreck of british warship, hms somerset @ peaked hill bars off atlantic coast of provincetown in 1778.

following american revolution, provincetown grew rapidly fishing , whaling center. population bolstered numerous portuguese sailors, many of whom azores, , settled in provincetown after being hired work on ships.

beachfront art class, 1940

by 1890s, provincetown booming, , began develop resident population of writers , artists, summer tourist industry. after 1898 portland gale severely damaged town s fishing industry, members of town s art community took on many of abandoned buildings. decades of 20th century, town had acquired international reputation artistic , literary productions. provincetown players important experimental theatre company formed during period. many of members lived during other parts of year in greenwich village in new york, , intellectual , artistic connections woven between places. in 1898 charles webster hawthorne opened cape cod school of art, said first outdoor school figure painting, in provincetown. film of class 1916 has been preserved.

the town includes 8 buildings , 2 historic districts on national register of historic places: provincetown historic district , dune shacks of peaked hill bars historic district.

provincetown, commercial street

in mid-1960s, provincetown saw population growth. town s rural character appealed hippies of era; property relatively cheap , rents correspondingly low, during winter. many of came stayed , raised families. commercial street, town s equivalent main street , gained numerous cafés, leather shops, head shops – various hip small businesses blossomed , many flourished.

by 1970s provincetown had significant gay population, during summer tourist season, when restaurants, bars , small shops serving tourist trade open. there had been gay presence in provincetown start of 20th century artists colony developed, along experimental theatre. drag queens seen in performance 1940s in provincetown. in 1978 provincetown business guild (pbg) formed promote gay tourism. today more 200 businesses belong pbg, , provincetown perhaps best-known gay summer resort on east coast. 2010 census revealed provincetown have highest rate of same-sex couples in country, @ 163.1 per 1000 couples.

since 1990s, property prices have risen significantly, causing residents economic hardship. housing bust of 2005 - 2012 caused property values in , around town fall 10 percent or more in less year. did not slow down town s economy, however. provincetown s tourist season has expanded, , town has scheduled created festivals , week-long events throughout year. established in summer: portuguese festival, bear week , pbg s carnival week.