Provincetown

Provincetown, or its Indian name Meeshaum, was slow to develop. Because of disease brought by Europeans, the Indian population had practically vanished by the time the Pilgrims arrived in 1620. The famous Captain John Smith had mapped and spent a brief time on the beaches of Provincetown in 1614 and it was his maps that the Mayflower used to navigate their way to Provincetown. As soon as the Mayflower Pact was signed, Provincetown began their settlement. It was originally called the Province Lands and soon became the property of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The settlers did, however, establish their first government in 1714 and incorporated in 1727. Still, there were just a handful of fisherman and whalers as many moved on to more fertile grounds. One of the provisions in the Mayflower Compact allowed settlers to build houses and businesses but they could not own the land. Still, by 1755, Provincetown began to look like a village. Finally, in1893, the residents were allowed to possess a deed of land. Drawn by the fishing industry, Portuguese sailors began settling in Provincetown and by the 1890s, after years of hard times, Provincetown was booming. Four prominent homes served as part of the Underground Railway System that aided escaping slaves. 72 Commercial Street, location of the oldest house in Provincetown, is still standing. Owned by one Seth Nickerson, it was built in approximately 1746. During this boom period, artists and writers were drawn to the wonders of this unusual town. A severe storm ravaged the fishing industry in 1898 and the artistic community took over abandoned fish sheds and refurbished them into galleries and studios. The fishing industry survived, the artists thrived making Provincetown what it is today.

Provincetown is a unique and interesting place to visit. Everything there, from restaurants to bakeries to shops to galleries, possess the P’town aura and that is just the way the local residents want it. It is a congested little village surrounded by the National Seashore. There are eight buildings and a historic district all in the National Register of Historic Places. One very obvious attraction is the Provincetown Monument. It is located on a hill called High Pole Hill on a site that was originally a mill. That was torn down in the late 1800, and the Provincetown Monument, depicted in nearly all Provincetown photographs, was erected. The Provincetown Players, an experimental theater company, is now internationally recognized for it’s intellectual approach. During the 1960s, many of the hippies came for a visit and then made their home there. In the mid 1970s, gay people began arriving and now are a prominent group in the business community.