Brewster

History

Indigenous settlement in Brewster took place on the north shore of the present-day town, with a Sauguatuckett farming area centered around the contemporary Stony Brook. Individual accounts subdivide the indigenous tribes of pre-contact Cape Cod, but any historians and researches today use the unifying term Nauset. Somewhere around 1,200 indigenous people populated Outer Cape Cod prior to 1617 pandemics, with this number reduced to 500 by 1621. The first permanent colonial settlement in Brewster centered around the Stony Brook area, part of the "Old Comers" or "Purchasers" grant of 1641. The land that now makes up Brewster was purchased in 1653 from Wano and his son Sachemas, leaders of the local Sauguatuckett. In 1709, a public house and store existed, with a congregational church and meeting house first organized in 1700. * Cape Cod Museum of Natural History * Stony Brook Grist Mill (1873) * Dillingham House (1660) * Nickerson Mansion (1906) * Old Higgins Farm Windmill (1795) * Crosby Mansion (1888)

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 10.07%, 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, both of which comprise the Brewster census-designated place. Brewster is south of Provincetown, east of Barnstable, east of the Sagamore Bridge, and southeast of Boston. The town is bordered by the Brewster Flats, an extensive stretch of tidal sand flats to the north, along the shores of Cape Cod Bay. The town is 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 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 town line goes directly through the middle of the pond. Brewster's second largest pond is Cliff Pond, located in Nickerson State Park. Both are popular destinations.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High
  High · South Yarmouth · 888 students · 11:1 ratio
• Nauset Regional High
  High · North Eastham · 780 students · 9.8:1 ratio
• Monomoy Regional High School
  High · Harwich · 702 students · 11.7:1 ratio
• Cape Cod Region Vocational Technical
  High · Harwich · 666 students · 10.6:1 ratio
• Nauset Regional Middle
  Middle · Orleans · 528 students · 9.8:1 ratio
• Harwich Elementary School
  Elementary · Harwich · 477 students · 10.8:1 ratio
• Dennis-Yarmouth Middle School
  Middle · South Yarmouth · 476 students · 10.3:1 ratio
• Dennis-Yarmouth Intermediate School
  Middle · South Yarmouth · 454 students · 9.5:1 ratio