BREWSTER
Long before explorers came from Europe, Cape Cod was occupied by Native Americans. In the time from about 1000 to 1600s, the Sauquatuckets, a Wampanoag community, lived on land that is now Brewster.

With its ideal location on Cape Cod Bay, Brewster’s seafaring past has earned it the informal name, “America’s Sea Captain’s Town.” At one time, nearly 100 sea captains made their home in Brewster. In the 18th and 19th centuries, many of Brewster’s residents made their living at sea. Packet boats frequently sailed between Breakwater Beach in Brewster and Boston making the town a lively economic center. Those who flourished used their wealth to build stately homes that still grace Old King’s Highway (Route 6A) today.

Brewster is the perfect melding of the past and the current. Rich in culture and history, this quintessential small town also boasts some of the finest lodging, shops, golf courses and restaurants on the Lower Cape. Brewster was named after Elder William Brewster, one of the original pilgrims aboard the Mayflower. The area that is now Brewster, originally known as the North Parish, was settled in 1659 as part of Harwich, then known as the South Parish. It took several years for Brewster to affect the split with Harwich. Residents of the South Parish opposed the “divorce” because most of the wealth was on the North side. The state legislature finally gave its approval for the split in 1803 and the town was born.

It is said that Cape Cod has a pond for every day of the year. At the inside bend of the Cape Cod elbow, Brewster encompasses approximately twenty three square miles, including 315 acres of beach and marshlands, with 24 ponds larger than 10 acres in size. Nestled between Brewster and Harwich, Long Pond, at 749 acres, is the largest body of fresh water on the Cape. Currently, over one-third of Brewster’s land has been retained for conservation, open space, recreation and watershed protection. Brewster’s current year-round population of 10,674 grows to about 26,000 people during the summer (Town of Brewster, 2003 Annual Report).

Brewster offers a wide array of art galleries and antique shops and has become a haven for artists and craftsmen. It is usually less crowded than other Cape Cod towns during the summer months and is home to the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, the New England Fire and History Museum, and Nickerson State Park with miles of bike trails and many camping and picnic areas. The 20 mile Cape Cod Rail Trail, The Bike Trail, meanders through Brewster, along a scenic route around ponds, cranberry bogs and woods over a fairly flat to moderately hilly terrain. Most of the Bike Trail is off-road, and it remains the most popular bicycling trail on Cape Cod.

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