Mashpee ( ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Barnstable County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States, on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

. The population was 15,060 as of 2020. The town is the site of the headquarters and most members of the

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (formerly Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council, Inc.) is one of two federally recognized tribes of Wampanoag people in Massachusetts. Recognized in 2007, they are headquartered in Mashpee, Massachusetts, Mashpee on ...

, one of two federally recognized Wampanoag groups.

History

Pre-colonial

was occupied for more than ten thousand years by

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. The historic Algonquian-speaking

Wampanoag The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and forme ...

were the native people encountered by the English

colonists A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

here and in the area of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

in the seventeenth century. The Wampanoag also controlled considerable coastal area. These two cultures would interact, shaping each other for decades.

17th century

After English colonists arrived, they began to settle the area of present-day Mashpee in 1658 with the assistance of the

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

Richard Bourne, from the neighboring town of

Sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

. In 1660 the colonists allowed those Christian Wampanoag who had been converted about in the English settlement. Beginning in 1665, the Wampanoag governed themselves with a court of law and trials according to English custom (they had long governed themselves according to their own customs). Old Indian Meetinghouse

Following their defeat in

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

(1675–1676), the Wampanoag of the mainland were resettled with the Sakonnet in present-day

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. Others of the people were brought, together with the Nauset, into the praying towns, such as Mashpee, in Barnstable County. There were also Wampanoag on Martha's Vineyard and other areas. The colonists designated Mashpee on Cape Cod as the largest

Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

in Massachusetts. The town's name is an Anglicization of a native name, ''mass-nippe'': ''mass'' is "great", or "greater" (see ''Massa''chusetts), and ''nippe'' is "water". The name has been translated as "the greater cove" or "great pond," or "land near great cove", where the water being referenced is Wakeby Pond, which is greater at one end.

18th century

In the year 1763, the British Crown designated Mashpee as a

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

, against the will of the Wampanoag. Designation as a plantation meant that the area governed by the Mashpee Wampanoag was integrated into the colonial district of Mashpee. The colony gave the natives the "right" to elect their own officials to maintain order in their area, but otherwise subjected them to colonial government. The population of the plantation declined steadily due to the conditions placed upon the Wampanoag. They also suffered from encroachment on their lands by the English. Following the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the town in 1788 revoked Mashpee self-government, which European-American officials considered a failure. They appointed a committee, consisting of five European-American members, to supervise the Mashpee. William Apess, a

Pequot The Pequot ( ) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut includin ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

preacher, helped the Mashpee Wampanoag lead a peaceful protest of this action, and the governor threatened a military response.

19th century

In 1834, the state returned a certain level of self-government to the Wampanoag, although they were not completely autonomous. With the idea that emulating European-American farming would encourage assimilation, in 1842 the state broke up some of the Wampanoag communal land. It distributed of their property in allotments of parcels to heads of households, so that each family could have individual ownership for subsistence farming. The legislature passed laws against the encroachments on Wampanoag land by European Americans, but did not enforce them. The competing settlers also stole wood from the reservation. It was a large region, once rich in wood, fish and game, and desired by white settlers, who envied the growing community of Mashpee. The Mashpee Indians suffered more conflicts with their white neighbors than did other more isolated or less desirable Indian settlements in the state.''Handbook of North American Indians.'' Chapter: "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island, late period," p. 178ff
Mashpee Wampanoag Nation webpageWampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah webpage
In 1870 the state approved the incorporation of Mashpee as a

, the second-to-last jurisdiction on the Cape to undergo the process. Ultimately the Wampanoag lost control of their land and self-government. Many of their descendants remain in the area and identify as Mashpee by their communal culture.

20th century

In the early 1970s, the Mashpee reorganized and filed a land claim against the state for the loss of lands. While they ultimately did not win their case, the Mashpee continued to develop as an organized community and gained federal recognition as a tribe in 2007.

21st century

Today the town of Mashpee is known both for tourist recreation and for its distinctive minority Wampanoag culture. The population is predominately European American in ancestry. As the town attracts numerous summer visitors, there are many seasonal businesses and service jobs to support this tourism. The

has its headquarters here. In 2015 the Department of Interior evaluated taking into trust in Mashpee as a reservation for the Wampanoag, who already controlled the land, however in 2018 the request was ultimately rejected. This decision also applied to the in Taunton, Massachusetts, which the Wampanoag tribe had acquired.Kevin Horridge, "Surprise Massachusetts Casino Could Result from New Mashpee Wampanoag Land Grant"
''Casino.org, September 21, 2015; accessed January 19, 2017 That action was challenged in October 2016 by a United States District Court decision, reached after a suit was filed earlier that year by opponents to Mashpee Wampanoag's plans to build a gaming casino on their Taunton land.
''Boston Globe,'' July 11, 2016; accessed January 18, 2017 The Wampanoag hold an annual pow-wow at which they display both modern and traditional activities and crafts.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Mashpee has a total area of , of which is land and , or 14.10%, is water. Mashpee is on the "upper," or western, portion of

. It is bounded by

to the north and northwest, Barnstable to the east, Nantucket Sound to the south, and Falmouth to the west. It is approximately south-southeast of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and east-southeast of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. Like all towns on the Cape, Mashpee's topography is that of sandy soil, small ponds and inlets, surrounded by the pines and oaks indigenous to the area. The town's shoreline is framed by Waquoit Bay to the west and Popponesset Bay to the east, with several rivers, brooks and small ponds in the area. The town contains South Cape Beach State Park along Dead Neck and Waquoit Bay, and the Lowell Holly Reservation, comprising the land between Wakeby and Mashpee Ponds. Mashpee also borders a small area of Otis Air National Guard Base, Joint Base Cape Cod, and Camp Edwards in the northwest portion of the town.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Mashpee, Massachusetts has a warm-summer, wet year round,

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb''). Dfb climates are characterized by at least one month having an average mean temperature ≤ 32.0 °F (≤ 0.0 °C), at least four months with an average mean temperature ≥ 50.0 °F (≥ 10.0 °C), all months with an average mean temperature ≤ 71.6 °F (≤ 22.0 °C), and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. The average seasonal (Nov–Apr) snowfall total is approximately 30 inches (76 cm). The average snowiest month is February, which corresponds with the annual peak in

nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below) is a large-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. Typically, such storms originate as a low ...

activity. According to the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

, the plant hardiness zone is 7a, with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 0.9 °F (−17.3 °C).

Ecology

According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. Potential natural vegetation Types, Mashpee, Massachusetts would primarily contain a Northeastern

Oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

(''110'') vegetation type with a Southern Mixed Forest (''26'') vegetation form.

Neighborhoods

Parts of Mashpee include: * Mashpee Neck * Monomoscoy Island * New Seabury * Popponesset * Popponesset Island * Seabrook * Seconsett Island.

Transportation

Major roads include Massachusetts Route 28, Massachusetts Route 130 and Massachusetts Route 151; none of these is a freeway. Route 28, along with U.S. Route 6 to the north, comprise the main east-west routes along the Cape. Route 130's southern terminus lies just outside the town limits in Santuit, a village in the town of Barnstable. Route 151's eastern terminus is within the town of Mashpee; both these roads end at Route 28, apart. The Town of Mashpee is the only one on Cape Cod that never had a railroad constructed to it. According to ''2.5. Rail Transportation,'' Joint Base Cape Cod has a railroad track extending into the town. The nearest airports ( Cape Cod Airfield, an airstrip for small planes, and Barnstable Municipal Airport, the largest airport on the Cape), can be found in the neighboring Town of Barnstable. The nearest national and international air service can be reached at Logan International Airport in Boston, or at T. F. Green Airport in

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States, and is the third-largest city in the state, with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Warwick is located approximately south of downtown Pr ...

. The

Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) operates a bus transit system of fixed and flexible routes, seasonal rail service to Boston, and a paratransit service in the Cape Cod region of Massachusetts. The CCRTA was created under the provisi ...

serves Mashpee. The Sealine bus route stops at South Cape Village and Mashpee Commons, in addition to other flag stops. It is also serviced by the ADA on-call services of CCRTA (DART).

Historic and protected sites

* Old Indian Meeting House, built in 1684 *Mashpee One Room Schoolhouse, built in 1831 – open for public tours June through October * Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1995, consisting of salt marshes, cranberry bogs, white cedar swamps, and expansive forests. Also home to populations of New England Cottontail rabbits, white-tailed deer, red fox, red-tailed hawks, waterfowl, shorebirds, and bald eagles. *Quashnet Conservation Area, large woodlands/wildlife conservation area directly south and adjacent to Otis Air National Guard Base and Camp Edwards. It is the largest tract of undeveloped forest/woodland area on Cape Cod.

Demographics

The permanent, year-round population has nearly doubled since 1990, with the number of residents increasing since the late 20th century. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 14,006 people, 5,256 households, and 3,652 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 8,325 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 84.13%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 4.28%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 6.08% Native American, 1.22% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.27% from other races, and 2.94% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.24% of the population. There were 5,256 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.91. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $50,871, and the median income for a family was $56,702. Males had a median income of $43,922 versus $31,416 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $25,215. About 4.5% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Mashpee is represented in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

as part of the Third Barnstable district. The town is represented in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

as a part of the Cape and Islands district, which includes all of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, with the exception of Bourne, Falmouth, and Sandwich. The town is patrolled by the Seventh (Bourne) Barracks of Troop D of the

Massachusetts State Police The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for law enforcement and vehicle regulation across the state. As of 2024, it has 2,500 sworn troop ...

. On the national level, Mashpee is a part of Massachusetts's 9th congressional district, and is currently represented by Bill Keating. The state's senior (Class II) member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, elected in 2012, is

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...

. The junior (Class II) senator, elected in 2013, is

Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...

. Mashpee is governed by the open town meeting form of government, led by an executive secretary and a

board of selectmen The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the Executive (government), executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three ...

. The town operates its own police and fire departments, both of which are headquartered together near Pine Tree Corner. The town's post office and public library are also located nearby, and the library is a member of the Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing library network.

Education

Mashpee has two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school located in the town. The middle school is located in the same building as the high school, operates under the same administration and has its own wing strictly for the 7th and 8th grade students. The building also houses the Technology "Center of Excellence". It has been recognized at several statewide conferences for its industry education and innovative course offerings. * Kenneth C. Coombs School (K–2) * Quashnet School (3–6) * Mashpee Middle-High School (7–12) Mashpee operates its own school system for the approximately 1,700 students in town. The Kenneth C. Coombs School (Also known as the K. C. Coombs School) is for pre-school to grade 2, the Quashnet School is for grades 3 to 6, and Mashpee Middle-High School is for grades 7–12. Before Mashpee High opened its doors in 1996, students residing in Mashpee attended nearby Falmouth High School. Mashpee's athletics teams are named the Falcons, and their colors are royal blue, white, and black. They compete in the South Shore League, which participates in the Division 3 & 4 level of competition. Mashpee High School's main rivals are Monomoy Regional High School, Abington High School, Sandwich High School, and Cohasset High School. From 1999 to 2003 Mashpee played Sandwich High School in an annual Thanksgiving football game rivalry. From 2003–2009, Mashpee played Cape Cod Regional Technical High School. In 2009, Mashpee dropped the Thanksgiving rivalry with Cape Cod Tech and has since renewed the Thanksgiving rivalry with Sandwich, which is effective in the year 2010. Mashpee's football team is regarded as one of the premier small-school programs in the state. the Falcons have won 4 state championships (2011, 2015, 2016, 2017) under the leadership of head coach Matt Triveri. Additionally, high school students may attend Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich free of charge. Students from Mashpee may also attend the two Catholic high schools that serve the area, Bishop Stang High School in Dartmouth, or the newly opened Pope John Paul II High School in Hyannis. Private schools located in nearby communities include Falmouth Academy in Falmouth, Cape Cod Academy in Barnstable, and Tabor Academy, a private-prep boarding school in nearby Marion. A Wampanoag language Immersion school called ''Wôpanâôt8ây Pâhshaneekamuq'' is expected to open in Mashpee in 2016, serving preschool students in its first year and kindergarten students starting in 2017.

Notable people

* Jessie Little Doe Baird,

Native American historian and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

, known for her efforts to revive the Wampanoag language (Wôpanâak) *

Jamaal Branch Jamaal Branch (born January 30, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for two seasons with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Colgate Raider ...

, former NFL football player, attended Colgate, 2003 Walter Payton Award winner, graduated from Falmouth High School in 1999 * Carlo D'Este,

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians ...

and a resident of New Seabury in Mashpee *

Erik Erikson Erik Homburger Erikson (born Erik Salomonsen; 15 June 1902 – 12 May 1994) was a German-American child psychoanalyst and visual artist known for his theory on psychosocial development of human beings. He coined the phrase identity crisis. ...

, developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst, known for his theory on social development of human beings * Adrian Haynes, Chief of the Wampanoag Nation, was born in Mashpee *

Robert Kraft Robert Kenneth Kraft (born June 5, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainmen ...

, owner of the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

; owns a residence in the Popponesset Island area of Mashpee * Matt Malone, American Jesuit and journalist; editor in chief of ''America'' magazine * Dana Mohler-Faria, former President of

Bridgewater State University Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Massachusetts, N ...

* Paula Peters,

activist, educator and journalist * Sherry Pocknett, renowned chef,

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

winner * William Rosenberg, founder of

Dunkin' Donuts DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...

, died at his home in Mashpee in 2002

References

External links

*
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
official website {{authority control 1660 establishments in Plymouth Colony Populated coastal places in Massachusetts Populated places established in 1660 Towns in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe