Mashpee, MA Homes for Sale

MASHPEE

HISTORY

English colonists began to settle Mashpee in 1658 and in 1660, they allotted the converted Christian Wampanoag 50 square miles within the settlement. After the mainland Wampanoag were defeated in King Philip’s War in 1676, many were resettled with the Nauset tribe into “praying towns” – established by Puritans to convert aboriginal peoples – in Barnstable County. Mashpee was thus designated as Massachusetts’ largest Native American reservation. Mashpee was incorporated as a town in 1870 and is today the headquarters of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

GEOGRAPHY

Mashpee covers 27.2 square miles, about 14 percent of which is water. It is located on the Upper Cape, the western portion of Cape Cod that is closer to the Cape Cod Canal. It’s neighbor to the north is Sandwich, Barnstable is to its east, Falmouth to the West, and its shores touch Nantucket Sound to the south. The town’s land is similar to the rest of the Cape and is pocked with small ponds and inlets, which include Johns Pond, Popponesset Bay, Santuit River, Mashpee River, Ockway Bay and Jehu Pond, among others.

CHARACTER

Mashpee is a destination for tourists and serves as the headquarters for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, giving the town a distinctive Wampanoag culture. Aside from its rich history, Mashpee offers a lot of open, public spaces, including the Community Park and Mashpee Dog Park. Waquoit and Popponesset Bays and large freshwater ponds offer much to those seeking recreation on or near the water. Shopping and dining are also readily available, and Mashpee Commons serves as a shopping mecca for residents and tourists alike. Mashpee is also home to New Seabury. New Seabury is a very private development, with 1,821 homes and over 2,000 lushly landscaped acres, on Nantucket Sound. Maushop Village is located within New Seabury and features condominiums in a village like setting.

EDUCATION

Mashpee serves about 2,200 students with its own school system, consisting of four schools. Kenneth C. Coombs School serves kindergarten through second grade; Quashnet School serves grades three through six; Mashpee Middle School serves grades seven and eight; and Mashpee High School serves grades nine through 12. Two Catholic high schools also serve Mashpee students: Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth and Pope John Paul II High School in Hyannis. Private schools serving Mashpee include Falmouth Academy and Cape Cod Academy, as well as Tabor Academy, a boarding school.

ARTS & CULTURE

Because Mashpee is the headquarters for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, it has a unique Wampanoag culture and is home to the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Museum. The tribe holds an annual pow-wow where members display traditional crafts and activities. Mashpee is home to the Cape Cod Art Bar and Artfully Yours, which offer social painting paired with beer and wine. Harper Dance Center offers a range of dance classes covering everything from ballet to hip hop dance. Also in Mashpee: the New England Ballet Theatre, Woodworks Gallery, Han Dun Music Studio Fine Arts, and Cape Cod Children’s Museum.

POINTS OF INTEREST

Artfully Yours
Cape Cod Art Bar
Cape Cod Children’s Museum
Community Park
Mashpee Commons
Mashpee Dog Park
Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Museum
New England Ballet Theatre
South Cape Beach State Park