(1882)
Fishermen’s huts.
It would make sense that a settlement existed at the westernmost point of the Cape tip in the early 19th century. Close to fishing grounds, it occupied a strategic peninsula bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Cod Bay, Hatches Harbor, and Race Run. The extraordinary Map of the Extremity of Cape Cod, completed in 1835 by Maj. J. D. Graham of the United States Topographical Engineers, shows a thickly built-up area around the Race Point Light: fishermen’s huts, pilots’ huts, and salt works. There were still about a dozen buildings in 1882, according to the bird’s eye view shown here.
¶ Last updated on 10 April 2017. ¶ Image from Bird’s Eye View of the Town of Provincetown (1882), by A. F. Poole, courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library, Call No. G3764.P78A3 1882.P6.