Falmouth Town News & Information

CLAIM TO FAME: Warm water beaches, Falmouth Road Race

HISTORICAL BRAGGING RIGHTS: Saw action in the War of 1812

BEACHES: Bristol Beach, Chapoquoit Beach, Falmouth Heights Beach, Grews Pond, Megansett Beach, Menauhant Beach, Old Silver Beach, Surf Drive Beach, Wood Neck Beach

DON’T MISS: Shining Sea Bikeway, Falmouth Road Race, Nobska Lighthouse, Woods Hole Aquarium

Falmouth is an old Cape town located just south of Bourne and Sandwich and west of Mashpee. The town’s famously warm waters are the result of its 68-mile coastline mostly facing Vineyard Sound, and many of its beaches – like Old Silver – have gained legendary status around Cape Cod.

Falmouth was first settled by English colonists in 1660 and was officially incorporated in 1686. Bartholomew Gosnold named the settlement for Falmouth, Cornwall, England, which was his home port. The town saw brief action in the War of 1812, when the area around Falmouth Heights was bombarded by several British frigates. After the improvement in highways and the heavy use of neighboring Otis Air National Guard Base during World War II, population growth increased. Large homebuilding booms occurred in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

The Town of Falmouth has seven historical districts, including one of the world’s premiere scientific communities, Woods Hole. Four of the historic districts are on the National Register of Historic Places. The Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority call Falmouth home. The daily ferry service brings visitors, residents and goods from Woods Hole to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard and is the main ferry line between the Vineyard and mainland.

Falmouth’s public school system serves around 4,500 students annually. There are four schools in the public system: East Falmouth, Mullen-Hall, North Falmouth, and Teaticket, which serve the elementary school population, from pre-kindergarten to fourth grade. The Morse Pond Middle School serves grades five and six, while the Lawrence Junior High School serves grades seven and eight. Falmouth High School covers grades 9-12.

For the biking enthusiasts, the town features the “Shining Sea Bikeway”, a 10.7 mile paved pathway that weaves through four of Falmouth’s eight villages from Woods Hole, on Vineyard Sound, through salt marshes, wooded uplands, a cranberry bog and through a historic farmstead into North Falmouth.