Hidden Cape Cod: Fascinating, Little-Known Facts About Every Cape Town

January 31, 2025

There are 15 towns on Cape Cod and each one has its own story. Some of them are well known – some not so much. Here are 15 fascinating facts – one for each town on the Cape – that might make you see this sandbar a little bit differently:

Harwich: Home Of The Bitter Berry Industry

Image 3 of 15

The town is considered the birthplace of the cranberry industry. The first commercial operation opened in 1846 and set the pace for the rest of the Cape’s production. Many active bogs still exist there, and the town celebrates its yearly cranberry festival in September. (AP Photo)

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Chatham, Dennis, Eastham, Falmouth, Harwich, Mashpee, Orleans, Provincetown, Sandwich, Truro, Wellfleet, Yarmouth

Comments

Dennis Kelley says

May 31, 2016 at 5:50 pm

When I was a kid in Hyannis, helping work at a gas station behind my house, a guy pulled up to the pump and wanted some gas. He handed me a “can of OIL” that he said needed to go in the gas tank, before the gas. I NEVER heard of such a thing!. I opened the can, poured the oil in then put the amount of gas he told me to. I asked AL (the proprietor) what that was about. He told me it was a Foreign car, called a SAAB, and it used oil with the gas.
- Stanley says
  
  June 28, 2017 at 6:27 pm
  
  I owned one of those old Saabs with the 3 cylinder 2 stroke engine. Got great milage but not a lot of power and always started on cold Cape Cod mornings. Mine was a little blue station wagon and I had to replace the transaxle (transmission) 3 times. I gor pretty good at changing it out in a few hours. The little engine was so small I was able to just pull it out of the engine bay and set it on the floor. The body pan finally rusted out.
Sandra says

May 18, 2018 at 9:38 am

What about Marstons Mills !
Stuart Wood says

February 19, 2022 at 1:32 pm

WHERE IS YARMOUTH?!?!
EC Whittemore says

May 20, 2023 at 8:31 pm

Judging from the dates of the comments, this feature first was published ca 2016 — you’ve had 7 YEARS to add a unique fact about YARMOUTH! Get with your own program!