Brewster Moving
Brewster /Town/ Barnstable/ Open town meeting /9,936 /1803
Brewster is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population of Brewster was 10,094 at the 2000 census.
Brewster is twinned with the town of Budleigh Salterton in the United Kingdom.
The Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League play at the Stony Brook School from mid-June to early August.
Brewster was first settled in 1656 as a northeastern parish of the town of Harwich, Massachusetts. The town separated from Harwich as the northern, more wealthy parish of Harwich in 1693, and was officially incorporated as its own town in 1803 when the less wealthy citizens of Harwich were upset that the town's institutions were all on Brewster's main street (Route 6A), including the town hall and churches. Brewster was named in honor of Elder William Brewster, the first religious leader of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony. The town's history grew around Stony Brook, where the first water-powered grist and woolen mill in the country was founded in the late 1600s. There were also many rich sea captains in the town, who built many of the mansions and stately homes which now constitute the town's inns and bed-and-breakfasts. Most notable of these is the Crosby Mansion on Crosby Lane by Crosby beach, which is currently undergoing renovations to allow for more weddings and other functions.
There is no rail or air service in the town. The Cape Cod Rail Trail, as well as several other bicycle trails, pass through the town. The nearest public airfield is in Chatham (Chatham Municipal, CQX); the nearest regional airport is Barnstable Municipal Airport. There were 7,339 housing units at an average density of 319.3/sq mi (123.3/km²).
In July 1888, Helen Keller, and her teacher, Anne Sullivan visited Brewster. In the photo, Helen is shown cradling a doll. The photograph was recently discovered almost 120 years after it was taken. The mother of the woman who provided the photograph was Helen's playmate at the Elijah Cobb House.
Minnie Riperton's song, "Alone in Brewster Bay," refers to when Riperton and her husband, producer Dick Rudolph, vacationed on Cape Cod during the early 1970s, prior to the release of her 1975 hit single, "Lovin' You".
Samuel M. Nickerson, president of the First National Bank of Chicago. S. M. Nickerson was one of the most influential business leaders of the time.
