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Overview
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Orleans, incorporated
in 1797, lies on the outer Cape between Cape Cod Bay on the west and Pleasant
Bay and the Atlantic on the east. The town has beautiful beaches and views
of Pleasant Bay that rival the best seaside views in the world. Orleans
has a small town feel while being the commercial center of the outer Cape.
In 1642 the first
permanent settlement was established by Nicholas Snow and his family.
Settlers purchased rights to the town from Mattaguason, sachem of the
Manamoyick Indians. The Colonial economy was built on agriculture, especially
corn, rye and wheat, plus the growing of hay and vegetables. In the 18th
century commercial fishing and shellfishing supplemented local incomes,
and residents worked on herring boats and hunted whales.
By the 19th century,
residents serviced coastal packets from Boston, and several windmills
created power resources in the town, and many residents relied on cod
and mackerel fishing to earn a living. Life long residents recall that
in those days the very old and the very young farmed, while all the able-bodied
men fished. Fishing in Orleans declined as competition from larger boats
and larger ports grew, but the town had established a commercial importance
on the Cape as a market center for other communities.
Small businesses like
the Mayo Duck Farm that produced 50,000 ducklings in 1918 were welcomed
by the town, but the major modern change in Orleans was spurred by the
impact of summer development. This resort home development, which accelerated
between 1915 and 1940 and still continues, has had the greatest effect
on the town and in turn has supported increasing commercial development
along Route 6. (Narrative in part courtesy of the Massachusetts Department
of Housing and Community Development.)
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