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History · Buzzards Bay

Buzzards Bay dates to 1621, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and old-book passages.

1621founded
1on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Buzzards Bay’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Buzzards Bay began

When was Buzzards Bay founded?

1621

Buzzards Bay dates its founding to 1621 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1831.

2020 census: 4,279405 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓

What stands out about Buzzards Bay’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Older than the countryEstablished in 1621, 155 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 18867 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1977. Watch Buzzards Bay change.Old housesHalf of Buzzards Bay’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Buzzards Bay, 1621 to 1930

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 17th century
  2. 1621
    FoundingBuzzards Bay is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1901In the archiveFMIB 40469 Map of the region of Woods Hole showing migrations of Lobsters
  7. 1903Born hereFrancis Cleveland is born here
  8. 1930In the archiveBathing beach and bath house, Buzzards Bay, Mass (72824)
On the map

Buzzards Bay on the map, 1886 to 1977

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Buzzards Bay. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Buzzards Bay on the 1886 USGS mapBuzzards Bay on the 1894 USGS mapBuzzards Bay on the 1921 USGS mapBuzzards Bay on the 1940 USGS mapBuzzards Bay on the 1951 USGS mapBuzzards Bay on the 1967 USGS mapBuzzards Bay on the 1977 USGS map1886Plymouth sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Buzzards Bay.

The story

How Buzzards Bay came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Buzzards Bay.

Read it all →

Buzzards Bay was originally Wampanoag territory. The "buzzards" for which the town was named were most likely turkey vultures or ospreys. Buzzards Bay was settled by Europeans in 1621.

Among the community's most prominent residents was President Grover Cleveland, who maintained a "Summer White House" at his home at Agawam Point in Buzzards Bay. Cleveland's home, a local landmark, was destroyed by fire on December 10, 1973.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Buzzards Bay in 1890

Passages that mention Buzzards Bay, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Bourne neck is a fertile tract of land at the head of Buzzards bay, lying between Cohasset narrows and Monument river, and on which the growing village of Buzzards Bay is situated. Wenaumet neck, with its lighthouse, is an important point, and assists in forming a good harbor for Pocasset in the so…
History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, 1620-1637-1686-18901890 · page 324Read the page →
Read the text

Bourne neck is a fertile tract of land at the head of Buzzards bay, lying between Cohasset narrows and Monument river, and on which the growing village of Buzzards Bay is situated. Wenaumet neck, with its lighthouse, is an important point, and assists in forming a good harbor for Pocasset in the southern portion of the town; and Scragg's neck— now an island at high water — serves the same purpose for South Pocasset, near the Falmouth line. The smaller bays and inlets of rivers, along the western coast of Bourne, on the greater

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Ellis M.Swift was the first agent here for the Old Colony company in 1847, and was succeeded in 1853 by Erastus O. Parker, who moved to Buzzards Bay in 1872; then Abram F. Swift became agent. Late in the year 1877 the present station was erected on the site of theformer.
History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, 1620-1637-1686-18901890Read the page →
Read the text

Ellis M.Swift was the first agent here for the Old Colony company in 1847, and was succeeded in 1853 by Erastus O. Parker, who moved to Buzzards Bay in 1872; then Abram F. Swift became agent. Late in the year 1877 the present station was erected on the site of theformer.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Buzzards Bay, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s6 items
FMIB 40469 Map of the region of Woods Hole showing migrations of Lobsters1901FMIB 40469 Map of the region of Woods Hole showing mi…MapBuzzards Bay railroad bridge 1907 postcardc. 1907Buzzards Bay railroad bridge 1907 postcardPostcardBathing beach and bath house, Buzzards Bay, Mass (72824)c. 1930Bathing beach and bath house, Buzzards Bay, Mass (728…Brigham's Cabin Court, Buzzards Bay, Mass (87447)c. 1930Brigham's Cabin Court, Buzzards Bay, Mass (87447)Business District at Buzzards Bay, looking west, Cape Cod, Mass (67189)c. 1930Business District at Buzzards Bay, looking west, Cape…Business District of Buzzards Bay, Cape Cod, Mass (76162)c. 1930Business District of Buzzards Bay, Cape Cod, Mass (76…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Buzzards Bay railroad bridge 1907 postcard
Retake this viewBuzzards Bay railroad bridge 1907 postcard, c. 1907

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Buzzards Bay’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Buzzards Bay

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Finish Buzzards Bay’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBuzzards Bay railroad bridge 1907 postc…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Bourne9 historic placesA−Wareham3 historic placesAPlymouth23 historic placesA

Questions about Buzzards Bay’s history

What year was Buzzards Bay founded?

In 1621, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Buzzards Bay’s post office opened in 1831.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.