East Dennis’ post office opened in 1828, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
Most of East Dennis was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1887 on, and old-book passages.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of East Dennis. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1887Yarmouth 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 East Dennis.
The story so far
East Dennis, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of East Dennis yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
East Dennis is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Dennis in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in the 1630s. As of the 2020 census, East Dennis had a population of 2,585.
Its first post office opened in 1828. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,753 to 2,585 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about East Dennis in 1890
Passages that mention East Dennis, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, 1620-1637-1686-18901890 · page 521Read the page →
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still traveling from division to division. In 1770 school houses had been erected at Nobscusset and Quivet Neck, and the town of Dennis, when erected, had as many districtsor divisions as the entire territory of both towns the century before. The original East Dennis school house was built in 1769 near the present site of Worden Hall. It was warmed by the old fire place, and not until its successor was erected in 1826 was that wholesome luxury exchanged for the first school house stove.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, 1620-1637-1686-18901890 · page 519Read the page →
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The Wesleyan Methodist Society, East Dennis, organized as the Reformed Methodist Society of Dennis and Brewster in 1814, and erected in 1821 a meeting-house over the line in Brewster, where the society worshipped until 1845, when the present name was adopted.
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
East Dennis, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
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), 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.
1966
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2010
2010
2010
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