News & Stories

By Jeffrey D. Crocker Miss Experience Crocker was an accomplished and independent woman of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. She never married. She was the granddaughter of Deacon William and Alice Crocker, the first Barnstable Crockers, who arrived with Reverend John Lothrop in 1639 when the Town of Barnstable was established.   Experience and her brother Nathaniel lived in their grandfather William’s house, a large two-story frame dwelling located at what is now 2

The report of the Centennial Celebration at Barnstable on September 3, 1839 is a treasure trove of insights into our community as it once was: Among its many offerings, the report records that September 3, 1639 was the date that Barnstable was incorporated, and so that is the date for all future centennial celebrations.  It also reports the founding fathers of Barnstable village, whose family names many will recognize on Cape Cod today: Rev. Mr. John Lothrop Mr. Joseph Hull

In 1614, Captain John Smith (c. 1580-1631) set out to explore and map the coastline from Maine to Massachusetts.  He published his findings in “ A Description of New England ” (1616), and set about touring the towns and cities in the Westcountry of England to promote settlement in the New World. His accounts were enticing (as was his goal).  He wrote that:   of all the foure parts of the world that I ha[v]e yet seen not inhabited … I would rather li[v]e here than any where …

By Jeffrey D. Crocker Captain Alexander Crocker (1843-1890) was the son of Deacon Timothy and Harriet (Alexander) Crocker.  He resided at 358 Sea Street in Hyannis. Captain Alexander Crocker House at 358 Sea Street in Hyannis He was one of many Barnstable men who heeded the call to support the Union forces during the Civil War.  At the age of nineteen, in 1862, he served in the Union Army’s transport service on the James River in Virginia. During the Civil War, specifica

The site near “Brickyard Creek” in West Barnstable is a natural clay deposit – material left by the glaciers of over 15,000 years ago.  One or more potteries had been established in this area since at least the 1820s. Before that time, pottery needed on the Cape had to be transported from Plymouth and elsewhere.  Many items were damaged during transit.  Pottery experts note that pottery from West Barnstable may have typically had a green glaze, been marked with wavy and strai

The short answer is that no one really knows. Or rather, it has been lost to time. For sure, Barnstable, Massachusetts is named after Barnstaple in Devon, England.  The pronunciation is the same, but the modern spelling differs.  ( Barnstable, Devon, England )   Who first named our town (and later county) “Barnstable” is unclear.  The explorer Captain John Smith— who first coined the name “New England”—is said to have invited Prince Charles (later King Charles I of England (