This small unassuming patch of land harbors two treasures in the rich historical fabric of our town, the Rock Harbor Academy and the original Snow Library.
Rock Harbor Academy
In 1827, a group of citizens who wanted a place of higher . . . — — Map (db m141702) HM
Here, Dec. 19, 1814 Orleans Militia repulsed British landing from H.M.S. Newcastle, - intent; burning village and vessels, War of 1812. Town's early commercial and maritime center. Packet's Landing; passengers and freight between here, Plymouth, . . . — — Map (db m61489) HM
All nine of the Cape Cod Lifesaving Stations were a part of the USLSS District 2. In 1872, Sumner I. Kimball, then Chief of the Treasury Department’s Revenue Marine Division, appointed Orleans resident Benjamin Sparrow as Superintendent of . . . — — Map (db m158783) HM
On January 28, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed the law creating the US Coast Guard by combining the Lifesaving Service with the Revenue Cutter Service. The law put the Coast Guard under the Treasury Department in peacetime and under the . . . — — Map (db m158839) HM
In early 1814, the arrival of British naval ships released from European war duties brought economic hardships to Cape Cod. Provincetown became the headquarters for the H.M.S. Newcastle, captained by Lord George Stuart, as well as the Acasta, . . . — — Map (db m158455) HM
East Orleans Country Store, built prior to 1835 by William Myrick. Later owned by Myrick, Doane & Crosby. Sold in 1858 to lot Higgins and moved to the present site. Run until 1935 by Samuel Higgins. — — Map (db m141678) HM
French – Atlantic cable company Cape Cod station 1890 – 1959. Oldest cable on Atlantic bed. From storm isolated Cape, first world news of steamer Portland lost off Truro with 200 lives; flashed from Orleans to Brest, France and back over . . . — — Map (db m77557) HM
The submarine telegraph cable known as Le Direct provided communication between Europe and North America without intermediate relaying. In a remarkable feat of oceanic engineering, the cable was laid in the deepest waters of the Atlantic Ocean . . . — — Map (db m141616) HM
The Incorporation of Orleans
The Town of Orleans was born in 1797. On March 1, both houses of the Massachusetts legislature passed, and on March 3 Governor Samuel Adams signed “An act to divide the town of Eastham in the County of . . . — — Map (db m158944) HM
Built circa 1720 in South Orleans, later moved to the center of town. It was moved to Hyannisport in 1897. In 1983, the structure was given to the Orleans Historical Society by the Groves family. The society then donated it to the town. Dismantled . . . — — Map (db m59979) HM
Shipwrecks and Lifesaving in Orleans date back to the winter of 1626, approximately 170 years before the incorporation of the Town. During that winter, the Sparrow-hawk, carrying passengers bound for Jamestown from England, was wrecked in the . . . — — Map (db m158793) HM
For nearly two centuries after the Sparrow-hawk rescue, there were no organized efforts to aid those who were involved in shipwrecks off Cape Cod shores. Those who found themselves cast up on the shores or sandbars of Cape Cod were at the mercy . . . — — Map (db m158807) HM
In the years following World War I, the profession of lifesaving changed significantly. The widening of the Cape Cod Canal and the removal of the substantial tolls greatly reduced the amount of shipping traffic off our dangerous eastern shore. . . . — — Map (db m158911) HM
The history of the town of Orleans is closely linked to the town of Eastham, and has deep roots in the original Plymouth Colony established in 1620. For some time, the colonists there had considered moving the colony to a better location due to . . . — — Map (db m158924) HM
Orleans’ First Resident?
Strictly speaking, each of the nearly 1000 persons residing in Orleans at the time of the incorporating act were among the first residents of Orleans. But did they have a predecessor? The historical record . . . — — Map (db m158929) HM
Honor Roll
Dedicated to the Men of the
Town of Orleans Who Served In
1917 – The World War – 1919
Army
Bailey George · Baker Warren W. · Betts Charley E. · Chase Fred N. · Childs Adelbert A. · Crowell George E. · . . . — — Map (db m144444) WM
In honor of the veterans from the town of Orleans who served during the Korean War and
Vietnam War
Bryant Harland Besse • Richard Sewell Burling • Donald Allen Clifton • Moncrieff M Cochran III • Robert William Corrigan • Charles Abbott . . . — — Map (db m165415) WM
Dedicated in veneration for those who died gratitude to those who served with honor, confidence in the patriotism of those who follow
Died In Service
S. Hilton Atwood •
Albert P. Nassi •
Allen B. Walker
Erected In Memory Of . . . — — Map (db m166817) WM
Both the lighthouse standing here and the cliff in front of you have had to give away to the power of the Atlantic Ocean.
The first lighthouses built here in 1838 were placed over 600 feet east of where you are standing now. As ocean waves . . . — — Map (db m307193) HM
These three lighthouses were part of the Nauset Beach Light Station, which originally stood a quarter mile away, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Nicknamed the Three Sisters, this trio of lights provided a landmark for sailors making their way . . . — — Map (db m307194) HM
In 1872, the United States Lifesaving Service (USLSS), a unit of the US Treasury Department, established nine lifesaving stations on Cape Cod. One of these stations was in Orleans, on Nauset Beach just opposite the south end of Ponchet (now . . . — — Map (db m158775) HM
Whales and humans have long shared the coastline of Cape Cod. Native Americans harvested whales the washed up on the beaches, almost exclusively for food, long before the arrival of European colonists. While anchored in what would become . . . — — Map (db m141867) HM
