Historic Places in Chatham, Cape Cod

The town of Chatham and its dramatic coastal setting are abundantly blessed with memorable and historic features beloved of visitors and many recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. A rich and full visitor’s itinerary would include:

Chatham Bars Inn
Situated on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic, Chatham Bars Inn is the last of the grand hotels of Chatham. Built in 1914as an elegant hunting lodge by Charles Hardy, a wealthy Boston stockbroker, it quickly became a summer retreat for wealthy vacationers escaping the heat of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and other large cities. Designed by Boston architects Harvey Bailey Alden and William H. Cox, it boasted of long distance telephones and salt water baths in each room.. Its splendid seaside location winds across 25 acres of blooming gardens and cottages that encircle the stately Main Inn, a true Grand Dame!  Today the Inn still exudes elegant charm and is an ideal setting for romance, restful retreat, or family holiday. Historic Hotels of America and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Chatham Historic Business District (Downtown Main Street) 
With buildings dating back to the mid-1800s, Main Street is the visually cohesive, true commercial and social center of town. National Register of Historic Places.

Louis Brandeis House
The summer home of the U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1916-1939) and namesake of BrandeisUniversity in Waltham, Massachusetts. National Register of Historic Places.  

Brick Block
Built on Main Street in 1915 by Charles Hardy, the Boston stockbroker who also built the Chatham Bars Inn. Designed in the half-timber English Tudor style, the Brick Block building originally housed the post office and a local bank and was for many years considered the center of town activities. National Register of Historic Places.  

Chatham Railroad Company Depot
A striking example of Victorian-era architecture, the railroad depot was the stepping off – and on – point for riders of the old Chatham Railroad, which served the town with a seven-mile strip of railway from 1887-1937. Today the depot houses the Chatham Railroad Museum, including relics from the era, a 75-year-old caboose from the New York Central system, and a diorama of the Chatham train yards of 1915. National Register of Historic Places.   The museum is manned by an experienced group of volunteers from all over Cape Cod 508-945-5780.   

Chatham's Old Gristmill
Located in Chase Park, the wind-powered gristmill was built by Colonel Benjamin Godfrey in 1797 to grind local corn. Originally located along Stage Harbor Road, the gristmill was an active commercial operation until 1898. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  Chatham’s windmill has undergone a historic renovation and will once again grind corn—at least, on occasion! Visitors to the 18th-century wind-powered gristmill will be able to relive a bit of town history.  Please visit us at www.chathamwindmill.com

Eldredge Public Library
Designed in the Renaissance/Romanesque style by A. Marble, a student of the renowned 19th-century architect Henry Hobson Richardson, the Eldredge Public Library an architectural jewel, was completed in 1896. National Register of Historic Places.    

Old Village Association 

The Old Village is a living, breathing and active participant in the history of Chatham and Cape Cod, and has been since its early days as “Scrabbletown” – when grit and perseverance were essential to homesteading and doing business here.

The Old Village Association is dedicated to preserving the unique beauty of our architectural setting, so that it continues to inspire, comfort, and welcome generations to come. Since our founding in 1997 we have advocated to preserve and protect our historic neighborhood, and fostered a sense of lively community among our members. In 2001 the Association co-sponsored, with the Chatham Historical Commission, a successful application placing the Old Village on the National Register of Historic Places. We invite you to learn more about the special benefits of membership in our Association and hope you will consider supporting our vital work.

Chatham Marconi Maritime Center
Seen on the Channel 5 Boston "Chronicle" news magazine and in the Boston Globe.
The Chatham Marconi Maritime Center welcomes visitors to its Museum and Education Center located at 847 Orleans Road (Route 28) overlooking Ryders Cove in the Chathamport area of North Chatham. The museum is located in the historic Operations Building built in 1914 by Guglielmo Marconi. The station was part of his visionary wireless network that was planned to link America with Europe and Japan. 

Under the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and known by the call letters WCC, it was the busiestship-to-shore station on the East Coast during most of the 20th century. Not only did WCC relay vital messages to ships around the world, it also provided communications to brave aviators and bold adventurers – Charles and Anne Lindberg, Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes. During World War II, the U.S. Navy operated the Chatham station as secret “Station C’ whose mission it was to locate and intercept coded messages from enemy surface vessels and submarines, helping to win the Battle of the Atlantic. Exhibits include videos about Marconi’s life and the role of WCC in world events, an authentic shipboard radio, artifacts from important periods in WCC’s history, and an opportunity for visitors to send Morse code as well as see an operational amateur radio station. For further information about the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center, visit www.chathammarconi.org . 

Monomoy Point Lighthouse
Located on the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, the Monomoy Point Lighthouse, now decommissioned, is one of the earliest cast-iron lighthouses in America, constructed in 1823. National Register of Historic Places.

Chatham Light and Coast Guard Station
Probably the most famous tourist attraction in town, with a weather-wracked history that never gets old. The first two wooden lighthouses that were erected in 1808 were torn apart by storms. These were replaced in 1841 by two brick lighthouses that lasted until an 1870 Nor’easter stirred up the

Atlantic, until surf broke through the barrier beach and washed away the bluff, crashing the lighthouses into the sea. The current single lighthouse was built in 1877. Some 5,000 tourists visit the Chatham Light each year, taking in the Atlantic “South Beach” overlook, which gives fascinating views of the Cape Cod National Seashore, historic fishing camps, ever shifting sandbars and beach, rolling surf, and the fishing fleet coming and going “through the break” in the sand bars, caused by a 1987 storm. National Register of Historic Places.  

Captain David T. Bassett House
The captain of a two-masted schooner was the first known resident of this historic home in the 1840s,which now houses the Visitors Center managed by the Chatham Chamber Of Commerce. 

Atwood Museum
Home to the Chatham Historical Society, the original part of the house was built in 1752 by Captain Joseph Atwood when he was still a subject of King George II.  The main house remains unchanged.  It houses extensive collections of art, artifacts and decorative arts which portray life on the Cape since the 17th century.

Mayo House
Located on Main Street at the center of town, this 1820 home is a perfect example of traditional “Cape Cod” design.  The Mayo House is furnished with period furniture and open to the public mid-June through September, as well as during the Christmas Stroll Weekend.  The house serves as the headquarters for the Chatham Conservation Foundation.  

Caleb Nickerson House and William Nickerson Cabin Site
The Caleb Nickerson Homestead is on the campus of the Nickerson Family Association, Inc. (NFA), at 1107 Orleans Road (Route 28), North Chatham. The NFA boasts 900 active members around the world and has hosted an annual reunion since 1897. Nickerson progenitor William Nickerson was the first to purchase land in what is now Chatham from the native tribe, and also founded the first house of worship in town. The homestead that William and his wife Anne (Busby) Nickerson built in 1664 is currently under excavation at the rear of the campus. Descendant Caleb Nickerson built his full-Cape in 1829. The Cape, which was moved here from its original site, has been restored and features three working fireplaces and a beehive oven, original iron cranes, period woodwork and hand-hewn, random-width pine floors. The homestead was honored with a 2005 Preservation Award from the Chatham Historical Commission and Chatham Historical Society. Extensive early genealogical records are stored on the NFA campus in the Nickerson Research Center and are available for public study. Hands-on events on colonial life as well as teas are scheduled during the spring, summer and fall. The NFA is open on Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and by appointment. For more information, call 508-945-6086 or visit www.nickersonassoc.com.

Squanto Commemorative
Squanto, the most famous Native American to greet the Pilgrims, died in 1622 under mysterious circumstances in Jack Knife Cove in Chatham. During the Pilgrims’ first winter and spring Squanto taught the newcomers to catch eels and to grow corn by fertilizing the poor soil with dried herring and shad and thereby helped them to survive. In November 1622 Squanto traveled with Gov. Bradford from Plymouth to Chatham, then known as Monomoit, on a mission to trade with the Monomoyicks for eight hogsheads of corn and beans. Just before departure, Squanto fell ill. Squanto is buried “within gunshot” of the Nickerson Family Association, Inc. Two plaques on the NFA campus commemorate Squanto’s life. 

Main Street School
Constructed in 1924, the school housed all twelve grades until 1963.  It finally closed in 1998 and has been restored. This major project focused on preserving and enhancing the historical character of this town landmark, while creating a new Community Center featuring meeting and recreational space, a gymnasium and a teen center.  

Chatham Fish Pier
A true working pier, the Chatham Fish Pier is where the local professional fishermen bring in their catch. Visitors can catch the sights, sounds and scents of the action from a prominent observation deck. The Pier is a port for Coast Guard rescue boats, one of the three local commercial seal watch operations, as well for forays to Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge and sport fishing departures. The Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fisherman’s Association provides guides at the Fish Pier to educate visitors about Chatham’s strong maritime history and long fishing heritage while also focusing on environmental issues and scientific fisheries management.  

Chatham Drama Guild
At 75 years old, the Chatham Drama Guild is the second oldest community theater on Cape Cod, producing dramas, comedies and revues year-round.

Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge
Chatham is an unparalleled destination for bird watching, affording unexcelled sites to observe the region’s 285 known species, some of which are extremely rare. The island stretches nearly ten miles into the water of Nantucket Sound and the Atlantic. Its nearly 3,000 acres of sand dunes, ponds and marshes protect numerous avian species, including endangered piping plovers and roseate terns. The only nationally designated Wilderness Area in southern New England, a designation it has held since 1970, Monomoy is an important link in the chain of migratory waterfowl refuges along the Atlantic Flyway.

North Beach and the Cape Cod National Seashore
The barrier North Beach is a favorite destination, by auto or boat, for locals and tourists alike.  Rustic fish camps dot the beach which separates the open Atlantic from Pleasant Bay and North Chatham.  The National Seashore designation dates from the 1950s, when then-Senator John F. Kennedy helped enact legislation to protect the area of beaches that run along the Atlantic from Chatham to Provincetown.  Chatham’s North Beach is the southernmost piece of this national treasure.  Bare-bones fishing camps – no running water or electricity – are protected by grandfather provisions in the laws governing the seashore.  The camps have been owned by the same private families that created them generations ago and may not be sold.  

Old Colony Rail Trail Bike Path
A 4.5-mile paved bike trail in Chatham built on the former railroad right-of-way. The trail connects with the neighboring town of Harwich, which then connects to the 30 year old Cape Cod Rail Trail, covering 21.9 miles. Plans are underway to expand the Chatham trail throughout town and to provide a second connector to the CCRT.