The
Town of Provincetown was incorporated in 1727, but its history
begins much earlier as its well protected harbor offered excellent
shelter from storms. Although the Vikings probably landed
here to rest and repair their boats, the first recorded visit
was by the European explorer Gosnold as early as 1602. Provincetown
harbor was also the site of the first landing of the Mayflower
in 1620, where the Mayflower Compact was signed. However,
the first permanent settlement didn't take place until 1700,
with fishing being the primary industry.
After the Revolution, the town boomed and its population rose 276.6%
between 1790 and 1830. By the middle of the 19th century, Provincetown
had developed as the prime maritime, fishing and commercial center of
the Cape.
The Civil War, which destroyed so many New England businesses,
only served to open more markets for Provincetown's fish.
Portuguese sailors,
picked up by American ships in the Azores and Cape Verde Islands
to fill out their crews, came to Provincetown to live. Additional
Portuguese
immigrants moved to town by the 19th century to work on the
whaling boats and coastal fishing vessels bringing their families
and traditions.
As a result, a strong Portuguese community within Provincetown
began to flourish.
In 1875, there were 25 coastal and 36 ocean vessels operating
from town, more than any community in the state including
Boston. Provincetown was quite the bustling seaport town with
all of the ancillary maritime businesses that sprang up, such
as ship chandlers, sail makers, caulkers, riggers and blacksmiths.
The picturesque setting and salt air also began attracting
artists and writers by the end of the 19th century. This contingent
grew and poets, novelists, journalists, socialists, radicals
and dilettantes formed an artistic environment that spawned
the first American school of art and birth of modern American
theater.
When the fishing industry faltered and the Portland Gale
of 1898 swept away half of the town's wharves, Provincetown
turned to another fledging industry to fill the economic gap.
The resort population that visited Provincetown every summer,
provided jobs to take the place of those lost as more individuals
and families discovered the magic of Provincetown.
In the 1920's the artistic and literary productions of the
town were of international repute and the abandoned sites
of maritime businesses became the new homes of the seasonal
visitor as sail lofts, warehouses and barns became studios,
galleries and shops. Today, the wealth of preserved historic
buildings combines with the lure of the sea to support a huge
tourist
and summer home industry.
The
Town of Provincetown was incorporated in 1727, but its history
begins much earlier as its well protected harbor offered excellent
shelter from storms. Although the Vikings probably landed
here to rest and repair their boats, the first recorded visit
was by the European explorer Gosnold as early as 1602. Provincetown
harbor was also the site of the first landing of the Mayflower
in 1620, where the Mayflower Compact was signed. However,
the first permanent settlement didn't take place until 1700,
with fishing being the primary industry.
