Cape Cod and the Islands · MA
Bourne
The first town on the Cape, split by the Cape Cod Canal.
- Population
- 20,452 (2020 census)
- Aptucxet Trading Post
- 1627
- Incorporated
- 1884
Then
- 1627
The Pilgrims open the Aptucxet Trading Post, billed as the nation's oldest store.
- 1640
Ezra Perry settles here as part of Sandwich.
- 1884
Bourne becomes the last town incorporated on Cape Cod, named for Jonathan Bourne.
- 1900s
The Cape Cod Canal is cut through town, sparing ships the dangerous trip around the outer Cape.
Now
The Bourne and Sagamore bridges and the canal railroad bridge all cross here. Massachusetts Maritime Academy sits at the canal's southern mouth in Buzzards Bay.