Brewster Old King's Highway Historic District

Strung along the old King's Highway, now Main Street, this Brewster district follows a route laid out in 1665 as Cape Cod's main overland road. At its center stand the First Parish Church, rebuilt in 1834 on its 1700 site, and the Old Burying Ground of 1707. Around them are Cape cottages, two-story captains' mansions, barns, stone walls and cemeteries, set among salt marshes, fields and woodland. Most of the contributing buildings date from the late 18th to mid-19th century, when Brewster mariners commanded packets and merchant ships and brought home considerable wealth. More than a hundred sea captains lived in the town during the 19th century, and many built the houses and institutions that remain. Civic landmarks include the Queen Anne Old Town Hall of 1881 and the Stick Style Ladies Library of 1868, the first library building on Cape Cod. Together the resources illustrate settlement patterns, maritime prosperity and changing architectural taste from about 1650 to 1945.