Eastham Center Historic District

Eastham Center is a compact village district of about 31 acres near the geographic center of Eastham, on Cape Cod. It is arranged along Samoset and Depot Roads and a short segment of State Highway (Route 6), and holds 59 resources, 40 of which contribute to its character. Most date from about 1870 to 1940, the period when the railroad was most active. Small, shingled, wood-frame houses with gable roofs predominate, set back from narrow, tree-lined roads. The focal point is Windmill Park, where a late 18th-century octagonal windmill stands beside a stone pump and granite trough. Civic buildings include the 1889 Stick Style Universalist Chapel, the 1897 public library and the 1912 brick Colonial Revival Town Hall designed by George C. Wales. Together they show how the area replaced the earlier Salt Pond area as the town's institutional and commercial center, while keeping the modest regional building tradition.