Old Town Center Historic District

Tucked behind the modern State Highway (Route 6) in Eastham, this roughly forty-acre village cluster centers on the winding, tree-lined Salt Pond and Locust Roads. It contains 57 resources, of which 42 contribute to its character. Most are small, wood-frame, one-and-a-half to two-story houses with shingle siding and gable roofs, built between the late 18th and mid-19th centuries in Federal and Greek Revival styles. Other resources include the 1851 Old Town Hall, the 1869 Old Schoolhouse, a World War I memorial, a mile marker, and the John Knowles House, whose oldest section is dated to 1672. The area reflects the third relocation of Eastham's town center, before the railroad in 1870 shifted growth southward. Salt Pond and adjacent National Seashore land help preserve the historic setting. New buildings, many modeled on Cape cottages, largely respect the historic scale, and a local historic district commission has reviewed exterior changes since 1986.