Wellfleet Center Historic District

Wellfleet Center is a compact village district on outer Cape Cod, set between Duck Creek and Main Street, covering about 119 acres. Of its 299 buildings, 173 contribute to its character, and all contributing resources were in place by 1915. The oldest buildings are Georgian and Federal Cape Cod houses from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. As outer harbors silted up from the 1830s, residents moved at least twenty houses into the village by oxen, barge and raft, and some were dismantled and reassembled. Fishing, wharves, salt works, marine insurance and shops made the village the town's commercial core, and most buildings from that era are Greek Revival, built by local carpenter-architects. Churches, a bank and Masonic Hall joined the houses and stores. Later buildings, including summer cottages and a large summer mansion, mark the move from maritime trades toward tourism. Houses, shops, galleries and restaurants remain in use, and the exteriors are largely unaltered.