Brewster, Massachusetts |
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Brewster is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population of Brewster was 10,094 at the 2000 census.
Brewster is twinned with the town of Budleigh Salterton in the United Kingdom.
The Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League play at the Stony Brook School from mid-June to early August.
Brewster was first settled in 1656 as a northeastern parish of the town of Harwich, Massachusetts. The town separated from Harwich as the northern, more wealthy parish of Harwich in 1693, and was officially incorporated as its own town in 1803 when the less wealthy citizens of Harwich were upset that the town's institutions were all on Brewster's main street (Route 6A), including the town hall and churches. Brewster was named in honor of Elder William Brewster, the first religious leader of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony. The town's history grew around Stony Brook, where the first water-powered grist and woolen mill in the country was founded in the late 1600s. There were also many rich sea captains in the town, who built many of the mansions and stately homes which now constitute the town's inns and bed-and-breakfasts. Most notable of these is the Crosby Mansion on Crosby Lane by Crosby beach, which is currently undergoing renovations to allow for more weddings and other functions.
Brewster is a member of the Nauset Regional School District, along with the towns of Eastham, Orleans and Wellfleet. The town operates the Stony Brook Elementary School, which serves students from kindergarten through second grade, and the Eddy Elementary School, which serves students in third through fifth grades. Middle School students attend Nauset Middle School in Orleans, and high school students attend Nauset Regional High School in North Eastham. There is also a public charter school available to middle school students from Brewster: The Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School in Orleans.
Additionally, the town's high school students may attend Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in neighboring Harwich free of charge. There are also two private schools, The Family School and The Laurel School, both of which serve elementary students.