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Welcome to Woods Hole Village. We've made this tour to help you get better acquainted with our town. A few things to note before we get started ...
Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, Woods Hole was a favored summering ground for the Wampanoag Indians. The Wampanoag's permanent settlements were further up the Cape, but they came here frequently to fish, clam and collect timber. English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold (1572-1607) was likely the first European to see Woods Hole. He "discovered" Martha's Vineyard (named after his daughter) and the Elizabeth Islands, and although there's scant evidence he ever set foot on the mainland, it's likely he sailed past Woods Hole. The first Europeans to actually settle here bought "Woods Hole Neck" in the late 1600s from a Wampanoag Indian called Job Notantico and divided the land so they each had shorefront on Little Harbor, just a few yards in front of our Museum. Many of these early settlers were Quakers, escaping the rigid ties of church and state in the settlements to the North, particularly in Plymouth and Sandwich. Beginning with those early settlers, Woods Hole's history is marked by a few major transitions in the trade and industry of its inhabitants. In its first 150 years, the village went from being a colonial outpost, home to subsistence farmers and fisherman, to a center of salt production during the American Revolution, to a major Cape Cod whaling village in the early 1800s. Our audio tour picks up on the second half of the village's life -- the past 150 years. We offer a bit of village storytelling gleaned from the villagers themselves. The stories you'll hear are stories that the villagers still tell each other today. We recommend three ways of listening to the tour: You can do it right now from your somputer and stream the audio while you peruse the photos included with each story. If you plan on visiting Woods Hole any time soon, you can download the .MP3 audio files to your MP3 player, print out our walking tour map and take the tour yourself. Or, you can also come to the museum and borrow a player to carry with you while you take the tour. Either way, we enjoy feedback. If you've got comments or questions please send your email to Woods Hole Historical Museum. Enjoy the tour! The Map of Woods Hole is PDF file which you can download from here and print to your own printer. (A color printer would be best, but a black & white printer will work.) If you do not already have Acrobat on your computer, you can download it here. |
