Local Museums, special places and partners of history
Local museums are able to provide a sense of community and place by celebrating a collective heritage, offering a great way to get to know the history of a particular area. There are endless examples of local museums in Cape Cod. We hope you take the time to explore in person during your next visit with us.
US Coast Guard Heritage Museum
Our mission is to tell the Coast Guard story from a regional Cape Cod perspective. We are one of only two free-standing museums in the country dedicated to celebrating U.S. Coast Guard history. It is very appropriate that we occupy the 1856 U.S. Customs House in Barnstable. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the birth place of the Coast Guard and both Customs and Coast Guard have 18th century origins under the Treasury Department. Both organizations have worked closely since that time. The service’s legacy on the Cape is very deep and rich. It has protected our shores and harbors, rescued thousands of distressed seamen, saved cargo worth millions of dollars, interdicted illegal drugs, promoted vessel safety, and enforced environmental, fisheries and maritime laws.
1717 Meetnghouse Foundation
This statue on the Village Green in downtown Hyannis, by noted Cape Cod sculptor David Lewis, commemorates Chief Sachem Iyannnough of the Mattachiest (Mattakesse) tribe of Cummaquid, who befriended early settlers in 1621, approximately 18 months after the Mayflower landed in Provincetown. It is thought that his name gave rise to the name of the village of Hyannis and the Wianno section of Osterville in the Town of Barnstable MA.
Sachem Iyannough Memorial
This statue on the Village Green in downtown Hyannis, by noted Cape Cod sculptor David Lewis, commemorates Chief Sachem Iyannnough of the Mattachiest (Mattakesse) tribe of Cummaquid, who befriended early settlers in 1621, approximately 18 months after the Mayflower landed in Provincetown. It is thought that his name gave rise to the name of the village of Hyannis and the Wianno section of Osterville in the Town of Barnstable MA.
Sachem Iyannough Gravesite Trail
A roadside plaque along Rt 6A in Cummaquid marks the entrance to the public trail which leads to Iyannough’s grave in a clearing of land a quarter-mile into the woods. The Iyannough slate tablet grave marker was erected at this site in 1894 by the Cape Cod Historical Society along with smaller grave markers nearby that indicate the area surrounding the Iyannough gravesight was part of a larger Native American burial ground.