KG around the cape summer 2021 - Flipbook - Page 39
BA R N STA BL E V I L L AGE
A ROUND CA PE COD
Centerville
One of seven villages in the town of Barnstable, Centerville
is located on the south side of the town with a long sandy
coastline on Nantucket Sound. The area was originally called
Chequaquet by the Wampanoag, which means “pleasant
harbor,” before it was purchased by Myles Standish in 1648.
By the early 1800s the village had grown significantly and
was renamed Centreville (the modern spelling of Centerville
was instituted soon after).
Made famous by a mention from Oprah
Winfrey, Centerville Pie Company was
founded in 2009 by two long-time
friends known as “The Pie Ladies.”
The shop features a variety of delicious
savory and sweet pies, and it has a
successful partnership with a local
disabilities-services nonprofit, and
employs men and women with
special needs.
The Centerville Historic District encompasses forty historically
significant buildings, including eighteenth and nineteenth
century churches and homes in the Greek Revival and
Italianate architectural styles. The Centerville Historical
Museum houses historical and contemporary arts, crafts, and
artifacts in an 1850s house on Main Street. The Centerville
Public Library, which today has a state-of-the-art facility, was
originally started in 1869 as a few shelves in a general store.
The much-loved 1856 Country Store still operates as a
general store today, and the famous Four Seas Ice Cream
shop (a favorite of John and Jackie Kennedy) are part of a
long-standing tradition of friendliness in Centerville.
Long Beach, Covell’s Beach, and the very popular Craigville
Beach make up the town’s beaches, which are all clustered
along the sound. Further inland, Wequaquet Lake is a
wonderful large pond that is great for boating and swimming,
while Bumps River, which creates the western border of the
village with Osterville, is a good kayaking spot.
Centerville has a wide range of homes from simple cottages
near Wequaquet Lake, single-family dwellings in the middle
of town, and more luxurious beachside houses. Its name
proves its convenient locale as Centerville has easy access
to downtown Hyannis, off-Cape destinations, and Route 6 for
Outer Cape excursions.
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Centerville Historic District was added to
the National Register of Historic Places
in 1987. This section of Centerville runs
primarily along Main Street between Old
Stage Road and Church Hill Road and
features 40-odd homes and buildings.
Some of the more notable ones include
the South Congressional Church,
the 1856 Country Store, the David Kelley
House, which is a Greek Revival built in
1835, the French Second Empire-style
Benjamin Childs House, and the Austin
Bearse House, which was built between
1689 and 1692 and is privately owned.
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