Cape Cod extends into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, from which is separated by the Cape Cod Canal. It stretches from Provincetown in the northeast to Woods Hole in the southwest, and comprises Barnstable County. The Cape Cod Canal cuts 28.2 km roughly across the base of the peninsula, though the western boundary of the cape extends to include small portions of the towns of Bourne and Sandwich which lie on the mainland side of the canal. Two highway bridges (the Sagamore Bridge and the Bourne Bridge), and the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge cross the canal.
Like Cape Cod itself, the islands south of the Cape have evolved from whaling and trading areas to become resort destinations, attracting wealthy families, celebrities, and other tourists. These include the large nearby islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. The name "Cape Cod", as it was first used in 1602, applied only to the very tip of the peninsula, and it remained that way for 125 years. Barnstable, the most populated municipality on Cape Cod, is the only one to have adopted a city form of government. One of the biggest barrier islands in the world, Cape Cod shields much of the Massachusetts coastline from North Atlantic storm waves.
Cape Cod has been the home of the Wampanoag Native American people for many centuries. They survived off the sea and were accomplished farmers. It was among the first places settled by the English in North America. The Cape's fifteen towns developed slowly, aside from Barnstable (1639), Sandwich (1637), and Yarmouth (1639). The present Cape Cod Canal was slowly developed from 1870 to 1914. The federal government purchased it in 1928. The early industrial revolution occurred through much of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, but it mostly bypassed Cape Cod. Beginning at the end of the 19th century, it became a summer haven for city dwellers
About the stamps
The first stamp is part of a definitive series with butterflies, about which I wrote here. The second stamp belongs to the series Send a Hello (Forever), about which I wrote here.
References
Cape Cod - Wikipedia
Sender: Denise
Sent from Greenvale (New York / United States), on 13.12.2013
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