Place Information
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Mashpee is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,946 at the 2000 census. For geographic and demographic information on specific parts of the town of Mashpee, please see the articles on Mashpee Neck, Monomoscoy Island, New Seabury, Popponesset, Popponesset Island, Seabrook and Seconsett Island. History
Mashpee was settled by English colonists in 1658 with the assistance of the missionary Richard Bourne from the neighboring town of Sandwich. In the year 1763 Mashpee was constituted a plantation by the king of England, against the will of the native Wampanoags. The natives were given the right to elect their own officials to maintain order. However, the population of the plantation declined steadily due to the conditions placed upon them. Because of this, and despite several attempts at self-rule, the Wampanoags lost their land, and Mashpee was incorporated as a town in 1870 the second-to-last town on the Cape to do so (other than Bourne). Today, the town of Mashpee is known both as a tourist destination and for their Native American culture. Every year, a pow-wow is held, which offers fine examples of Wampanoag activities and crafts. The town's name is an Anglicization of a native name that can be segmented as "mass-nippe," where mass is "great", or "greater" (see Massachusetts), and nippe is "water." The name has been translated as "the greater cove" or "great pond" or "land near great cove", where the water being referenced is Wakeby Lake, which is greater at one end. Research Tips
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