Provincetown MA

Provincetown was the site of the Mayflower's first landing, and the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact in its harbor to codify the administration of the colony they intended to establish. Commercial Street, Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA Provincetown grew very slowly during the 18th century, and its population fluctuated with the price of fish. Farming was of secondary importance and aside from the fishing industry, there were some salt works and one mill.

Forty years after the American Revolution, the town's population had almost tripled. By the middle of the 19th century, Provincetown became the Cape's prime maritime, fishing and commercial center. The quaint setting and salt air also began attracting artists and writers by the end of the 1800s. Poets, novelists, journalists, socialists, radicals and dilettantes formed a colony, which in 1915 opened the Provincetown Players in a converted wharf fish house. Eugene O'Neill was among the writers whose works were performed there.

In the 1920s, the local culture gained an international reputation. Abandoned sites of maritime businesses became homes for seasonal visitors, while sail lofts, warehouses and barns became studios, galleries and shops. Today, a plethora of preserved historic structures combined with the seaside location support a healthy tourist and seasonal rental industry.