City and State: North Falmouth Village, Massachusetts
Listed: 1998
Type of district: National Register historic district, Massachusetts State historic district, local historic district
Main Intersection: Old Main Road and Pine Street
North Falmouth Village National Register Historic District Report
North Falmouth Village National Register Historic District Map
North Falmouth Village Historic District is comprised of a rural village located on Cape Cod. Although there are a few commercial buildings at a crossroads, most of the buildings in the district are residential. It is a linear district, following the path of Old Main Road. The earliest houses in the village were constructed at its southern end, closest to the neighboring town of Falmouth Center, beginning around 1740.
Development progressed northward, and through a string of styles from Georgian during the early period to American Foursquare during the late period. Development ended in the district around 1940, 200 years after it began. Early development was spurred by agriculture supplemented by maritime work. As the richness of the land was depleted toward the end of the 18th century, maritime occupations gained prominence reaching a height around 1850. In the second half of the 19th century, tourism and the need for low-cost residences created a second building boom. Tourism continues to be the village’s primary economic engine.