Bourne

Bourne

Bourne, town (township), Barnstable county, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies at the northeastern end of Buzzards Bay, at the base of the Cape Cod peninsula. It is composed of nine villages—Bourne Village, Buzzards Bay, Cataumet, Monument Beach, Pocasset, Sagamore, Sagamore Beach, Gray Gables, and Bournedale. Settled about 1640 as a part of Sandwich and named Monument, it was separately incorporated in 1884 and renamed for Jonathan Bourne, a local whale-oil tycoon. The town is crossed by the Cape Cod Canal (17.5 miles [28 km] long and bridged), which was built in 1909–14 and improved (1927) as part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Freight-car manufacturing thrived until 1928. Tourism, business services, and cranberry farming are now the main sources of income. The Massachusetts Maritime Academy (founded 1891) and Otis Air National Guard Base are economic assets.

Points of interest include the Aptucxet Trading Post (a replica of the 1626 structure built by members of the Plymouth colony) and Gray Gables Inn (the summer retreat of President Grover Cleveland). Area 41 square miles (106 square km). Pop. (2000) 18,721; (2010) 19,754.