ABOUT
Chatham is located on the elbow of Cape Cod. It is surrounded on three sides by water, Pleasant Bay, Nantucket Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. A wide variety of places to eat, sleep, and shop are strung along with the main road (Route 28) as well as in the compact center where walking is the way to get around. Finding your way about is facilitated by well marked roads and public areas. Chatham has saltwater beaches, picturesque harbors, fishing, boating, NCAA baseball, golf, parks, band concerts, theatre, arts and crafts, antique and gift shops, and more. There are cottages, bed and breakfasts, motels, hotels and inns to satisfy every taste and budget. Eating establishments range from take-out to gourmet dining. Enjoy Chatham!

HISTORY
Chatham was first settled by Native Americans over ten thousand years ago. They found game in the forests, fish in the fresh and salt waters and shellfish around the shores. There were berries on the bushes and they grew crops of vegetables like corn and squash which provided them with a varied diet. The first white settler was William Nickerson who arrived in the area in the 1650s after buying land from the Indians. He and succeeding generations supported their families first by farming and later by fishing also. Nickersons still abound in Chatham and surrounding towns and the Nickerson Family Association recently erected a building to house their records. In 1792 Chatham was incorporated as a town. The name Chatham is copied from an English town, as are many other Cape town names. North and South Chatham have post offices and some stores but when fishing became a major part of the economy most commercial activity clustered near the harbors in what is now Chatham center. Commercial fishing is still a large part of the economy of the town.

Summer visitors started arriving when the railroad came to Cape Cod. They stayed in hotels and boarding houses or bought houses and brought their families for the whole summer. Automobiles now allow visitors to comfortably come visit for day or weekend as well as longer periods of Chatham enjoys an eclectic blend of residents fishermen, retirees, summer people and tour

BEACHES
Chatham is blessed with a multitude of saltwater beaches and has one freshwater beach. White sands invite towels, beach chairs umbrellas, shovels and pails. Clean, clear water, beckon waders, swimmers and sailboards. Most are on the calm, warm waters of Nantucket Sound For ocean surf go to South Beach.

INFORMATION