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192-537: Provincetown ( / ˈ p r ɒ v ɪ n s ˌ t aʊ n / ) is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts , in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census , Provincetown has a summer population as high as 60,000. Often called "P-town" or "Ptown", the locale is known as

384-661: A quit claim to their property, but the Province retained the title. The land was to be used as it had been from the beginning of the colony—a place for the making of fish. All resources, including the trees, could be used for that purpose. In 1893 the Massachusetts General Court changed the Town's charter, giving the townspeople deeds to the properties they held, while still reserving unoccupied areas. The population of Provincetown remained small through most of

576-484: A British warship that had been vigorously enforcing unpopular trade regulations, in what became known as the Gaspee Affair . The affair was investigated for possible treason, but no action was taken. In 1773, private letters were published in which Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson claimed that the colonists could not enjoy all English liberties, and in which Lieutenant Governor Andrew Oliver called for

768-725: A CDP which is coextensive with the entire town. CDPs are only recognized within towns, not cities. Because the primary role of CDPs is to establish "place" data for communities located in unincorporated areas, a CDP cannot be within an incorporated place. Since the Census Bureau recognizes New England cities as incorporated places, a CDP cannot be within a city. Data users from outside New England should be aware that New Englanders usually think in terms of entire towns (i.e., MCD data), making CDP data of marginal local interest. Since virtually all territory in New England outside of Maine

960-461: A borough or city can span more than one town. In practice, though, most cities in Connecticut today do not function any differently from their counterparts elsewhere in New England. See the section below on boroughs and villages for more background on this topic. There are far fewer cities in New England than there are towns, although cities are more common in heavily built-up areas, and most of

1152-484: A borough, a city can cover only a portion of a town rather than being coextensive with the town. This is rare today—only one or two examples remain—but it was more common in the past. At least one borough historically spanned more than one town: the borough of Danielsonville originally laid over parts of Killingly and Brooklyn , until the Brooklyn portion petitioned to be reorganized as a fire district and concurrently

1344-548: A boycott on imports of all British merchandise . American spokesmen such as Samuel Adams, James Otis, John Hancock, John Dickinson, Thomas Paine, and many others, rejected aristocracy and propounded " republicanism " as the political philosophy that was best suited to American conditions. The Parliament at Westminster saw itself as the supreme lawmaking authority throughout the Empire and thus entitled to levy any tax without colonial approval or even consultation. They argued that

1536-478: A city, it is coextensive and consolidated with the Town of Hartford; governed by a single governmental entity with the powers and responsibilities of the Town being carried out by the entity referred to as the City of Hartford. In legal theory though not in current practice Connecticut cities and boroughs could be coextensive (covering the same geography as the town) without being consolidated (a single government); also

1728-420: A fair number of unincorporated, named communities that lie within the incorporated territory of a municipality. Connecticut is one of two New England states to have any type of incorporated general-purpose municipality below the town level, namely incorporated boroughs (Vermont has incorporated villages). There are nine remaining in the state, with one, Naugatuck , having consolidated with the town. Additionally,

1920-456: A few cases in Maine where a township or gore does not border any other unorganized land, it is treated as its own MCD rather than being folded into a larger UT. In theory, a CDP could probably be defined within an MCD representing an unorganized area. Due to the extremely sparse population in most such areas, however, there are few if any cases in which the Census Bureau has actually done so. For

2112-545: A fishing and whaling center. The population was bolstered by numerous Portuguese sailors, many of whom were from the Azores , and settled in Provincetown after being hired to work on US ships. By the 1890s, Provincetown was booming and began to develop a resident population of writers and artists, as well as a summer tourist industry. After the 1898 Portland Gale severely damaged the town's fishing industry, members of

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2304-497: A historical example in New Hampshire, see Plantation number four . Most areas of New England never developed municipal forms based on the compact populated place concept. This contrasts with states with civil townships, which typically have extensive networks of villages or boroughs that carve out or overlay the townships. Two of the New England states do have general-purpose municipalities of this type, however, to at least

2496-479: A large military and naval force: Convinced that the Revolution was the work of a full few miscreants who had rallied an armed rabble to their cause, they expected that the revolutionaries would be intimidated .... Then the vast majority of Americans, who were loyal but cowed by the terroristic tactics ... would rise up, kick out the rebels, and restore loyal government in each colony. Washington forced

2688-470: A limited extent. Connecticut has incorporated boroughs , and Vermont has incorporated villages . Such areas remain a part of their parent town, but assume some responsibilities for municipal services within their boundaries. In both states, they are typically regarded as less important than towns, and both seem to be in decline as institutions. In recent decades, many boroughs and villages have disincorporated, reverting to full town control. The term "village"

2880-478: A list of all New England towns and other town-level municipalities, see the following articles: Note: All population statistics are from the 2020 United States census . Connecticut contains 169 incorporated towns. Put into terms that are equivalent to the other New England states, 20 are cities/boroughs and 149 are towns. (As discussed in the Cities section of Other types of municipalities in New England above,

3072-832: A meeting with representatives from Congress to negotiate an end to hostilities. A delegation including John Adams and Benjamin Franklin met British admiral Richard Howe on Staten Island in New York Harbor on September 11 in what became known as the Staten Island Peace Conference . Howe demanded that the Americans retract the Declaration of Independence , which they refused to do, and negotiations ended. The British then seized New York City and nearly captured Washington's army. They made

3264-517: A much larger force. As Benjamin Franklin wrote to Joseph Priestley in October 1775: Britain, at the expense of three millions, has killed 150 Yankees this campaign, which is £20,000 a head ... During the same time, 60,000 children have been born in America. From these data his mathematical head will easily calculate the time and expense necessary to kill us all. In the winter of 1775,

3456-461: A normal-sized town, these areas were known by a variety of names, including gores , grants, locations, purchases, surpluses, and strips. Sometimes these areas were not included in any town due to survey errors (which is the technical meaning of the term "gore"). Sometimes they represent small areas that were left over when a particular region was carved into towns, not large enough to be a town on their own. Some appear to have simply been granted outside

3648-568: A part of a town — within Barnstable, the seven villages correspond to districts for fire, water, sewer and elementary schooling, for instance. (In Maine and New Hampshire, the term "village corporation" is used for a type of special-purpose district.) Many villages also are recognized as places by the United States Postal Service (some villages have their own post offices , with their names used in mailing addresses) or

3840-527: A particular municipality. All municipalities titled as cities are classified as incorporated places, even if their population-distribution pattern is no different from that of a typical town; towns are never classified as incorporated places, even if they are thoroughly built up. The ambiguity over whether certain municipalities in Massachusetts should be classified as cities or towns, and the Census Bureau's inconsistent handling of these municipalities (see

4032-413: A result, Maine has developed more of an infrastructure for administration of unincorporated and unorganized areas than the other New England states. The existence of this fallback probably explains why Maine has had significantly more towns disincorporated over the years than any other New England state. There have been numerous instances of towns in Maine disincorporating despite populations that numbered in

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4224-795: A self-governing community, and came ashore in the West End. Though the Pilgrims chose to settle across the bay in Plymouth , Cape Cod enjoyed an early reputation for its valuable fishing grounds, and for its harbor: a naturally deep, protected basin that was considered the best along the coast. In 1654, the Governor of the Plymouth Colony purchased this land from the Chief of the Nausets, for

4416-430: A selling price of two brass kettles, six coats, 12 hoes, 12 axes, 12 knives and a box. That land, which spanned from East Harbor (now known as Pilgrim Lake)—near the present-day border between Provincetown and Truro —to Long Point , was kept for the benefit of Plymouth Colony, which began leasing fishing rights to roving fishermen. The collected fees were used to defray the costs of schools and other projects throughout

4608-514: A significant gay population, especially during the summer tourist season, when restaurants, bars and small shops serving the tourist trade were open. There had been a gay presence in Provincetown as early as the start of the 20th century as the artists' colony developed, along with experimental theatre. Drag queens could be seen in performance as early as the 1940s in Provincetown. In 1978 the Provincetown Business Guild (PBG)

4800-521: A similar purpose to MCDs in other states in terms of governmental function or civic-identity importance. New England towns are classified as MCDs not because they are not "incorporated" but rather the data that the census gathers on places is analyzed based on different models (those of compact settled places and open rural places) that is not well represented by the New England Town system of organization. In order to better fit their own purposes,

4992-412: A single compact populated place. Plantations in Maine are similarly classified as MCDs. That New England towns serve, in essence, the same function as incorporated places in other states, but are not treated as incorporated places by the Census Bureau, can be a source of confusion. The Census classifications should not be understood to imply that New England towns are not incorporated, or necessarily serve

5184-805: A structure of shared sovereignty during prosecution of the Revolutionary War and facilitating international relations and alliances. The Articles were fully ratified on March 1, 1781. At that point, the Continental Congress was dissolved and a new government of the United States in Congress Assembled took its place the following day, on March 2, 1782, with Samuel Huntington leading the Congress as presiding officer. According to British historian Jeremy Black ,

5376-545: A summer resident, is a major participant in the festival. In November 2011, the Provincetown Theater Company became the first theater company in New England to stage a live-action dramatic theatrical presentation of horror-fantasy author H.P. Lovecraft . The story was Lovecraft's 1919 classic, "The Picture in the House," and was described as "...the macabre come to life." The adaptation was produced for

5568-423: A town and a city have become blurred. Since the early 20th century, towns have been allowed to modify the town meeting form of government in various ways (e.g., representative town meeting , adding a town manager ). In recent decades, some towns have adopted what effectively amount to city forms of government, although they still refer to themselves as towns. As a practical matter, one municipality that calls itself

5760-719: A town and another that calls itself a city may have exactly the same governmental structure. With these changes in town government, a reluctance to adopt the title of city seems to have developed, and few towns have officially done so since the early 20th century. In Massachusetts, nine municipalities ( Agawam , Barnstable , Braintree , Franklin , Palmer , Randolph , Southbridge , West Springfield and Weymouth ) have adopted Mayor-Council or Council-Manager forms of government in their home rule charters, and are therefore considered to be legally cities, but nevertheless continue to call themselves "towns". They are sometimes referred to in legislation and other legal documents as "the city known as

5952-426: A town disincorporated or a plantation surrendered its organization). The remaining eight counties contain significant amounts of unincorporated/unorganized territory. Most of these areas are in very sparsely populated regions, however. Only about 1.3% of the state's population lives in areas not part of a town, city, or plantation. (Since the 2000 Census, two towns, Madrid and Centerville, have disincorporated. Thus, at

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6144-560: A town government. A typical town in the northern three states was laid out in a 6-by-6-mile (9.7 by 9.7 km) square. Each contained 36 sections, 1 mile (1.6 km) squares or 640 acres (260 ha). One section was reserved for the support of public schools. This was copied when the Continental Congress laid out Ohio in 1785–87. Many early towns covered very large amounts of land. Once areas had become settled, new towns were sometimes formed by breaking areas away from

6336-562: A town meeting as its legislative body; instead, a city's legislative body is an elected representative body, typically called the city council or town council or board of aldermen . City governments are typically administered by a mayor (and/or city manager ). In common speech, people often generically refer to communities of either type as "towns", drawing no distinction between the two. The presence of incorporated boroughs in Connecticut and incorporated villages in Vermont has influenced

6528-460: A unique type of entity called a plantation . Beneath the town level, Connecticut has incorporated boroughs , and Vermont has incorporated villages . In addition to towns, every New England state has incorporated cities. However, cities are treated in the same manner as towns under state law, differing from towns only in their form of government. Most cities are former towns that changed to a city form of government because they grew too large to have

6720-479: A vacation destination for its beaches, harbor , artists and tourist industry. At the time of European encounter, the area was long settled by the historic Nauset tribe, who had a settlement known as "Meeshawn". They spoke Massachusett , a Southern New England Algonquian language dialect that they shared in common with their closely related neighbors, the Wampanoag . On May 15, 1602, having made landfall from

6912-474: A vehicle for deliberation and collective action. During secret debates, conservative Joseph Galloway proposed the creation of a colonial Parliament that would be able to approve or disapprove acts of the British Parliament, but his idea was tabled in a vote of 6 to 5 and was subsequently removed from the record. Congress called for a boycott beginning on December 1, 1774, of all British goods; it

7104-475: A very rudimentary organization that does not rise to the level of an organized general-purpose municipal government (e.g., a town clerk 's office exists for the purpose of conducting elections for state or federal offices). In general, unorganized areas fall into one of the three categories below. During the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, as town boundaries were being drawn up, small areas would sometimes be left over, not included in any town. Typically smaller than

7296-505: A year. This did not slow down the town's economy, however. Provincetown's tourist season has expanded, and the town has created festivals and week-long events throughout the year. The most established are in the summer: the Portuguese Festival, Bear Week, and PBG's Carnival Week. In 2017, a memorial was dedicated to those who lost their lives to AIDS. For nearly all of Provincetown's recorded history, life has revolved around

7488-441: Is around 30 inches (76 cm). The average snowiest month is February, which corresponds to the annual peak in nor'easter activity. According to the U.S. census of 2010 , there were 2,942 people living in the town (down 14.3% since 2000). The population density was 304.2 inhabitants per square mile (117.5/km). There were 4,494 housing units (up 15.5%) at an average density of 464.7 per square mile (179.4/km). The racial makeup of

7680-646: Is considered the oldest gay bar in the US and Frommer's calls it "the nation's premier gay bar". Provincetown is the setting for the annual Women's Week festival. Held in mid-October since 1984 and attended by almost 2,000 women, it is the "longest running lesbian cultural event in the Northeast". Since 1975, Provincetown has been the host city to Fantasia Fair, the world's first and longest-running annual conference that focuses on gender diversity and transgender issues. The Provincetown International Film Festival , honors

7872-411: Is incorporated, CDPs do not really serve the same purpose as they do elsewhere; CDPs in New England invariably represent territory that is not "unincorporated", but part of a larger incorporated town. The extent to which such an area has its own distinct identity can vary, but is not usually as strong as identification with the town as a whole. There are numerous instances where the Census Bureau recognizes

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8064-406: Is located at the very tip of Cape Cod , encompassing a total area of 17.5 square miles (45 km) − 55% of that, or 9.7 sq mi (25 km), is land area, and the remaining 7.8 sq mi (20 km) water area. Surrounded by water in every direction except due east, the town has 21.3 miles (34.3 km) of coastal shoreline. Provincetown is bordered to the east by its only neighbor,

8256-433: Is no area that is outside the bounds of a municipality. Using usual American terminology, there is no "unincorporated" land in Massachusetts. Of the 351 municipalities, the number that are cities and the number that are towns is a matter of some ambiguity. Depending on which source is consulted, anywhere from 39 to 53 are cities. The ambiguity is the result of questions around the legal status of municipalities that have since

8448-510: Is one of the few states in the region that is an exception to this rule; the Massachusetts Constitution requires a town to have a population of at least 10,000 people before it can switch its government from a town meeting form to a city form. Nevertheless, even without a hard and fast population limit for city status, the practical threshold to become a city seems to be higher in the three southern New England states than in

8640-481: Is sometimes used in New England to describe a distinct, built-up place within a town or city. This may be a town center , which bears the same name as the town or city (almost every town has such a place), or a name related to that of the town, or a completely unrelated name. The town of Barnstable, Massachusetts , for example, includes the villages of Barnstable Village , West Barnstable , Centerville , Marstons Mills , Osterville , Cotuit , and Hyannis . Except for

8832-469: Is sufficiently populated to be covered by a town or a city. In colonial times, Massachusetts also used the term "plantation" for a community in a pre-town stage of development (Maine originally got the term from Massachusetts, as Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820, when it became a state via the Missouri Compromise ). The term "plantation" had not been much used in Massachusetts since

9024-796: The Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. In 1772, anti-tax demonstrators in Rhode Island destroyed the Royal Navy customs schooner Gaspee . On December 16, 1773, activists disguised as Indians instigated the Boston Tea Party and dumped chests of tea owned by the British East India Company into Boston Harbor . London closed Boston Harbor and enacted a series of punitive laws , which effectively ended self-government in Massachusetts. In late 1774, 12 of

9216-698: The British Empire was a constitutional monarchy with sovereignty in the King-in-Parliament . Aristocrats inherited seats in the House of Lords , while the gentry and merchants controlled the elected House of Commons . The king ruled through cabinet ministers who depended on majority support in the Commons to govern effectively. British subjects on both sides of the Atlantic proudly claimed

9408-415: The Declaration of Independence , which embodied the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism , rejected monarchy and aristocracy , and famously proclaimed that " all men are created equal ". The fighting continued for five years, now known as the Revolutionary War . During that time, the kingdoms of France and Spain entered as allies of the United States. The decisive victory came in

9600-523: The Declaration of Independence , which was drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson and presented by the Committee of Five , which had been charged with its development. The Congress struck several provisions of Jefferson's draft, and then adopted it unanimously on July 4. The Declaration embodied the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism , rejected monarchy and aristocracy , and famously proclaimed that " all men are created equal ". With

9792-715: The English Empire , and they formed part of the British Empire after the union of England and Scotland in 1707. The development of a unique American identity can be traced to the English Civil War (1642–1651) and its aftermath. The Puritan colonies of New England supported the Commonwealth government responsible for the execution of King Charles I . After the Stuart Restoration of 1660, Massachusetts did not recognize Charles II as

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9984-602: The Great Lakes . About 60,000 Loyalists migrated to other British territories in Canada and elsewhere, but the great majority remained in the United States. With its victory in the American Revolution, the United States became the first constitutional republic in world history founded on the consent of the governed and the rule of law . The Thirteen Colonies were established in the 17th century as part of

10176-616: The Hat Act of 1732, and the Iron Act of 1750. Colonial reactions to these policies were mixed. The Molasses Act of 1733 placed a duty of six pence per gallon upon foreign molasses imported into the colonies. This act was particularly egregious to the New England colonists, who protested it as taxation without representation. The act increased the smuggling of foreign molasses, and the British government ceased enforcement efforts after

10368-623: The Hessian and British armies at Trenton and Princeton , thereby regaining control of most of New Jersey. The victories gave an important boost to Patriots at a time when morale was flagging, and they have become iconic events of the war. In September 1777, in anticipation of a coordinated attack by the British Army on the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia, the Continental Congress was forced to depart Philadelphia temporarily for Baltimore , where they continued deliberations. In 1777,

10560-520: The Olive Branch Petition in which they attempted to come to an accord with King George. The king, however, issued a Proclamation of Rebellion which declared that the states were "in rebellion" and the members of Congress were traitors. The Battle of Bunker Hill followed on June 17, 1775. It was a British victory—but at a great cost: about 1,000 British casualties from a garrison of about 6,000, as compared to 500 American casualties from

10752-741: The Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower sighted Cape Cod while en route to the Colony of Virginia . After two days of failed attempts to sail south against the strong winter seas, they returned to the safety of the harbor, known today as Provincetown Harbor , and set anchor. It was here that the Mayflower Compact was drawn up and signed. The event is memorialized in a sculpture near the Pilgrim Monument. They agreed to settle and build

10944-732: The Royal Proclamation of 1763 , designating the territory between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River as an Indian Reserve closed to white settlement. The Proclamation failed to stop westward migration while angering settlers, fur traders, and land speculators in the Thirteen Colonies. George Grenville became prime minister in 1763, and "the need for money played a part in every important decision made by Grenville regarding

11136-545: The Stamp Act Congress ; its "Declaration of Rights and Grievances" argued that taxation without representation violated their rights as Englishmen . In 1767, tensions flared again following the British Parliament's passage of the Townshend Acts . In an effort to quell the mounting rebellion, King George III deployed troops to Boston . A local confrontation resulted in the troops killing protesters in

11328-468: The Tea Act lowering the price of taxed tea exported to the colonies, to help the British East India Company undersell smuggled untaxed Dutch tea. Special consignees were appointed to sell the tea to bypass colonial merchants. The act was opposed by those who resisted the taxes and also by smugglers who stood to lose business. In every colony demonstrators warned merchants not to bring in tea that included

11520-508: The United States Census Bureau (which recognizes some villages as census-designated places and tabulates census data for them). Towns with an example of the former, such as Richmond, Rhode Island , do not have a post office themselves, but instead use villages in town or villages in nearby towns as a mailing address. This leads to a weaker town identification in such towns, with residents more strongly identifying with

11712-549: The United States Census Bureau does not classify New England towns as "incorporated places". They are instead classified as " minor civil divisions " (MCDs), the same category into which civil townships fall. The Census Bureau classifies New England towns in this manner because they are conceptually similar to civil townships from a geographic standpoint, typically exhibiting similar population-distribution patterns. Like civil townships, but unlike most incorporated municipalities in other states, New England towns do not usually represent

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11904-432: The 1740s. On the other hand, certain merchants and local industries benefitted from the restrictions on foreign competition. The limits on foreign-built ships greatly benefitted the colonial shipbuilding industry, particularly in New England. Some argue that the economic impact was minimal on the colonists, but the political friction that the acts triggered was more serious, as the merchants most directly affected were also

12096-446: The 1840s, and for many years prior to the 1860s Vermont had just one city. Even Massachusetts, historically New England's most populous state, did not have any cities until 1822, when Boston was granted a city form of government by the state legislature. In most of New England, population is not a determining factor for what makes a city or town, and there are many examples of towns with larger populations than nearby cities. Massachusetts

12288-717: The 18th and 19th centuries as what might be termed "future towns", but never saw enough settlement to actually commence operation of a formal town government. All three of the northern New England states also include at least one unorganized township that was once a town but has disincorporated and reverted to unorganized territory, generally due to population loss. Maine also has some unorganized townships that were once organized as plantations. Maine has significantly more unorganized territory than Vermont or New Hampshire. Fewer than 100 Vermont residents and fewer than 250 New Hampshire residents live in unorganized areas. In Maine, by contrast, about 10,000 residents live in unorganized areas. As

12480-634: The 18th century. The town was affected by the American Revolution the same way most of Cape Cod was: the effective British blockade shut down most fish production and shipping and the town dwindled. It was, by happenstance, the location of the wreck of British warship HMS  Somerset at the Peaked Hill Bars off the Atlantic Coast of Provincetown in 1778. Following the American Revolution, Provincetown grew rapidly as

12672-497: The 18th century. Massachusetts also once had "districts", which served much the same purpose. They were considered to be incorporated, but lacked the full privileges of a town. On August 23, 1775, in order for more representation for the Revolutionary War, 36 towns in Massachusetts and 6 in Maine were incorporated, effectively eliminating the district meaning. Maine and Rhode Island are also known to have made limited use of

12864-457: The 1970s, through home-rule petition, adopted corporate charters approved by the state legislature with forms of government that resemble city government and do not include elements traditionally associated with town government (especially, a board of selectmen and a town meeting). Of the fourteen communities that have done so, all but three call themselves a "town" in their municipal operations, and are usually referred to by residents as "towns", but

13056-450: The 20th century, however. One late instance was the separation of Sugar Hill, New Hampshire , from the town of Lisbon in 1962. It has not taken place anywhere in New England in the last fifty years; boundary changes of any type are fairly rare. Towns are the basic building block of the New England municipality system, although several other types of municipalities also exist. Every New England state has cities . In addition, Maine also has

13248-457: The 22nd Fall Playwright's Festival. Veterans Memorial Community Center serves as the area community center. By 2012, Veterans Memorial Elementary School closed and was being refurbished to become a community center. In 2014, the town government considered building a second floor on the facility to add affordable housing. Provincetown is governed, like most New England towns, by the open town meeting form of government. The citizens, gathered in

13440-560: The 42 municipalities that title themselves as cities are recognized as cities. This includes the 39 cities that adopted city forms of government through pre-home rule procedures. The other 309 municipalities in the state are treated as towns below. The same classification is used for identifying Massachusetts cities on the list of New England towns and its attendant pages with historical census population statistics. For further information, see this section of Massachusetts government . American Revolution The American Revolution

13632-470: The American Revolution (see Salutary neglect ) . During the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the British government fielded 45,000 soldiers, half British Regulars and half colonial volunteers. The colonies also contributed money to the war effort; however, two-fifths of this spending was reimbursed by the British government. Great Britain defeated France and acquired that nation's territory east of

13824-477: The Americans invaded northeastern Quebec under generals Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery , expecting to rally sympathetic colonists there. The attack was a failure; many Americans were killed, captured, or died of smallpox. In March 1776, aided by the fortification of Dorchester Heights with cannons recently captured at Fort Ticonderoga , the Continental Army led by George Washington forced

14016-474: The British had significant advantages, including a highly trained army, the world's largest navy, and an efficient system of public finance that could easily fund the war. However, they seriously misunderstood the depth of support for the American Patriot position, misinterpreting the situation as merely a large-scale riot. The British government believed that they could overawe the Americans by sending

14208-737: The British out of Boston in the spring of 1776, and neither the British nor the Loyalists controlled any significant areas. The British, however, were amassing forces at their naval base at Halifax, Nova Scotia . They returned in force in July 1776, landing in New York and defeating Washington's Continental Army in August at the Battle of Brooklyn . This gave the British control of New York City and its strategic harbor . Following that victory, they requested

14400-462: The British sent Burgoyne's invasion force from Canada south to New York to seal off New England. Their aim was to isolate New England, which the British perceived as the primary source of agitation. Rather than move north to support Burgoyne, the British army in New York City went to Philadelphia in a major case of mis-coordination, capturing it from Washington. The invasion army under Burgoyne

14592-562: The British to evacuate Boston . The revolutionaries now fully controlled all thirteen colonies and were ready to declare independence. There still were many Loyalists, but they were no longer in control anywhere by July 1776, and all of the Royal officials had fled. Following the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, the Patriots had control of Massachusetts outside Boston 's city limits, and

14784-562: The British to deploy troops to Boston. A Boston town meeting declared that no obedience was due to parliamentary laws and called for the convening of a convention. A convention assembled but only issued a mild protest before dissolving itself. In January 1769, Parliament responded to the unrest by reactivating the Treason Act 1543 which called for subjects outside the realm to face trials for treason in England. The governor of Massachusetts

14976-478: The CDP. At the same time, not all built-up places with significant populations are recognized as CDPs. The Census Bureau has historically recognized relatively few CDPs within urbanized areas in particular. Many towns located in such areas do not contain any recognized CDPs and will thus be completely absent from Census materials presenting the population of "places". Greenwich, Connecticut, is one prominent example. While

15168-410: The Census Bureau, can be another source of confusion. The Census classifications should not be understood to imply that cities are incorporated but towns are not, or that cities and towns represent two fundamentally different types of entities. The Census classifies New England municipalities strictly based on whether they are towns or cities, with no regard to the actual population-distribution pattern in

15360-452: The Census only counts cities and certain fully urbanized towns as "places" in its categorization. In other towns, those with small built-up central villages, the Census designates one or more census-designated places (CDPs) and considers all other land to be parts of "minor civil divisions". This classification is done only for the Census's own data analysis, and otherwise has no connection to

15552-665: The Crown nullified their colonial charters in response. In 1686, James finalized these efforts by consolidating the separate New England colonies along with New York and New Jersey into the Dominion of New England . Edmund Andros was appointed royal governor and tasked with governing the new Dominion under his direct rule . Colonial assemblies and town meetings were restricted, new taxes were levied, and rights were abridged. Dominion rule triggered bitter resentment throughout New England. When James tried to rule without Parliament ,

15744-612: The English aristocracy removed him from power in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. This was followed by the 1689 Boston revolt , which overthrew Dominion rule. Colonial governments reasserted their control after the revolt. The new monarchs, William and Mary , granted new charters to the individual New England colonies, and local democratic self-government was restored. After the Glorious Revolution,

15936-475: The English. Grenville believed that the colonies should help pay the troop costs. In 1764 Parliament passed the Sugar Act , decreasing the existing customs duties on sugar and molasses but providing stricter measures of enforcement and collection. That same year, Grenville proposed direct taxes on the colonies to raise revenue, but he delayed action to see whether the colonies would propose some way to raise

16128-527: The Killingly portion was renamed Danielson by the General Assembly. There are no legal restrictions in Connecticut that would prevent a city or borough today from similarly overlaying the territory of more than one town, provided it is not consolidated with one of the underlying towns. Cities actually developed earlier in Connecticut than in the other New England states, and were originally based on

16320-582: The Loyalists suddenly found themselves on the defensive with no protection from the British army. In each of the Thirteen Colonies, American patriots overthrew their existing governments, closed courts, and drove out British colonial officials. They held elected conventions and established their own legislatures , which existed outside any legal parameters established by the British. New constitutions were drawn up in each state to supersede royal charters. They proclaimed that they were now states , no longer colonies . On January 5, 1776, New Hampshire ratified

16512-641: The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth's Office considers all fourteen to be legally cities. Other sources within state government often refer to all fourteen municipalities as towns, however. The U.S. Census Bureau listed all as towns through the 1990 Census. For the 2000 Census, some were listed by the Federal government as towns and some as cities, a situation that continues in Census materials since 2000. Massachusetts appears to be

16704-593: The Mississippi River. In early 1763, the Bute ministry decided to permanently garrison 10,000 soldiers in North America. This would allow approximately 1,500 politically well-connected British Army officers to remain on active duty with full pay (stationing a standing army in Great Britain during peacetime was politically unacceptable). A standing army would provide defense against Native Americans in

16896-472: The Statistics and Superlatives section below), further blurs matters. To fill in some of the "place" data, the Census Bureau sometimes recognizes census-designated places (CDPs) within New England towns. These often correspond to town centers or other villages, although not all such areas are recognized as CDPs. In cases where a town is entirely or almost entirely built-up, the Census sometimes recognizes

17088-540: The Sun Gallery was run by Yvonne Andersen and Dominic Falcone. It was an art exhibition that took place during the summer where young and up and coming artists could show their work. The Fine Arts Work Center is a nonprofit educational enterprise, located in Provincetown since 1968. Its stated mission is to encourage the growth and development of emerging visual artists and writers through residency programs, to propagate aesthetic values and experience, and to restore

17280-774: The Thirteen Colonies (Georgia joined in 1775) sent delegates to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia . It began coordinating Patriot resistance through underground networks of committees . In April 1775 British forces attempted to disarm local militias around Boston and engaged them . On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress responded by authorizing formation of the Continental Army and appointing George Washington as its commander-in-chief. In August

17472-517: The Town of ..." Greenfield, in December 2017, dropped the "town" designation, which some called "embarrassing" and which legislators said made paperwork more difficult. Common parlance labeling a community a "city" or a "town" may have more to do with its current size, whether its current size or its historical size and reputation. In addition to towns and cities, Maine has a third type of town-like municipality not found in any other New England state,

17664-527: The Town of Greenwich appears in MCD materials, the Census Bureau does not recognize Greenwich as a "place". In New Hampshire and Vermont, the Census Bureau treats each individual unorganized entity (township, gore, grant, etc.) as an MCD. In Maine, it seems, due to the extent of unorganized area, the Census Bureau typically lumps contiguous townships, gores, and the like together into larger units called "unorganized territories" (UTs), which are then treated as MCDs. In

17856-611: The U.S., except that it uses the town as its basic unit rather than the county. Even though the Census Bureau does not treat New England towns as "incorporated places", it does classify cities in New England as such. The rationale behind this is that cities are likely to be more thoroughly built-up and therefore more readily comparable to cities in other states than towns are. Boroughs in Connecticut and incorporated villages in Vermont are also treated as incorporated places. That New England states, in general, regard cities and towns on equal footing, yet they are handled in two different ways by

18048-564: The US Census Bureau treats Groton Long Point as a borough, as an act of the state legislature gives it the same powers as a borough, although it has never formally organized as one. They were once more numerous. Many of those that remain are very small. Connecticut also has at least one remaining city ( Groton ) that is within, but not coextensive with, its parent town . A second non-coextensive city, Winsted , still exists on paper, but its government has been consolidated with that of

18240-565: The USDA considered Provincetown's residents in the 2000s to still be rural and to still require such federal assistance In 2003, Provincetown received a $ 1.95 million low interest loan from the Rural Development program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help rebuild the town's MacMillan Pier . It primarily serves the town's active fishing fleet, and also tourists and high-speed ferries. The Atlantic House in Provincetown

18432-640: The Virginia legislature to propose independence, and he did so on June 7, 1776. On June 11, a committee was created by the Second Continental Congress to draft a document explaining the justifications for separation from Britain. After securing enough votes for passage, independence was voted for on July 2. Gathered at Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia , 56 of the nation's Founding Fathers , representing America's Thirteen Colonies , unanimously adopted and issued to King George III

18624-476: The actual organization or legal status of New England towns. The census bureau does uniquely recognize towns, however, in that it classifies metropolitan areas in New England on the basis of town boundaries rather than county boundaries as it does in other parts of the U.S. Unique to New England is the New England city and town area , which is analogous to Metropolitan Statistical Areas in other parts of

18816-400: The age of 18 living within them, and 76.4% were non-families. The average household size was 1.64 persons/household, and the average family size was 2.55. The distribution of the population, broken down by age and gender, is shown in the population pyramid. In 2010, 6.8% of the population was under the age of 18, and the median age was 52.3. There were 1,602 males and 1,340 females. For 2011,

19008-613: The appearance of Indigenous people, boarded the ships of the East India Company and dumped £10,000 worth of tea from their holds (approximately £636,000 in 2008) into Boston Harbor . Decades later, this event became known as the Boston Tea Party and remains a significant part of American patriotic lore. The British government responded by passing four laws that came to be known as the Intolerable Acts , further darkening colonial opinion towards England. The first

19200-516: The area of dunes and small ponds extending from Mount Ararat in the east to Race Point in the west, along the Massachusetts Bay shore. The Cape Cod Bay shoreline extends from Race Point to the far west, to Wood End in the south, eastward to Long Point , which in turn points inward towards the town, and provides a natural barrier for Provincetown Harbor. All three points are marked by lighthouses. The town's population center extends along

19392-490: The best in independent and avant-garde film. Among the honorees for 2014 were actress Patricia Clarkson and director David Cronenberg . Previous honorees include Matt Dillon , Harmony Korine , Parker Posey , Roger Corman , Vera Farmiga , Darren Aronofsky , Quentin Tarantino , Jane Lynch , Gael García Bernal , Tilda Swinton , Kathleen Turner , Jim Jarmusch , Todd Haynes , Gus Van Sant , and John Waters . Waters,

19584-505: The borough concept. At one time, all cities were non-coextensive; the practice of making cities coextensive with their towns was a later adaptation intended to mimic the city concept that had emerged in the other New England states. Over time, many non-coextensive cities have expanded to become coextensive with their parent town. As with boroughs, many have also disincorporated and reverted to full town control. These two trends have combined to make non-coextensive cities very rare in recent times;

19776-653: The boundary with New York State , housing the Stratford Shoal Light , is not part of any town and is administered directly by the United States Coast Guard . In general, inhabited minor off-shore islands are administered as part of a nearby town and in some cases, are their own independent towns, such as the town of Gosnold , Massachusetts, which encompasses the Elizabeth Islands . Unlike municipalities in most other states,

19968-415: The built-up area around a town center as a CDP, resulting in a CDP that bears the same name as the town. In these cases, data for the CDP is, in general, meaningless to local residents, who seldom draw any particular distinction between the built-up area around the town center and outlying areas of the town. A local source citing data for such a community will almost always use the data for the entire town, not

20160-664: The census. In 1940, Catharine Sargent Huntington , Edwin Pettit, and Virginia Thoms founded the Provincetown Playhouse on the Wharf. The playhouse replaced an older structure that existed between 1915 and 1924. Huntington served as owner and manager of the playhouse until 1973. During her time as manager, a Eugene O'Neill drama was produced each summer season, and the theater hosted an O'Neill Festival in 1966, during which ten of his plays were produced. From 1955 to 1959,

20352-413: The cities by rail. The railroad was not the only late arrival to Provincetown. Even roads within the town were slow to be constructed: "There was then no road through the town. With no carts, carriages, wagons, horses or oxen, why a road? ... Here every man had a path from his house to his boat or vessel, and once launched, he was on the broad highway of nations without tax or toll. There were paths to

20544-475: The city their main political and military base of operations, holding it until November 1783 . The city became the destination for Loyalist refugees and a focal point of Washington's intelligence network . The British also took New Jersey, pushing the Continental Army into Pennsylvania. Washington crossed the Delaware River back into New Jersey in a surprise attack in late December 1776 and defeated

20736-554: The colonies "in all cases whatsoever". The repeal nonetheless caused widespread celebrations in the colonies. In 1767, the British Parliament passed the Townshend Acts , which placed duties on several staple goods, including paper, glass, and tea, and established a Board of Customs in Boston to more rigorously execute trade regulations. Parliament's goal was not so much to collect revenue but to assert its authority over

20928-516: The colonies exported agricultural products to Britain in return for manufactured goods. They also imported molasses, rum, and sugar from the British West Indies . The British government pursued a policy of mercantilism in order to grow its economic and political power. According to mercantilism, the colonies existed for the mother country's economic benefit, and the colonists' economic needs took second place. In 1651, Parliament passed

21120-681: The colonies were legally British corporations subordinate to the British Parliament. Parliament insisted that the colonists effectively enjoyed a " virtual representation ", as most British people did, since only a small minority of the British population were eligible to elect representatives to Parliament. However, Americans such as James Otis maintained that there was no one in Parliament responsible specifically to any colonial constituency, so they were not "virtually represented" by anyone in Parliament. The Rockingham government came to power in July 1765, and Parliament debated whether to repeal

21312-541: The colonies, acknowledged that he leaked the letters, which led to him being removed from his position. In Boston, Samuel Adams set about creating new Committees of Correspondence , which linked Patriots in all 13 colonies and eventually provided the framework for a rebel government. Virginia, the largest colony, set up its Committee of Correspondence in early 1773, on which Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson served. A total of about 7,000 to 8,000 Patriots served on these Committees; Loyalists were excluded. The committees became

21504-520: The colonies, establishing their independence as the United States of America in July 1776. Discontent with colonial rule began shortly after the defeat of France in the French and Indian War in 1763. Although the colonies had fought and supported the war, Parliament imposed new taxes to compensate for wartime costs and turned control of the colonies' western lands over to the British officials in Montreal . Representatives from several colonies convened

21696-555: The colonies. The new taxes were enacted on the belief that Americans only objected to internal taxes and not to external taxes such as custom duties. However, in his widely read pamphlet, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania , John Dickinson argued against the constitutionality of the acts because their purpose was to raise revenue and not to regulate trade. Colonists responded to the taxes by organizing new boycotts of British goods. These boycotts were less effective, however, as

21888-406: The colonies—and for that matter by the ministries that followed up to 1776." The national debt had grown to £133 million with annual debt payments of £5 million (out of an £8 million annual budget). Stationing troops in North America on a permanent basis would cost another £360,000 a year. On a per capita basis, Americans only paid 1 shilling in taxes to the empire compared to 26 shillings paid by

22080-655: The colony. In 1678, the fishing grounds were opened up to allow the inclusion of fishermen from the Massachusetts Bay Colony . In 1692, a new Royal Charter combined the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies into the Province of Massachusetts Bay . "Cape Cod" was thus officially renamed the "Province Lands". The first record of a municipal government with jurisdiction over the Province Lands

22272-412: The crowd. They hit 11 people; three civilians died of wounds at the scene of the shooting, and two died shortly after. The event quickly came to be called the Boston Massacre . The soldiers were tried and acquitted (defended by John Adams ), but the widespread descriptions soon began to turn colonial sentiment against the British. This accelerated the downward spiral in the relationship between Britain and

22464-410: The demography of resort towns . They often reveal unusual results, as in this case, where the number of housing units far exceeds the Town's total population, where that number of housing units rose 15% while the population dropped 14%, and where nearly 61% of the housing stock is vacant, with 53% designated "for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use", according to the census. In the decade spanning

22656-492: The development of counties in the region. Areas were organized as towns as they were settled, throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Town boundaries were not usually laid out on any kind of regular grid, but were drawn to reflect local settlement and transportation patterns, often affected by natural features. In early colonial times, recognition of towns was very informal, generally connected to local church divisions. By 1700, colonial governments had become more involved in

22848-409: The direct payment of colonial officials, which had been paid by local authorities. This would have reduced the influence of colonial representatives over their government. The letters' contents were used as evidence of a systematic plot against American rights, and discredited Hutchinson in the eyes of the people; the colonial Assembly petitioned for his recall. Benjamin Franklin, postmaster general for

23040-434: The district concept. Districts have not been at all common since the first half of the 19th century, and there have not been any districts anywhere in New England in over a century. Maine is the only New England state that currently has a significant amount of territory that is not sufficiently populated to support town governments; thus, it is the only New England state that still needs the plantation type of municipality. For

23232-401: The estimated median income for a year-round household in the town was $ 46,547, with a mean household income of $ 74,840. For families, the median income was $ 87,228, and the mean is $ 84,050. For nonfamily households, the median income was $ 42,375, and the mean, $ 71,008. Median earnings for male full-time, year-round workers was $ 49,688, versus $ 36,471 for females. The per capita income for the town

23424-400: The evolution of cities in those states. In Connecticut in particular, the historical development of cities was quite different from in the other New England states, and at least technically, the relationship between towns and cities is today different from elsewhere in New England. Just as boroughs in Connecticut overlay towns, so do cities; for example, while Hartford is commonly thought of as

23616-490: The exception rather than the rule in the New England system, and the number of New England residents who live in them is extremely small in comparison to those who live in towns and cities, even in Maine. Most such areas are located in very sparsely populated regions. Much of the barely inhabited interior of Maine is unorganized, for example. The majority of the unincorporated areas in New Hampshire are in Coos County , and

23808-587: The fall of 1781, when the combined American and French armies captured an entire British army in the Siege of Yorktown . The defeat led to the collapse of King George's control of Parliament, with a majority now in favor of ending the war on American terms. On September 3, 1783, the British signed the Treaty of Paris giving the United States nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of

24000-463: The first in a series of Navigation Acts , which restricted colonial trade with foreign countries. The Thirteen Colonies could trade with the rest of the empire but only ship certain commodities like tobacco to Britain. Any European imports bound for British America had to first pass through an English port and pay customs duties. Other laws regulated colonial industries, such as the Wool Act of 1699 ,

24192-529: The first state constitution. In May 1776, Congress voted to suppress all forms of crown authority, to be replaced by locally created authority. New Jersey , South Carolina , and Virginia created their constitutions before July 4. Rhode Island and Connecticut simply took their existing royal charters and deleted all references to the crown. The new states were all committed to republicanism, with no inherited offices. On May 26, 1776, John Adams wrote James Sullivan from Philadelphia warning against extending

24384-750: The franchise too far: Depend upon it, sir, it is dangerous to open so fruitful a source of controversy and altercation, as would be opened by attempting to alter the qualifications of voters. There will be no end of it. New claims will arise. Women will demand a vote. Lads from twelve to twenty one will think their rights not enough attended to, and every man, who has not a farthing, will demand an equal voice with any other in all acts of state. It tends to confound and destroy all distinctions, and prostrate all ranks, to one common level[.] The resulting constitutions in states, including those of Delaware , Maryland , Massachusetts , New York , and Virginia featured: In Pennsylvania , New Jersey , and New Hampshire ,

24576-642: The goods taxed by the Townshend Acts were widely used. In February 1768, the Assembly of Massachusetts Bay Colony issued a circular letter to the other colonies urging them to coordinate resistance. The governor dissolved the assembly when it refused to rescind the letter. Meanwhile, a riot broke out in Boston in June 1768 over the seizure of the sloop Liberty , owned by John Hancock , for alleged smuggling. Customs officials were forced to flee, prompting

24768-542: The harbor, south of the Seashore's lands. Mount Ararat was named after Noah's landing place , while Mount Gilboa, and another dune, was named for the mountain described in the book of Samuel . The town of Provincetown has a warm-summer humid continental climate ( Dfb ), closely bordering on oceanic climate . The plant hardiness zone is 7a, with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 4.9 °F (−15.1 °C). The average seasonal (Nov–Apr) snowfall total

24960-417: The hated new tax. In most instances, the consignees were forced by the Americans to resign and the tea was turned back, but Massachusetts governor Hutchinson refused to allow Boston merchants to give in to pressure. A town meeting in Boston determined that the tea would not be landed, and ignored a demand from the governor to disperse. On December 16, 1773, a group of men, led by Samuel Adams and dressed to evoke

25152-805: The hundreds. While these were not large communities, they were large enough to realistically operate a town government if they wanted to, but simply elected not to. In Vermont and New Hampshire, disincorporation has, in general, not been brought up for discussion unless a town's population has approached single digits. In general, coastal waters in the New England states are administered directly by either state or federal agencies and are not part of any town. Several towns, however, have chosen to include all or part of their corresponding coastal waters in their territory. Coastal waters include human-made structures built within them. In Connecticut, for example, an artificial, uninhabited island in Long Island Sound at

25344-490: The incorporated villages in Vermont, these "villages" are not incorporated municipalities and should not be understood as such. Towns do sometimes grant a certain measure of recognition to such areas, using highway signs that identify them as "villages", for example. These informal "villages" also sometimes correspond to underlying special-purpose districts such as fire or water districts, which are separately incorporated quasi-municipal entities that provide specific services within

25536-594: The issuance of the Declaration of Independence, each colony began operating as independent and sovereign states. The next step was to form a union to facilitate international relations and alliances. On November 5, 1777, the Congress approved the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union and sent it to each state for ratification. The Congress immediately began operating under the Articles' terms, providing

25728-533: The king proclaimed Massachusetts to be in a state of open defiance and rebellion . The Continental Army surrounded Boston, and the British withdrew by sea in March 1776, leaving the Patriots in control in every colony. In July 1776, the Second Continental Congress began to take on the role of governing a new nation . It passed the Lee Resolution for national independence on July 2, and on July 4, 1776, adopted

25920-464: The largest municipalities in the region are titled as cities. Across New England as a whole, only about 5% of all incorporated municipalities are cities. Cities are more common in the three southern New England states, which are much more densely populated, than they are in the three northern New England states. In early colonial times, all incorporated municipalities in New England were towns; there were no cities. Springfield, Massachusetts , for instance,

26112-484: The late 18th century, and Massachusetts was almost completely covered early in the 19th century. By 1850, the only New England state that still had large unincorporated areas was Maine ; by the end of the 19th century, most areas in Maine that could realistically be settled had been organized into towns. Early town organization in Vermont and much of New Hampshire proceeded in a somewhat different manner from that of

26304-469: The leaders of the American resistance to British actions, and later largely determined the war effort at the state and local level. When the First Continental Congress decided to boycott British products, the colonial and local Committees took charge, examining merchant records and publishing the names of merchants who attempted to defy the boycott by importing British goods. Meanwhile, Parliament passed

26496-539: The legitimate king for more than a year after his coronation . In King Philip's War (1675–1678), the New England colonies fought a handful of Native American tribes without military assistance from England, thereby contributing to the development of a uniquely American identity separate from that of the British people . In the 1680s, Charles and his brother, James II , attempted to bring New England under direct English control. The colonists fiercely opposed this, and

26688-559: The mainland. Provincetown is 45 miles (72 km) east by southeast from Boston by air or sea, and 115 miles (185 km) by road. About 4,500 acres, or about 73% of the town's land area, is owned by the National Park Service , which operates the Cape Cod National Seashore , leaving about 2.7 sq mi (7.0 km) of land under the town's jurisdiction. To the north lie the "Province Lands",

26880-618: The majority of the unincorporated areas in Vermont are in Essex County . Two additional counties in New Hampshire and three additional counties in Vermont contain smaller amounts of unincorporated territory. In Maine, eight of the state's sixteen counties contain significant amounts of unorganized territory (in essence, those counties in the northern and interior parts of the state). Four other counties contain smaller amounts. Most of these areas have no local government at all; indeed, some have no permanent population whatsoever. Some areas have

27072-419: The mid-1960s, Provincetown saw population growth. The town's rural character appealed to the hippies of the era; property was relatively cheap and rents were correspondingly low, especially during the winter. Many of those who came stayed and raised families. Commercial Street, where most of the town's businesses are located, gained numerous cafés, leather shops, and head shops . By the 1970s, Provincetown had

27264-489: The most politically active. The British government lacked the resources and information needed to control the colonies. Instead, British officials negotiated and compromised with colonial leaders to gain compliance with imperial policies. The colonies defended themselves with colonial militias , and the British government rarely sent military forces to America before 1755. According to historian Robert Middlekauff , "Americans had become almost completely self-governing" before

27456-428: The most protected mooring place in Provincetown, had a 1,000-foot-wide (305 m) inlet from Provincetown Harbor, and effectively blocked off access to Provincetown by land. Until the late 19th century, no road led to Provincetown – the only land route connecting the village to points back toward the mainland was along a thin stretch of beach along the shore to the north (known locally as the "backshore"). A wooden bridge

27648-467: The mouth of the East Harbor was diked to enable the laying of track for the arrival of the railroad. The railroad was completed, to great fanfare, in 1873; and the wooden bridge and sand road was finally replaced by a formal roadway in 1877. The railroad terminated at Railroad Wharf, known today as MacMillan Pier. It provided an easy means for fishermen to offload their vessels and ship their catch to

27840-475: The neighbors, paths to school, paths to church; tortuous paths perhaps, but they were good pilots by night or day, on land or water. Besides, at low water there was a road such as none else could boast, washed completely twice a day from year to year, wide enough and free enough and long enough, if followed, for the armies of the Netherlands." The town's internal road layout reflects the historic importance of

28032-453: The official establishment of new towns. Towns were typically governed by a town meeting form of government, as many still are today. Towns originally were the only form of incorporated municipality in New England. The city form of government was not introduced until much later. Boston , for instance, was a town for the first two centuries of its existence. The entire land areas of Connecticut and Rhode Island had been divided into towns by

28224-443: The only New England state where this issue has arisen, though other New England states also have municipalities that have adopted what amounts to city forms of government but continue to call themselves "towns". In the other New England states, it does not appear that any need to officially label such municipalities as "cities" has been identified. For purposes of determining the "largest town" and "smallest city", in this article, only

28416-530: The only one currently incorporated is the city of Groton , located in the southwestern part of the town of Groton, Connecticut . In Vermont, if a village becomes a city, it does not continue to overlay its parent town, but breaks away and becomes a completely separate municipality. Most cities in Vermont today are actually former villages rather than former towns, and are much smaller than a typical town in terms of land area. The above process has created several instances where there are adjacent towns and cities with

28608-411: The original existing towns. This was an especially common practice during the 18th and early 19th centuries. More heavily populated areas were often subdivided on multiple occasions. As a result, towns and cities in urbanized areas are often smaller in terms of land area than an average town in a rural area. Formation of new towns in this manner slowed in the later part of the 19th century and early part of

28800-419: The other New England states. In these areas, towns were often "chartered" long before any settlers moved into a particular area. This was very common in the mid to late 18th century—although there were towns which predated that period and were not part of this process in southeastern New Hampshire, such as Exeter . Once there were enough residents in a town to formally organize a town government, no further action

28992-541: The places. In 1898 Charles Webster Hawthorne opened the Cape Cod School of Art, said to be the first outdoor school for figure painting, in Provincetown. Film of his class from 1916 has been preserved. The town includes eight buildings and two historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places : Provincetown Historic District and Dune Shacks of Peaked Hill Bars Historic District . In

29184-524: The plantation. A plantation is, in essence, a town-like community that does not have enough population to require full town government or services. Plantations are organized at the county level and typically found in sparsely populated areas. There is no bright-line population divider between a town and a plantation, but no plantation currently has any more than about 300 residents. Plantations are considered to be "organized" but not "incorporated." Not all counties have them; in some southern counties, all territory

29376-460: The province of Massachusetts. A new ministry under Lord North came to power in 1770, and Parliament repealed most of the Townshend duties, except the tax on tea. This temporarily resolved the crisis, and the boycott of British goods largely ceased, with only the more radical patriots such as Samuel Adams continuing to agitate. In June 1772, American patriots, including John Brown , burned

29568-593: The rebels' weapons and arrest their leaders, leading to the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. The Patriots assembled a militia 15,000 strong and laid siege to Boston, occupied by 6500 British soldiers. The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on June 14, 1775. The congress was divided on the best course of action. They authorized formation of the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander-in-chief, and produced

29760-421: The relationship between towns and cities in Connecticut is different from the other New England states, at least on paper; thus, in the technical sense, all 169 of the above municipalities are really towns, with 20 overlaid by a coextensive city or borough of the same name.) Together, these 169 municipalities cover the entire state. There is no unincorporated territory, but, as in all New England states, there are

29952-439: The remaining 32 are organized as plantations. These 485 organized municipalities together cover much of, but not all of, the state's territory. Of Maine's sixteen counties, only four are entirely incorporated. Four other counties are almost entirely incorporated, but include small amounts of unincorporated/unorganized territory (three of these four counties were entirely incorporated or organized at one time, but lost that status when

30144-445: The resulting constitutions embodied: The radical provisions of Pennsylvania 's constitution lasted 14 years. In 1790, conservatives gained power in the state legislature, called a new constitutional convention, and rewrote the constitution. The new constitution substantially reduced universal male suffrage, gave the governor veto power and patronage appointment authority, and added an upper house with substantial wealth qualifications to

30336-540: The revenue themselves. Parliament passed the Stamp Act in March 1765, which imposed direct taxes on the colonies for the first time. All official documents, newspapers, almanacs, and pamphlets were required to have the stamps—even decks of playing cards. The colonists did not object that the taxes were high; they were actually low. They objected to their lack of representation in the Parliament, which gave them no voice concerning legislation that affected them, such as

30528-506: The same name. In all cases, the city was originally the "town center" of the town, but later incorporated as a city and became a separate municipality. All three of the northern New England states ( Vermont , New Hampshire , and Maine ) contain some areas that are unincorporated and unorganized, not part of any town, city or plantation. Maine has significantly more such area than the other two states. While these areas do exist, their importance should not be overstated. They are certainly

30720-535: The stamp tax or to send an army to enforce it. Benjamin Franklin appeared before them to make the case for repeal, explaining that the colonies had spent heavily in manpower, money, and blood defending the empire, and that further taxes to pay for those wars were unjust and might bring about a rebellion. Parliament agreed and repealed the tax on February 21, 1766, but they insisted in the Declaratory Act of March 1766 that they retained full power to make laws for

30912-557: The tax, violating the unwritten English constitution . This grievance was summarized in the slogan "No taxation without representation". Shortly following adoption of the Stamp Act, the Sons of Liberty formed, and began using public demonstrations, boycotts, and threats of violence to ensure that the British tax laws became unenforceable. In Boston , the Sons of Liberty burned the records of

31104-457: The three northern New England states. In Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, almost every city has at least 10,000 people, and all but a few have at least 20,000. In Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, however, there are a number of cities with fewer than 10,000 people, and there are five (three in Maine and two in Vermont) with fewer than 5,000. Over time, some of the distinctions between

31296-399: The time of the 2000 Census, Maine had 22 cities, 434 towns, and 34 plantations, for a total of 490 organized municipalities. Also since the 2010 Census, Sanford adopted a new charter that included designation as a city.) Massachusetts contains 351 municipal corporations, consisting of cities and towns. These 351 municipalities together encompass the entire territory of Massachusetts; there

31488-526: The town meeting, act as the legislative branch and approve the budget and amend the town's bylaws, while the popularly elected Board of Selectmen act as the executive branch and hire and oversee the Town Manager, meet regularly to determine policy, and appoint members of other boards and commissions. New England town Towns date back to the time of the earliest English colonial settlement , which predominated in New England, and they pre-date

31680-599: The town of Truro , and by Provincetown Harbor to the southeast, Cape Cod Bay to the south and west, Massachusetts Bay to the northwest and north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast. The town is 45 miles (72 km) north (by road) from Barnstable , Hyannis, Massachusetts , and 62 miles (100 km) by road to the Sagamore Bridge, which spans the Cape Cod Canal and connects Cape Cod to

31872-444: The town of Winchester for many years, making it more of a special-purpose district than a true municipality. Winsted is no longer recognized by the Census Bureau as an incorporated place, although data is tabulated for a Census Designated Place that is coextensive with that of the original city. As of the 2020 census, Maine contains 485 organized municipalities, of which 23 are incorporated as cities, 430 are incorporated as towns, and

32064-513: The town was 91.5% White , 4.0% African American , 0.6% Native American , 0.6% Asian , 1.6% from other races , and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.8% of the population. The top reported ancestries were Irish (26.7%, up 9.3% from 2000), English (17.4%, up 2.6%), Portuguese (14.6%, down 8.2%), Italian (13.5%, up 3.4%), and German (12.5%, up 3.6%). There were 1,765 households (down 3.9%), out of which 416 (23.6%) had families, 115 (6.5%) had children under

32256-456: The town's art community took over many of the abandoned buildings. By the early decades of the 20th century, the town had acquired an international reputation for its artistic and literary productions. The Provincetown Players was an important experimental theatre company formed during this period. Many of its members lived during other parts of the year in Greenwich Village in New York, and intellectual and artistic connections were woven between

32448-401: The unicameral legislature. Thomas Paine called it a constitution unworthy of America. In April 1776, the North Carolina Provincial Congress issued the Halifax Resolves explicitly authorizing its delegates to vote for independence. By June, nine Provincial Congresses were ready for independence; Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New York followed. Richard Henry Lee was instructed by

32640-627: The unwritten British constitution , with its guarantees of the rights of Englishmen , protected personal liberty better than any other government. It served as the model for colonial governments . The Crown appointed a royal governor to exercise executive power. Property owners elected a colonial assembly with powers to legislate and levy taxes, but the British government reserved the right to veto colonial legislation. Radical Whig ideology profoundly influenced American political philosophy with its love of liberty and opposition to tyrannical government. With little industry except shipbuilding,

32832-621: The usual town structure, sometimes in areas where it was probably not contemplated that towns would ever develop. Over time, those located in more populated areas were, in general, annexed to neighboring towns or incorporated as towns in their own right. No such areas exist today in Massachusetts, Connecticut or Rhode Island, but some remain in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. All three of the northern New England states contain some town-sized unorganized entities, referred to as "unorganized townships" (sometimes, just "townships") or "unorganized towns". Most of these are areas that were drawn up on maps in

33024-512: The vice admiralty court and looted the home of chief justice Thomas Hutchinson . Several legislatures called for united action, and nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York City in October. Moderates led by John Dickinson drew up a Declaration of Rights and Grievances stating that the colonists were equal to all other British citizens and that taxes passed without representation violated their rights as Englishmen , and Congress emphasized their determination by organizing

33216-451: The village they live in. However, villages or CDPs have no existence as general-purpose municipalities separate from the town (if they even have any legal existence at all), and are usually regarded by local residents as a part of the town in which they are located, less important than the whole. It is possible for a Connecticut borough or Vermont village to become a city. In Connecticut, cities overlay towns just as boroughs do, and, just like

33408-426: The waterfront − especially the waterfront on its southern shore − which offers a naturally deep harbor with easy and safe boat access, plus natural protection from the wind and waves. An additional element of Provincetown's geography tremendously influenced the manner in which the town evolved: the town was physically isolated, being at the hard-to-reach tip of a long, narrow peninsula . The East Harbor, which provided

33600-485: The waterfront, the key to communication and commerce with the outside world. As the town grew, it organically expanded along the harborfront. The main "thoroughfare" was the hard-packed beach, where all commerce and socializing took place. Early deeds refer to a "Town Rode", which was little more than a footpath that ran behind the houses. In 1835, County Commissioners turned that into "Front Street", now known as Commercial Street. "Back Street" ran parallel to Front Street, but

33792-440: The west and believing it to be an island, Bartholomew Gosnold initially named this area "Shoal Hope". Later that day, after catching a "great store of codfish", he chose instead to name this outermost tip of land "Cape Cod". Notably, that name referred specifically to the area of modern-day Provincetown; it wasn't until much later that that name was reused to designate the entire region now known as Cape Cod . On November 9, 1620,

33984-456: The west and foreign populations in newly acquired territories (the French in Canada and the Spanish in Florida ). In addition, British soldiers could prevent white colonists from instigating conflict with Native Americans and help collect customs duties. Migration beyond the Appalachian Mountains increased after the French threat was removed, and Native Americans launched Pontiac's War (1763–1766) in response. The Grenville ministry issued

34176-427: The year in the PAAM galleries. Between 2004 and 2007, PAAM received four Rural Development grants and loans totaling $ 3 million to increase the museum's space, add climate-controlled facilities, renovate a historic sea captain's house (the Hargood House) and cover cost overruns. As the mission of the Rural Development program is "To increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for all rural Americans",

34368-487: The year-round vitality of the historic art colony of Provincetown. Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) is a nationally recognized, year-round cultural institution that celebrated its Centennial in 2014. PAAM mounts 35 art exhibitions each year, offers workshops in the fine arts for children, youth, and adults, and hosts an array of programs and events to enrich visitor experience. The PAAM Permanent Collection consists of 3,000 objects, which are displayed throughout

34560-428: The years 2000 through 2010, Provincetown's small year-round population declined 14.3% from 3,431 to 2,942, yet during the summer months, population estimates vary wildly, ranging from 19,000 to 60,000. Census figures are unable to capture these dynamic population fluctuations that are associated with seasonal tourism. Part-time residents, which includes non-resident property owners and seasonal residents, are not counted in

34752-427: Was $ 41,488. About 2.1% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.0% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over. Provincetown's ZIP code has the highest concentration of same-sex couple households of any ZIP code in the United States. Data from traditional demographic sources like the U.S. Census, municipal voting rolls and property records may not accurately portray

34944-415: Was a rebellion and political movement in the Thirteen Colonies which peaked when colonists initiated an ultimately successful war for independence against the Kingdom of Great Britain . Leaders of the American Revolution were colonial separatist leaders who originally sought more autonomy as British subjects, but later assembled to support the Revolutionary War, which ended British colonial rule over

35136-439: Was enforced by new local committees authorized by the Congress. It also began coordinating Patriot resistance by militias which existed in every colony and which had gained military experience in the French and Indian War. For the first time, the Patriots were armed and unified against Parliament. King George declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion in February 1775 and the British garrison received orders to seize

35328-506: Was erected over the East Harbor in 1854, only to be destroyed by a winter storm and ice two years later. Although the bridge was replaced the following year, any traveler who crossed it still needed to traverse several miles over sand routes, which, together with the backshore route, was occasionally washed out by storms. This made Provincetown very much like an island. Its residents relied almost entirely upon its harbor for its communication, travel, and commerce needs. That changed in 1868, when

35520-515: Was formed to promote gay tourism . Today more than 200 businesses belong to the PBG and Provincetown is perhaps the best-known gay summer resort on the East Coast. The 2010 US Census revealed Provincetown to have the highest rate of same-sex couples in the country, at 163.1 per 1000 households. Since the 1990s, property prices have risen significantly, causing some residents economic hardship. The housing bust of 2005–2012 caused property values in and around town to fall by 10 percent or more in less than

35712-486: Was in 1714, with an Act that declared it the "Precinct of Cape Cod", annexed under control of Truro. On June 14, 1727, after harboring ships for more than a century, the Precinct of Cape Cod was incorporated as a township. The name chosen by its inhabitants was "Herringtown", which was rejected by the Massachusetts General Court in favor of "Provincetown". The act of incorporation provided that inhabitants of Provincetown could be landholders, but not landowners. They received

35904-401: Was instructed to collect evidence of said treason, and the threat caused widespread outrage, though it was not carried out. On March 5, 1770, a large crowd gathered around a group of British soldiers on a Boston street. The crowd grew threatening, throwing snowballs, rocks, and debris at them. One soldier was clubbed and fell. There was no order to fire, but the soldiers panicked and fired into

36096-513: Was necessary to incorporate. This practice can lead to inconsistencies in the dates of incorporation for towns in this region. Dates given in reference sources sometimes reflect the date when the town was chartered, which may have been long before it was settled, and not the date when its town government became active. In other parts of New England, some "future towns" were laid out along these lines, but such areas would not be formally incorporated as towns until they were sufficiently settled to organize

36288-552: Was set back from the harbor − today it is known as Bradford Street. "The houses faced the water then; since then some of the houses have been turned around; some of them still have the front door on the shore side. One man, a doctor, who had not lived long in town, proposed that the street be made sixty-four feet wide, but they soon voted down such foolishness as that from foreigners. He tried to compromise on thirty-two feet, but twenty-two feet seemed wide enough for all possible purposes, and twenty-two feet wide it is." Provincetown

36480-442: Was settled as a "plantation" (in colonial Massachusetts, the term was synonymous with town) as early as 1636, but the city of Springfield was not established until 1852. The oldest cities in New England date to the last few decades of the 18th century, (e.g. New Haven, Connecticut , was chartered as a city in 1784). In New England, cities were not widespread until well into the 19th century. New Hampshire did not have any cities until

36672-426: Was the Massachusetts Government Act which altered the Massachusetts charter and restricted town meetings. The second was the Administration of Justice Act which ordered that all British soldiers to be tried were to be arraigned in Britain, not in the colonies. The third was the Boston Port Act , which closed the port of Boston until the British had been compensated for the tea lost in the Boston Tea Party. The fourth

36864-477: Was the Quartering Act of 1774 , which allowed royal governors to house British troops in the homes of citizens without permission of the owner. In response, Massachusetts patriots issued the Suffolk Resolves and formed an alternative shadow government known as the Provincial Congress, which began training militia outside British-occupied Boston. In September 1774, the First Continental Congress convened, consisting of representatives from each colony, to serve as

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