Chatham MA - Old Cape Cod

"Quaint little villages here and there" - This is from an old song by Patti Page called Old Cape Cod. These villages were originally working fishing towns, all bordering either the Atlantic ocean or Nantucket Sound. The photo is one of the historic houses in Chatham, the Josiah Mayo house, built around 1820. For you romance lovers out there, he built this house for his bride, named Desire Harding. (As an aside, the house was purchased by a bank, and donated to the Chatham Conservation Foundation.)

The shingled, unpainted style is typical of Cape houses (paint gets scored off by the sand and wind). Chatham was first settled by the English in the 1660s, but of course the Indians lived there long before that.
Here's a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLnRyGnB2u0

Cape Cod now is unrecognizable from what it used to be. But many of the villages have worked hard to preserve some character, and Chatham has succeeded. It's a town located on the 'elbow' of the Cape, where the inner Cape makes a sharp turn and the outer Cape begins.

First, here is one of the most charming bookstores you'll ever see.

The tiny cafe in the bookstore:

The town of Chatham has provided these signs where you can identify the history of the building - who owned it and what purpose it had. My favorite is this shop selling cards and candles that used to be a stable and blacksmith. I love seeing how things change, and thinking about the people who used to live in this spot.

The shop owners work hard to be interesting. Here's a shop window that you won't see everywhere. (Who can spot the duckling who's different?)

One of the favorite shops for the females in my family:

If you go, you might stay at the Chatham Bars Inn, which is pricy, but lovely.