Truro, which makes up the “wrist” of the Outer Cape’s “arm,” is located just before Provincetown and about 75 percent of its land is designated as part of the National Seashore, making it one of the most undeveloped little towns on the East Coast. Full of natural beauty and pristine beaches, Truro’s year-round population is about 1,700. In the summer, that number explodes to upwards of 15-20,000.
Here are some interesting facts about this unique place on Cape Cod.
Truro is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the north and east, Wellfleet on the south, and Cape Cod Bay and Provincetown on the west. It sits 37 miles north of Hyannis, 106 miles from Boston, 117 miles from Providence, Rhode Island; and 284 miles from New York City.
Although it offers many excellent restaurants, Truro has no fast food restaurants, but it does have one vineyard. Truro Vineyards was founded in 1992, and its main house and estate date back nearly two centuries. The town’s galleries, beautiful harbor and traditional New England draw make this a perfect place to visit and stay.
Truro has 10 beaches in all, according to the government website, which are Ballston, Beach Point, Coast Guard, Cold Storage, Corn Hill, Fisher, Great Hollow, Head of the Meadow, Longnook, and Ryder.
For thousands of years, the beautiful Truro region was prized as the ancestral home of tribes including the Wampanoag People whose name for the area was Payomet or Pamet.
In November of 1620, the Pilgrims sailed into Cape Cod Bay and anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor. A group led by Miles Standish wandered into what became Truro. There they found fresh water (Pilgrim Springs), a cache of maize (Corn Hill) and a place to camp out for the night (Pond Village), where they came in contact with the Pamet tribe. A few weeks later the Pilgrims weighed anchor and sailed across the bay to what is now Plymouth.
Cape Cod Light, also known as the Highland Lighthouse, was originally built in 1797 and replaced by the current lighthouse in 1857. It is the oldest operating lighthouse on Cape Cod and is a natural photo op.
The oldest remaining house of worship on the Outer Cape, the 1827 Meeting House of the First Congregational Parish of Truro, is a treasured landmark that has played a central role in community life, and a defining architectural feature of this Outer Cape seaside village for nearly 200 years.
An 865-pound Revere Foundry bell, suspended in the steeple of the 1827 Meeting House, is one of the last bells cast by the famous foundry established by the famed patriot, Paul Revere.
Built in 1951 as a response to the Russians testing their first atomic bomb, the North Truro Air Force Station became one of the first radar listening stations to monitor for Soviet bombers. The station was decommissioned in 1994 upon the end of the Cold War. The grounds are still open to the public and the Park Service conducts regular guided tours.
By Ann Luongo
