Originally settled by the Nauset tribe, Eastham was the site where in 1621 a
hunting expedition landed, comprised from the crew of the sailing vessel Mayflower, which had stopped in
Provincetown harbor on Cape Cod Bay after a rough crossing of the Atlantic
Ocean, which led to the first encounter of the Pilgrims and the local Nauset
people at First Encounter Beach. The area would not be settled by Europeans,
however, until 1644. The original lands included what are now the towns of
Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans and a small portion of Chatham. Eastham town
was
