Marstons Mills, Massachusetts

Marstons Mills
—  Village  —
Marstons Mills River
Marstons Mills Location within the state of Massachusetts
Coordinates: 41°39′22″N 70°24′58″W / 41.65611°N 70.41611°W / 41.65611; -70.41611Coordinates: 41°39′22″N 70°24′58″W / 41.65611°N 70.41611°W / 41.65611; -70.41611
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Barnstable
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	02648
FIPS code
GNIS feature ID

Marstons Mills (also spelled Marston's Mills^[1] ) is a village in the City of Barnstable, Massachusetts. It was founded by the Marston Family in 1648. They built grist mills along the Marstons Mills River, hence the name of the village. It is primarily residential, located on Route 28, and rural in nature. Main roads also include Route 149, Wakeby Road, Old Post Road (partially unpaved) and Santuit-Newtown Road. The zip code for Marstons Mills is 02648.

Physical Formation

Marstons Mills is located on glacier outwash plains, the northern boundary of which is the moraine hills of the West Barnstable conservation lands. The plains consist of sands and gravels deposited by glacial meltwaters; to the south finer particles of silts and clays form good agricultural soils. Steep slopes overlook the Marstons Mills River and Little River. These river valleys were cut by much more powerful forerunners of the present rivers, which are little more than streams today. Stripped of vegetation, these slopes erode easily and can become unstable. Ponds are formed in deep kettle holes, the most notable of which are Mystic, Middle, and Hamblins.^[2]

Main Street

Main Street Marstons Mills is mostly residential, with Liberty Hall and the Marstons Mills Public Library located on the road. Main Street is near the Herring Run, and a road over from Route 149. Several roads connect Route 149 to Main Street. It also has a Community Church next to the Marstons Mills Elementary School and across from Liberty Hall.

Schools

Marstons Mills has two elementary schools, Marstons Mills Elementary and Marstons Mills East Horace Mann Charter Public School. Marstons Mills Elementary School houses students grades K-2. Marstons Mills students that attend that school attend neighboring Cotuit Elementary School for grades 3 and 4. From the mid-1990s until 2003, Barnstable Middle School @ Marstons Mills housed grades 6 through 8. After the closing of the town's fifth grade building, the Marstons Mills Middle School recombined with Barnstable Middle School at Hyannis in Hyannis, Barnstable. The building that housed BMS@MM was then converted to Barnstable Horace Mann Charter School(BHMCS), with students in grades 5 and 6. Students in grades 7 and 8 attend Barnstable Middle School (Formerly Barnstable Middle School at Hyannis).

Lakes

Marstons Mills has many notable lakes, cranberry bogs, and ponds, including Hamblin's Pond, Mystic Lake, Middle Pond, Muddy Pond, Little Pond, Round Pond, Long Pond and Shubael Pond on Route 149. Marstons Mills has no salt-water beaches. (Although Prince Cove has salt water access, there isn't a public beach, only a town-owned marina and boat ramp.)^{[citation needed]}

Recreation

Burgess Park as well as the Herring Run provide leisure opportunities for adults and children of all ages. Burgess Park was purchased by the town in 1989 for its historic and scenic values. It has proven to be a very popular park for many different activities, most notably disc golf. The village survey revealed that this property is favored second only to the pond beaches and is also identified as one of the valued scenic views. Concern was expressed however, for the incompatible nature and location of play equipment at Burgess Park.^[2] Also, the Long Pond Conservation has a scenic bike path (off of Newton Road). The only grass airport left on the Cape is called Cape Cod Airport which originally started in the 1920s and was a Massachusetts Air National Guard summer training site in the 1930s. There is also an 18 hole golf course called Olde Barnstable Fairgrounds Golf Course, which is on the site of the old fairgrounds.

Although Cape Cod is known as a fishing industry, Marstons Mills on its own is mainly only fishing for game, aside from Prince Cove which is only a gateway to the ocean. All but two bodies of water in the village are considered lakes for depth and water surface area.^[2] Fishing in the smaller ponds include mainly small Berch and Bass. Mercury in the fish is a concern in Mystic lake. Hunting is smaller than fishing in Marstons Mills, the only hunting area is on conservation land in north-western marstons mills called West Barnstable Conservation. hunting includes Rabbit, Deer, and Wild Turkey.

Notable residents

• Siobhan Magnus, American Idol Season 9 contestant
• Steve Bernard
• M. L. Carr
• Nancy B. Clark
• Abraham Filene
• Paul G. Kirk, former United States senator
• John T. Olson, brigadier general in the United States Air Force

References

1. ^ CIS: Unincorporated and Unofficial Names of Massachusetts Communities
2. ^ ^{a b c} http://www.town.barnstable.ma.us/GrowthManagement/ComprehensivePlanning/LCP/Appendicies_VillagePlans/Marstons%20Mills%20Village%20Plan.pdf