Sandwich, Massachusetts

Sandwich, Massachusetts
Town
Sandwich Town Hall (1834) and Congregational Church (1848)
Seal
Motto: Post Tot Naufracia Portus  (Latin) "After So Many Shipwrecks A Haven"
Location in Barnstable County and the state of Massachusetts.
Coordinates: 41°45′32″N 70°29′40″W / 41.75889°N 70.49444°W / 41.75889; -70.49444Coordinates: 41°45′32″N 70°29′40″W / 41.75889°N 70.49444°W / 41.75889; -70.49444
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Barnstable
Settled	1637
Incorporated	September 3, 1639
Government
• Type	Open town meeting
Area
• Total	44.2 sq mi (114.5 km2)
• Land	42.7 sq mi (110.7 km2)
• Water	1.5 sq mi (3.8 km2)
Elevation	20 ft (6 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	20,675
• Density	484/sq mi (186.8/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	02537, 02563, 02644
Area code(s)	508 / 774
FIPS code	25-59735
GNIS feature ID	0618259
Website	www.sandwichmass.org

Sandwich /ˈsændwɪtʃ/ is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,675 at the 2010 census. The Town Hall is located right next to the Dexter Grist Mill, in the historic district of town.

The town motto is Post tot Naufracia Portus (Latin for "after so many shipwrecks, a haven"). For more geographic and demographic information on specific parts of the town of Sandwich, please see the articles on East Sandwich, Forestdale, and Sandwich (CDP). The postal ZIP codes for the town are 02537, 02644, and 02563, respectively. It is the oldest town on Cape Cod. In 2014, Sandwich turned 375 years old.

Cape Cod was occupied for thousands of years by indigenous peoples, including the historic Algonquian-speaking Wampanoag, who encountered the English colonists of the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth Colonies.

Sandwich was first settled by Europeans in 1637 by a group from Saugus with the permission of the Plymouth Colony. It is named for the seaport of Sandwich, Kent, England. It was incorporated in 1639 and is the oldest town on Cape Cod. The western portion of the town was separated from the original "Town of Sandwich", and it became the town of Bourne in 1884.

There are many historic homes in Sandwich, including the Benjamin Nye Homestead on Old County Road (formerly known as the original "Old King's Highway"), and the Benjamin Holway House built in 1789 at 379 Route 6A, which property hosts one of the original Nye Homestead structures, built in 1698 and believed to have originally served as either a tavern or a shop. It is now used as a law office.