Marstons Mills, Massachusetts facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marstons Mills
Village
Marston Mills Community Church
Location of ZIP code 02648 Marstons Mills within the Town of Barnstable, county, and state
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Barnstable
Town	Barnstable
Settled	c. 1653
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	02648

Marstons Mills is a small village in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It is a quiet, mostly residential area with a rural feel. You can find it along Massachusetts Route 28. Other important roads include Massachusetts Route 149, Race Lane, River Road, Osterville-West Barnstable Road, and Santuit-Newtown Road.

Village History

Marstons Mills was first settled a long time ago, before 1653, by a person named Roger Goodspeed. His granddaughter, Lydia, married Benjamin Marston. Benjamin helped the village grow by setting up a fulling mill and weaving businesses. These operations gave the village its name, Marstons Mills.

Benjamin Marston also built a small house. This house, known as the William Marston House, is still standing today. The town considers it a historical building.

Natural Landscape

Marstons Mills sits on flat lands made of sand and gravel. These were left behind by melting glaciers long ago. To the north, you can see the moraine hills of the West Barnstable conservation lands. These hills were also formed by glaciers.

The southern parts of the plains have finer soil. This soil is good for farming. The area also has steep slopes overlooking the Marstons Mills River and Little River. These rivers were once much larger. Today, they are mostly small streams.

Many ponds are found in deep kettle holes. These are bowl-shaped hollows formed when ice blocks melted after the glaciers. The most well-known ponds are Mystic, Middle, and Hamblin.

Village Center

The main road in Marstons Mills is called Main Street. It is mostly lined with homes. You can also find Liberty Hall and the Marstons Mills Public Library here. The Marstons Mills Community Church is located near the old Marstons Mills Elementary School. It is also across the street from Liberty Hall.

Local Schools

Marstons Mills has two elementary schools for younger students. These are West Villages Elementary and Barnstable United Elementary School. West Villages Elementary School teaches students from kindergarten to third grade.

For a while, from the mid-1990s to 2003, Barnstable Middle School at Marstons Mills taught grades 6 through 8. Later, this middle school joined with Barnstable Middle School in Hyannis. The building that used to be the middle school became Barnstable Horace Mann Charter School (BHMCS). This school now teaches students in grades 5 and 6. Students in grades 7 and 8 go to Barnstable Middle School.

In 2008, the Town of Barnstable made some changes to its schools. BHMCS became a school for grades four and five. Barnstable Middle School became Barnstable Intermediate School for grades six and seven. Eighth-grade students now attend Barnstable High School.

Ponds and Waterways

Marstons Mills is known for its many lakes, cranberry bogs, and ponds. Some of the notable ones include Mystic Lake, Middle Pond, Hamblin Pond, and Shubael Pond. It is important to note that Marstons Mills does not have any saltwater beaches.

Most of the bodies of water in the village are considered lakes. This is because of their depth and large surface area. Fishing in the smaller ponds mainly involves catching small perch and bass. However, there have been concerns about mercury levels in fish from Mystic Lake.

Fun Activities

Marstons Mills offers several places for fun and relaxation.

Burgess Park

Burgess Park is a great spot for both kids and adults. The town bought this park in 1989 because of its history and beautiful scenery. It is a very popular place for many activities. One of the most popular is disc golf. Many people in the village love this park. It is second only to the pond beaches as a favorite spot. People also enjoy the scenic views from the park.

Other Recreation Spots

The Long Pond Conservation area has a nice bike path. You can find this path off Newtown Road.

Cape Cod Airfield is the only grass airport left on Cape Cod. It started in 1929. In the 1930s, it was a summer training site for the Massachusetts Air National Guard.

If you like golf, there is an 18-hole golf course called Olde Barnstable Fairgrounds Golf Course. It is built on the site of the old fairgrounds.

While Cape Cod is famous for its fishing industry, fishing in Marstons Mills is mostly for fun. The only way to reach the ocean from Marstons Mills is through Prince Cove. Hunting is not as common as fishing here. The only hunting area is on conservation land in northwestern Marstons Mills. This area is called West Barnstable Conservation. You might find rabbit, deer, and wild turkey there.