Formation of the Cape Cod National Seashore
In recognition of the splendor of the Outer Beach, Congress created the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1961. The new park encompassed the entire outer coastline running the length from Provincetown to Chatham. Within the seashore were large stretches of wilderness that prompted the initial motivation to create a national park, which would help preserve them, but there were also preexisting municipalities that had portions of the town sequestered to become part of the park. The seashore acquired land from six different towns: Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans and Chatham. The cooperation of these six different towns was necessary to draw the boundary of the park. The establishment of the park happened in a series of phases, concluding on August 7th, 1961 when President Kennedy signed Public Law 87-126. This law defined the seashore’s boundary, the process for land acquisition and the establishment of an administrative body to manage the conservation of natural resources.
Entrance sign to the National Seashore at the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham.
In 1961, when the Cape Cod National Seashore was established, it was an experiment in creating a national park that did not exist in a pristine wilderness, set apart from where there were already patterns of human settlement. Establishing a park in such a populated area had not been done before but the decision to create the park came about however as an effort to preserve the mosaic of unique environmental, historical and cultural resources that were particular to Cape Cod, including the intersection between people and their use of the seashore. Once the park was established it would put an end to further development within its boundary and protect a portion of this dynamic coastline.
