Barnstable is a city, referred to as the Town of Barnstable, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod. The town contains seven villages (one of which is also named Barnstable (village), Massachusetts) within its boundaries. Its largest village, Hyannis, is the central business district of the county and home to Barnstable Municipal Airport, the airline hub of Cape Cod and the Islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. It is also a 2007 All-America City Award winner.

History
Barnstable is named for...

Barnstable is a city, referred to as the Town of Barnstable, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod. The town contains seven villages (one of which is also named Barnstable (village), Massachusetts) within its boundaries. Its largest village, Hyannis, is the central business district of the county and home to Barnstable Municipal Airport, the airline hub of Cape Cod and the Islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. It is also a 2007 All-America City Award winner.

History
Barnstable is named for Barnstaple, Devon, England. The area was first explored by Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602. It was one of the first towns to be settled, in 1636, and was incorporated in 1639, as were the other Cape towns of Sandwich and Yarmouth. The early settlers were farmers, but soon fishing and salt works became major industries in town. By the end of the nineteenth century, there were some 800 ships harbored in the town. But this came to a decline with the rise of the railroad, which had arrived in 1854, and by steam salamanders, a type of train.

By the late nineteenth century, however, Barnstable was becoming world-renowned as the tourist destination it is to this day. Many prominent Bostonians spent their summers on the Cape shores, as did Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Grover Cleveland. However, the most famous family to summer in the town was, and still is, the Kennedy family, who can still be found living in their compound in Hyannis Port. It was the summer home of President John F. Kennedy during his administration, and, in fact, Senator Ted Kennedy home is still in the town.

Today, tourists come in droves to the town during the summer months. There is abundant shopping in the quaint shops of Hyannis, as well as the John F. Kennedy Museum and several other museums. The town's many beaches are popular as well.

Geography
Barnstable is located at (41.659158, -70.353059), about halfway along the'biceps'of the Cape Cod'arm. 'According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which, of it is land and of it (21.26%) is water. It is bordered by Cape Cod Bay on the north, Nantucket Sound on the south, Sandwich, Massachusetts and Mashpee, Massachusetts on the west and Yarmouth, Massachusetts on the east. Barnstable is approximately seventy miles southeast of Boston, Massachusetts.