Falmouth is a New England town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States; Barnstable County is coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 32,660 at the 2000 census.
Today Falmouth is well known as the terminal for the Steamship Authority ferries to Martha's Vineyard and as the home of several scientific organizations such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI,] The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and the Woods Hole Research Center, WHRC.]

For geographic and demographic information on specific parts of the town of Falmouth, please see the articles on East Falmouth, Massachusetts, Falmouth (CDP), Massachusetts,...

Falmouth is a New England town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States; Barnstable County is coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 32,660 at the 2000 census.
Today Falmouth is well known as the terminal for the Steamship Authority ferries to Martha's Vineyard and as the home of several scientific organizations such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI,] The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and the Woods Hole Research Center, WHRC.]

For geographic and demographic information on specific parts of the town of Falmouth, please see the articles on East Falmouth, Massachusetts, Falmouth (CDP), Massachusetts, North Falmouth, Massachusetts, Teaticket, Massachusetts, West Falmouth, Massachusetts, and Woods Hole, Massachusetts. There are also the villages of Hatchville and Waquoit, which are not census-designated places and both fall within the village of East Falmouth based on postal service, as well New Silver Beach,which falls within North Falmouth based as well on the aforementioned criteria.

History
Falmouth was first settled by English colonists in 1660 and was officially incorporated in 1686, and named by Bartholomew Gosnold for Falmouth, Cornwall, England, his home port. Early principal activities were farming, salt works, whaling, shipping, and sheep. Sheep husbandry was very popular due to the introduction of Merino sheep and the beginnings of water-powered mills that could process the wool. In 1837, Falmouth averaged about 50 sheep per sq. mile.

Falmouth saw brief action in the War of 1812 when the area around Falmouth Heights, on its southern coast, was bombarded by several British frigates and ships of the line, and Massachusetts militia hastily entrenched themselves on the beaches to repulse a possible British landing which never came. By 1872 the train had come to Falmouth and Woods Hole and some of the first summer homes were established. By the late 1800s cranberries were being cultivated and strawberries were being raised for the Boston market. Large scale dairying was tried in the early 1900s in interior regions. After the improvement in highways, and thanks in part to the heavy use of neighboring Otis Air National Guard Base during WWII, population growth increased significantly. There were large home building booms in the 1970s followed by others in the 1980s and 1990s.