Current Exhibit

2020-21: Little Harvard

​​How did Cotuit – village of fishermen, sea captains, and oyster and cranberry farmers – earn the nickname “Little Harvard” in the early 1900s? Beginning in the late 1800s, academics, writers, artists, and doctors – many associated with the Cambridge university – bought and built summer homes here. They in turn attracted colleagues who came to visit. Lifetime summer resident Abbott Lawrence Lowell’s long tenure as Harvard’s president (1909-1933) particularly cemented Cotuit’s link to the university. In addition to enjoying the waterfront’s scenic beauty and recreational opportunities, these Bostonians and their peers found the peace and quiet they needed to work on scholarly or creative projects. Books were written here, paintings painted. Some of their names – including Lowell, Ropes, Putnam, Coolidge and Morse – remain familiar, their legacies living on. Discover who they were, what they accomplished and why they – like us – loved Cotuit.

Past Exhibits

2019: Shifting Sands: The Story of Dead Neck Sampson's Island

​The story of Dead Neck Sampson’s Island is largely one of shifting sands, especially as, over time, waves and currents have relentlessly sculpted the shoreline. But since 1899, human intervention has also played a major role, beginning with the channel cut that at long last gave Osterville direct access to Nantucket Sound while creating unforeseen problems for the future. Because of local interest in the three-phase dredging project begun this past winter, we’re taking a closer look at the history and legends associated with this barrier island – once used for grazing cattle, now a bird sanctuary, and ever critical to the protection of the three-bay system and Oyster Harbors. 

2018: Camp Candoit

Camp Candoit was the WWII Amphibious Training facility that was located where Cotuit Bay Shores is now. Courtesy of the Cape Cod Military Museum, the display will showcase genuine WWII artifacts, memorabilia and photographs to help share this amazing story of service, ingenuity, hardship and victory. Camp Candoit played a critical role during the war, representing an important part of our local heritage, and of our national and global history.

​2017: Time for Fun! 

Nothing quite says fun like a flannel or mohair bathing suit with matching stockings and bathing shoes right?  Well, at least that was true back in the late 1880s. This season we are taking a closer look at what people did for fun here in Cotuit and Santuit prior to the turn of the century, once their work was done.  Swimming and sailing are givens. But there were a host of other recreational activities; some surprising, some enlightening, and some unbelievably charming!  mark your calendar to visit this exhibit at your LEISURE to get a closer look at the fun, recreation and leisurely pursuits in our village between 1880 and 1899.

2016: The Pines

The 2016 exhibit at the museum chronicles Cotuit's most famous hotel, The Pines. Owned and operated by HSSC founder, Nita Morse Crawford, it was located right on Ocean View Avenue and was in operation from 1893-1958. Images and artifacts saved by the Crawfords will be on display alongside the full history and a map of the Hotel and Captain's Cottages.

2015: Cotuit: You've Got Mail!

!.“Cotuit’s Got Mail” is a timeline of Cotuit’s Post Office History complete with postmasters, politics, and locations of the many different offices throughout history. Learn about Cotuit's Great Post Office Fight

2014: Cotuit Then and Now

Our 2014 exhibit,  “Cotuit: Then and Now” was a pictoral exhibit of local scenes and buildings from the past  juxtaposed with photos of how the same photograph looks today.

2013: Crocker Family History

An exhibit dedicated to the first settlers of Santuit and Cotuit. The Museum received a large donation of items from the Crocker family (who is still living around here) and dedicated our seasonal exhibit to their family. Objects included photographs, papers, and objects the family had passed down through history.