Aptucxet Trading Post Museum
A reconstructed 1627 trading post on the Cape Cod Canal, the site interprets early colonial commerce and vernacular timber construction. The complex also includes a replica saltworks, a smock windmill, and canal-era artifacts—useful case studies for materials conservation and adaptive interpretation.
Phone: (508) 759-8167
Gray Gables Railroad Station (at Aptucxet)
Built in 1892 to serve President Grover Cleveland’s nearby summer home, the station was moved and restored at the museum campus. The wood-frame depot illustrates late 19th-century railroad architecture and careful relocation/restoration practice.
Phone: (508) 759-8167
Bourne Town Hall & Soldiers and Sailors Memorial
Completed in 1914 to designs by James Purdon, this Classical Revival brick hall remains Bourne’s civic heart. The green’s 1914 Civil War memorial exemplifies period bronze and granite commemorative work and public-realm placemaking.
Phone: (508) 759-0600
Old Bourne High School (Kempton J. Coady Jr. School)
Opened in 1905 and expanded in 1937, this prominent brick academic block is a local Colonial/Neoclassical Revival landmark. Current residential conversion highlights best practices in school-to-housing adaptive reuse.
Phone: (508) 759-0600
Bournedale Village School (1897)
The town’s last one-room schoolhouse retains original plan and finishes—an intact example of Victorian-eclectic civic education architecture. Listed on the National Register, it now serves community functions through the Bournedale Civic Association.
Phone: (508) 759-0600
Cataumet Schoolhouse (1894)
A well-preserved one-room schoolhouse combining Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne details—now a community venue. Its 2019 National Register listing underscores exemplary local stewardship and period craftsmanship.
Phone: (508) 564-4011
Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge (1935)
This monumental vertical-lift span anchors Buzzards Bay and remains an engineering icon with a 544-ft main span and 135-ft clearance raised. It continues to carry freight and seasonal passenger service; USACE ownership makes it a living case study in heavy movable structures maintenance.
Phone (USACE Canal Field Office): (508) 759-4431
Bourne Bridge (1935)
A steel through-arch highway bridge designed with Cram & Ferguson architectural guidance, the Bourne Bridge is central to Cape access and emergency routing. Its form and bearings pose distinctive preservation challenges for coating systems and fatigue management.
Phone (USACE Canal Field Office): (508) 759-4431
Sagamore Bridge (1935)
The canal’s northern through-arch twin is critical for regional mobility and slated for replacement planning. Structural access, traffic staging, and corrosion protection make it a key reference for large-span rehab vs. replacement decisions.
Phone (USACE Canal Field Office): (508) 759-4431
Wing’s Neck Lighthouse (1889)
Guarding the entrance to Pocasset Harbor, Wing’s Neck Light pairs a square tower with a keeper’s house—classic New England maritime architecture. Though privately owned, it illustrates coastal preservation in high-exposure environments.
Phone: (617) 899-5063
Massachusetts Maritime Academy (Taylor’s Point)
A waterfront state academy whose mid-century and contemporary facilities support maritime engineering and energy systems training. The campus forms a durable coastal infrastructure hub at the canal’s west end.
Phone: (508) 830-5000
Jonathan Bourne Historical Center (1897)
Designed by Henry Vaughan and built of yellow tapestry brick with Palladian windows, the former library now houses town archives and the historical society. It overlooks the canal—an excellent case of civic re-use of a high-style late-19th-century building.
Phone: (508) 759-8167
Jonathan Bourne Public Library (current facility)
Housed in the former Frances Stowell Grammar School, the library integrates community services with adaptive reuse. Interior upgrades balance accessibility, public programming, and preservation of a neighborhood civic resource.
Phone: (508) 759-0600 ext. 6102
Buzzards Bay Station (MBTA/CapeFLYER)
Originally built in 1912 and modernized with a high platform in 2014, the station serves seasonal passenger rail and tourist excursions. The site illustrates rail-adjacent placemaking at the canal gateway.
Phone (CCRTA/CapeFLYER info): (508) 775-8504
Buzzards Bay Park (Canal Gateway Green)
A rebuilt waterfront green framing views of the Railroad Bridge and canal, this park supports events, wayfinding, and downtown revitalization. It’s a useful precedent for durable hardscape, plantings, and coastal public-realm amenities.
Phone (Bourne Recreation/Special Events): (508) 759-0600
Herring Run Recreation Area (USACE)
Mid-canal recreation area with a fish ladder connecting to Great Herring Pond, highlighting ecological infrastructure integrated with federal navigation works. The setting provides instructive examples of bank protection, pedestrian access, and interpretive design.
Phone (USACE): (508) 759-4431
Bourne Recreation Area (USACE)
At the foot of the Bourne Bridge, this area combines fishing access, bikeway connection, and scenic viewpoints. It demonstrates resilient public access design under a major highway span.
Phone (USACE): (508) 759-4431
Midway Station Recreation Area (USACE)
A wooded inland picnic site along Sandwich Road, Midway supports group permits and trail connections. As the only canal recreation area not on the water, it offers examples of parking, stormwater, and group-use design in a pine-oak setting.
Phone (USACE): (508) 759-4431
Tidal Flats Recreation Area (USACE)
Near the Railroad Bridge on Bell Road, Tidal Flats provides waterfront access and views of lift-span operations. It’s a good study site for shoreline stabilization and visitor safety at industrial waterways.
Phone (USACE): (508) 759-4431
Sagamore Recreation Area (USACE)
On Canal Road by the Sagamore rotary, this area frames the north arch with accessible canal bikeway access. It demonstrates ADA route planning and coastal planting under a high-traffic bridge.
Phone (USACE): (508) 759-4431
Bournedale Hills Trail (north side of Canal)
A 1.4-mile trail with a self-guided loop interpreting canal history and ecology, connecting Bourne Scenic Park to the Herring Run. It’s a model for low-impact trail construction and interpretive signage along a federal navigation project.
Phone (USACE): (508) 759-4431
Taylor Point Marina (Town of Bourne)
Town-owned marina at the canal’s west end offering 148 slips, fuel, pumpout, and a public ramp—key waterfront infrastructure adjacent to MMA. It provides a reference for municipal marina operations, utilities, and coastal permitting.
Marina Office: (508) 759-2512
Bourne Scenic Park (Bourne Recreation Authority)
Established in 1951 on land leased from USACE, this 439-site campground and day-use park activates the canal’s central reach. Its pool, trails, and event facilities illustrate long-term public-private stewardship of recreation landscapes.
Phone: (508) 759-7873
Cape Cod Canal (USACE Navigation Project)
The 17.4-mile cut linking Cape Cod Bay and Buzzards Bay is a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and the backbone of Bourne’s modern geography. Canal banks, bikeways, and structures provide a comprehensive laboratory for heavy civil maintenance planning.
Phone (USACE): (508) 759-4431
