Bradley House

This 2021 exhibit explores the archaeology associated with the earliest indigenous settlements on Cape Cod. With the Public Archaeology Laboratory in Pawtucket, RI, the museum has developed a display on Native American archaeological sites, ranging from approximately 12,000 to 450 years ago, along with artifacts and images to tell us more about the culture of the earliest inhabitants of our region well before the Mayflower landing in 1620.

“Honoring Jewel Plummer Cobb” exhibit tells the story of the change in name of Agassiz Road to Jewel Cobb Road.  Woods Hole residents initiated a community wide campaign upon learning that the prominent scientist, Louis Agassiz, credited with inspiring the start of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), was a white supremacist who used his science in support of his racist theories.  Seventeen illustrated panels give a step-by-step narrative of the way the name change came about.

Continuing this season in the museum’s gallery one is The History of Woods Hole, the story of whaling, science, architecture, hurricanes, ferries, railroads, tourism, local industries, and more, using photographs, documents, artifacts, recordings and tools. The core of this exhibit is a timeline describing key people and significant events in the settlement and development of Woods Hole, covering the time period covered from the 1600s to the present.

This model of Woods Hole, as it appeared in August 1895, was made by 37 museum volunteers in 1982. The year 1895 was chosen because most present-day activities had begun about this time: ferries to the islands, the scientific institutions and summer visitors.