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Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Provincetown, Massachusetts

36 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Provincetown town. It lies in ZIP code area 02657. It stands on Millers Hill. The Survey maps it on the Provincetown quadrangle. 3,318 people lived here at the 2020 count.

Provincetown within Barnstable County

Population over time

2 figures

Provincetown grew from 2,642 to 3,318 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20102,642
20203,318+676 (+26%)

Then and now

1887 to 1984

The same ground, surveyed 97 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Provincetown, surveyed 1984
Topographic sheet of Provincetown, surveyed 1887

Topographic sheets covering this place

36 sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the 1890 county history

30 words on this township

The county history of 1890 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for the smaller places. Its township is covered in full.

The chapter on Provincetown Town covers the township.

Read the chapter on Provincetown Town - 30 words.

Photographs

8 photographs, 1937 to 1942

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Provincetown, Massachusetts. Portuguese dory fisherman drying his lines
Provincetown, Massachusetts. Portuguese dory fisherman drying his lines
Collier, John, Jr, 1942. Library of Congress
Tourists on the street. Provincetown, Massachusetts
Tourists on the street. Provincetown, Massachusetts
Rosskam, Edwin, 1940. Library of Congress
Aboard a trawler. Selecting fish and cutting off heads. Only mackerel, whiting, and occasional flounder or halibut are kept. Thrown from trough into ice-filled hold. Fish heads and non-marketable fish are thrown into sea, above which hundreds of sea gulls wait hungrily. Provincetown, Massachusetts
Aboard a trawler. Selecting fish and cutting off heads. Only mackerel, whiting, and occasional flounder or halibut are kept. Thrown from trough into ice-filled hold. Fish heads and non-marketable fish are thrown into sea, above which hundreds of sea gulls wait hungrily. Provincetown, Massachusetts
Rosskam, Edwin, 1937. Library of Congress
Provincetown, Massachusetts. John Russe, Jr., a Portuguese fisherman, and his wife preparing a lobster and coffee for dinner
Provincetown, Massachusetts. John Russe, Jr., a Portuguese fisherman, and his wife preparing a lobster and coffee for dinner
Collier, John, Jr, 1942. Library of Congress
Provincetown, Massachusetts. Hoisting fish from the ice hold of a Portuguese trawler to the packing house dock
Provincetown, Massachusetts. Hoisting fish from the ice hold of a Portuguese trawler to the packing house dock
Collier, John, Jr, 1942. Library of Congress
Provincetown, Massachusetts. Aboard the Frances and Marion, a Portuguese drag trawler, fishing off Cape Cod. Lowering fish into the ice hold
Provincetown, Massachusetts. Aboard the Frances and Marion, a Portuguese drag trawler, fishing off Cape Cod. Lowering fish into the ice hold
Collier, John, Jr, 1942. Library of Congress
Provincetown, Massachusetts. Portuguese workmen building a cabin on an open dory
Provincetown, Massachusetts. Portuguese workmen building a cabin on an open dory
Collier, John, Jr, 1942. Library of Congress
Provincetown, Massachusetts. Net mending
Provincetown, Massachusetts. Net mending
Collier, John, Jr, 1942. Library of Congress

Fires nearby

24 since 1992

The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 24 fires within 5 miles of Provincetown between 1992 and 2020, burning about 12 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined12
Recreation and ceremony4
Smoking4
Arson/incendiarism1
Debris and open burning1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Fireworks1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
6 September 1998Smoking3.0 acresCape Cod National SeashorePILGRIM HT
5 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCape Cod National SeashoreHEAD OF THE MEADOW
14 September 2020Fireworksunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
14 September 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCape Cod National SeashoreRACE POINT SOUTH BLOWOUT FIRE
11 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCape Cod National SeashoreHERRCOVE
6 August 1992Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCape Cod National SeashoreARTSDUNE
4 July 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 July 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCape Cod National SeashoreBEECH FOREST FIRE_1738

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Barnstable County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 3,772 shown

Museums hold 3,772 specimens collected within 10 miles of Provincetown between 1827 and 1975: 3,460 Animalia, 128 Plantae, 99 Unrecorded, 58 Chromista, 27 Fungi. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. K. Harrison, A. K. Harrison, G.C.H., A. M. Ottley and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
A photograph of the species Aralia hispida, not of this specimenAralia hispida Vent.1827A. M. Ottley
A photograph of the species Brevoortia tyrannus, not of this specimenBrevoortia tyrannus (Latrobe, 1802)1853Atwood, Nathaniel E.Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
A photograph of the species Pseudopleuronectes americanus, not of this specimenPseudopleuronectes americanus (Walbaum, 1792)1853Atwood, Nathaniel E.Cape Cod, Massachusetts
A photograph of the species Scophthalmus aquosus, not of this specimenScophthalmus aquosus (Mitchill, 1815)1856not recordedProvincetown
A photograph of the species Ammodytes americanus, not of this specimenAmmodytes americanus DeKay, 18421859Weinland, David FriedrichCape Cod, Massachusetts
A photograph of the species Pomatomus saltatrix, not of this specimenPomatomus saltatrix (Linnaeus, 1766)1859Ordway, A.Cape Cod, Massachusetts
A photograph of the species Aspidophoroides monopterygius, not of this specimenAspidophoroides monopterygius (Bloch, 1786)1860Smithsonian InstitutionProvincetown
A photograph of the species Prionotus carolinus, not of this specimenPrionotus carolinus (Linnaeus, 1771)1860Harvard MuseumProvincetown
A photograph of the species Paralichthys oblongus, not of this specimenParalichthys oblongus (Mitchill, 1815)1862MCZ teamCape Cod, Massachusetts
A photograph of the species Morone americana, not of this specimenMorone americana (Gmelin, 1789)1864MCZ teamCape Cod, rivers, Massachusetts
A photograph of the species Pholis gunnellus, not of this specimenPholis gunnellus (Linnaeus, 1758)1864SmithProvincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
A photograph of the species Gammarus mucronatus, not of this specimenGammarus mucronatus Say, 18181871U.S. Fish CommissionCape Cod. low water

All 3,772 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Storms nearby

8 since 1996

The National Weather Service names Provincetown in 8 storm reports between 1996 and 2020: 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 flood, 1 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2018FloodProvincetown$15,000At 4:05 PM EST, the basement flooded at the Provincetown Fire Department. Water rose almost to the electrical panel. The flooding was aggravated by a failed water pump.
August 2008LightningProvincetown$10,000A housing complex on Bayberry Avenue was struck by lightning and caught fire. Damage was limited to the outside of the building.
August 2018FloodProvincetown$1,000At 4:50 PM EST, Bradford Street in Provincetown was flooded near the old High School. Flooding was able to remove a crosswalk sign and have it float down the road.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindProvincetown$1,000A beach sign was blown down on the east side of Race Point Road near Ocean View Hill.
October 2020Thunderstorm WindProvincetown-In Provincetown at 645 PM EDT, the office received a report of a wind gust to 63 mph, but the source was unable to be identified.
August 2018FloodProvincetown-At 4:21 PM EST, the intersection of Pearl Street and Bradford Street was flooded and required traffic mitigation.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindProvincetown-no account filed
May 1996Thunderstorm WindProvincetown-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Barnstable County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Mayflower Heights1.5 miles36
Beach Point2.5 miles36
Wood End2.7 miles36
Pilgrim Heights3.4 miles33
North Truro4.7 miles33
Pond Village4.9 miles33
Truro Station (historical)7.4 miles34
Truro8.2 miles34

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on ProvincetownAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7252597The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 616639. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.