What is it like to live in Mashpee?
After the summertime crunch is over, Barbara Cotton likes to take her children to the beach after school.
After the summertime crunch is over, Barbara Cotton likes to take her children to the beach after school.
Cotton, who looks forward to the quiet of the offseason, moved from Stoughton to Mashpee with her family in 1999. Her husband’s sister lived in the affordable Santuit Woods neighborhood off Route 130, and they found a home that backed up to hers. Cotton continued to commute to Hopkinton for her work as a teacher until 2003.
Cotton volunteered for the parent-teacher organization and the Cape Cod Children’s Museum before becoming executive director of the latter. Located in a former church on the road to the tony New Seabury community, the now 25-year-old museum, which had its origins in neighboring Falmouth, is a bona fide destination. It welcomes 50,000 visitors annually. The museum is undergoing a feasibility study to expand or relocate, but Cotton says she hopes it remains in Mashpee, possibly finding a spot in Mashpee Commons’ much-anticipated expansion.
“I am fortunate enough to live and work while I am still young and energetic in a place where everyone else wants to end up,’’ said Cotton, referring to the influx of people who choose to live in Mashpee after retirement. (She, of course, appreciates that population segment: “About 30 percent of our membership is grandparents,’’ she said.)
Her husband, John, a commercial lender for one of the banks in town, just won a spot on the Board of Selectmen and is also involved in the Knights of Columbus and the Boy Scouts. Barbara is a member of the local women’s club.
She admits that they are always on the go, heading to the beach, taking hikes, and participating in a variety of town activities.
She hopes they are teaching their children — ages 8, 13, and 15 — about commitment to the community.
Barbara Cotton
BY THE NUMBERS
About 40
Percentage of Mashpee land that is undeveloped and will remain that way
1684
The year the Old Indian Meeting House was built, making it, by many accounts, the oldest Native American church in the eastern United States
$105,000
The amount in Community Preservation Act funds used to build the splash pad at Heritage Park.
PROS & CONS
Pro
Shopping
Economic juggernaut Mashpee Commons has its share of shop turnover each year, but it has recently welcomed some great destinations, including an upscale bowling alley, a Greek restaurant, and an organic market.
Con
Water access
Mashpee’s access to the ocean pales in comparison with neighboring Falmouth and Barnstable. Two of Mashpee’s town beaches are on large ponds, and the one on the ocean, South Cape, fills up quite quickly.
Scott Lajoie is a freelance writer on the Cape. He can be reached at [email protected].
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