Falmouth, town, Barnstable County, southeastern Massachusetts, on Cape Cod; settled by Quakers in 1661, incorporated 1694. It contains several villages, including Woods Hole, seat of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Marine Biological Laboratory. It has harbors on Vineyard Sound and on Buzzards Bay and is a boating center and summer resort with a large retirement community. Manufactures include oceanographic equipment, building supplies, and printed materials. Historic structures include the Julia Wood House (1790); the First Congregational Church, with a bell cast by Paul Revere; and the birthplace of Katharine Lee Bates, author of “America the Beautiful.” From about 1820 to about 1865 the town was a major whaling center. It is named for Falmouth, England. Population (1980) 23,640; (1990) 27,960; (1998) 31,431.
