The Development of Cape Cod's Tourism Industry

Heritage Museums and Gardens Tuesday May 20, 2025 9:30 AM - 11 AM

In the 1850s Henry David Thoreau described the Cape as a “Yankee backwater,” and most everyone agreed. Now, both a blessing and a curse, tourism simultaneously powers a humming economy and acts as a tightening stranglehold on the region’s limited resources.

The Cape wasn’t always known as a place people wanted to visit. Between 1860 and 1900, the region experienced a lingering depression as traditional industries faltered and residents moved away. The Cape’s emerging tourist industry began slowly after the Civil War, and picked up speed with the railroad, but didn’t really take off until the widespread adoption of the automobile. Once people could easily travel to and around the Cape, many discovered its seaside charms. The expansion of Cape Cod’s tourism industry has been more successful than anyone could have imagined. How did this happen? And what has been gained, and lost, in the process?

Jennifer Madden, the Director of Collections & Exhibitions at Heritage Museums & Gardens, will be our speaker for what promises to be a memorable day in May. The presentation will be in the Heald Center Room in the Auto Gallery. Coffee and pastries will be available.

Jennifer Madden has worked at Heritage Gardens and Museum since 1993. She is responsible for organizing the Heritage exhibitions and for supervising the care and conservation of all objects in the museum’s collection. She has curated over 150 exhibitions and published three exhibit catalogues. She earned a BA in Anthropology with a minor in Museum Studies from Beloit College and a MA in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in Cooperstown, New York.

Following the presentation, Club members and their guests are welcome to spend the rest of the day enjoying the Heritage gardens and exhibits, including “Beautiful Bogs: The Massachusetts Cranberry Story,” which opens on May 10. Cranberries are inextricably linked to the heritage and culture of Cape Cod, and to the economics and environment of this area. The exhibit will be the debut of Heritage’s newly-acquired cranberry collection, the largest museum cranberry collection in the country.