Elevating Cape Cod’s Under-Represented Histories 

Cape Cod’s history is rich and diverse, yet we often don’t hear the full story. 

Over the past decade, historic preservation organizations nationwide have focused on telling the whole story: not just the story of wealthy white men who controlled our country for many years, but the story of all of the other groups that have been important in our history and the development of our regions. Bringing underrepresented histories to light also improves equity and builds strong communities.   

Cape Cod has no shortage of these stories to highlight. Local preservation groups are expanding their historic inventory work to recognize previously overlooked stories, and new museums and exhibits in the region are bringing these stories into focus.   

Cape Cod Commission Historic Preservation Specialist Sarah Korjeff is leading an effort to compile and showcase the full story of Cape Cod’s history.  “For the past few years, we have been observing what is happening with under-represented histories on Cape Cod,” Korjeff said. “We worked to find out which institutions were looking into this, which towns’ historical boards were digging into the issue, and what research was being uncovered. We found that there are actually quite a few organizations and institutions in the region that are discovering interesting information and highlighting it in the form of exhibits and stories and newspaper articles.  And there are essentially five themes that people were beginning to unearth and represent on the Cape.” Those five themes are Cape Verdean, Black, Native American, Women, and LGBTQ.  

For the last year, Korjeff has been working with representatives of the Wampanoag tribe, the Cape Verdean and Black communities, and other individuals from under-represented groups and meeting with local historians and historical organizations to identify the best stories to highlight. That information is now included in an online Story Map that aims to elevate the research and make it more accessible to the community.   

A Story Map is a GIS-based mapping tool that allows you to connect narratives and images along with points on a map. Anyone with access to the internet can select a point, click on it, and learn more about that location, whether they are actually standing at that location or sitting comfortably in their own living room. Users can look at the big picture of all sites on the regional map, select one theme, or choose a single site to explore. 

The background information for each site comes from a variety of sources, including notes from local historians, museum archives and exhibits, historic inventory forms, and local and regional research efforts.  Much of the original research was done by others and the Story Map is built from the work of many people. 

The Story Map includes a link where users may suggest additional sites that should be included. The map will be expanded over time as more research is done and more information is uncovered.   

“Our hope is that in highlighting this history, we will support and encourage additional work,” said Korjeff. “This could serve as background to expand walking tours, exhibits, interpretive panels, and other programming that can help more people understand there are significant stories of underrepresented groups on Cape Cod.”  

Explore the Story Map: https://www.capecodcommission.org/our-work/elevating-under-represented-histories/