Brewster Attractions

This Cape Cod Baseball League team plays summer home games at Stony Brook Field, 384 Underpass Road. 

Built in 1795, the Higgins Farm Windmill ground grain at Ellis Landing until 1900. It was given to the Brewster Historical Society in 1974 and moved to Drummer Boy Park, where it has a stunning backdrop of rolling green lawns and the distant ocean. It sits next to the Harris-Black House, which was also built in 1795 and originally sat on Red Top Road. The tiny one-room with a loft is noteworthy for its place in Brewster history and for housing a family of 12 or 13 at one point.

Open mid-June – mid-Oct., Thurs. – Sat. 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

This Brewster museum answers many questions adults and children alike have about the unique Cape Cod geography, with exhibits on how glaciers shaped the region some 20,000 years ago and aquariums holding the fish and other creatures beachgoers encounter daily. Founded in 1954, the museum is a gem because its programs go beyond its walls to its 80-acre property and the adjacent 300 acres of town of Brewster conservation land. Trails travel through woods and marsh to the oceanfront and can be explored individually or one of the museum’s group walks.

This museum showcases a wide range of firefighting equipment and dozens of antique fire engines, along with a fire boat and an apothecary shop.

The library grew out of the vision of Sarah Augusto Mayo and Mary Louise Cobb, who together with 10 other women founded the Brewster Ladies’ Library, a subscription operation in the home of Capt. Mayo at 1772 Main St.

It opened to the public on Jan. 29, 1853 and while men were allowed to borrow books, they had to pay more than women in the early days. Today, no one pays to borrow and the town of Brewster pays 70 percent of the library’s operating budget.

The first part of the current red, orange and yellow building was erected in 1868 with donations, most notably a $1,000 gift from Capt. Joseph Nickerson. Designed in the Stick Style fashion, the library follows a Victorian-but-functional decor inside. The building has gorgeous stained glass windows out front and especially unique windows featuring sailor and nautical scenes along the side.

This store maintains the charms of yesterday while using modern day conveniences – such as Internet ordering – to serve its customers everything from lamps to homemade fudge and penny candy.

The store started out as a Universalist church in 1852, but was sold to William W. Knowles for $1 in 1866. Knowles removed the church’s steeple and made his store a gathering spot by serving as the postmaster there and using the second floor for dances and plays. He sold it in 1925 to Henry Crocker, who took over his postmaster duties, began selling linoleum and added delivery services.

A few owners later, the current operators George and Missy Boyd took over the store in 1986. They now operate the store downstairs, along with a summer ice cream stand, and use the second floor to showcase memorabilia from the Brewster Store’s post office days.

This mid-19^th century home features permanent and changing exhibits on the town’s rich history in saltmaking, sea voyages and later as a vacation destination.

Open mid-June – mid-Oct., Thurs. – Sat. 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

The farm features a wider-than-expected variety of animals, from horses to zebra, tigers, lions and llamas. Children will enjoy pony and hay rides.

Retiring from a successful career heading a Chicago brewing company and the Chicago City Railway Co., Albert Crosby returned to his hometown of Brewster in 1888 and built a grand estate on the site of his childhood home for his wife Matilda. Known as Tawasentha, the two-story structure was erected around the 4-room house where Crosby was born and has 35 rooms with 17 fireplaces.

While this structure no longer features an overhead tower with spiraling stairs, ocean views can still be had from many windows and it remains a key example of Brewster architecture. The home can be viewed from outside or contact the Friends of Crosby Mansion for its spring and summer schedule. Other than appointments, the mansion is only open a few weekends, one usually being the Brewster in Bloom weekend in late April or early May.

The museum is open and the grist mill grinds corn from June to Aug., Sat. and Sun., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The herring run is active from mid-April to early May when the herring return to lay eggs in Mill Pond.