Welcome to Harwich ...
Harwich is located on Cape Cod.
Harwich is located in Barnstable County<1>.
The location of Harwich has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
Harwich was settled in 1670 and was incorporated in 1694.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Harwich has a population of 12,140 people<3> (see below for details).
Harwich is 50 feet [15 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Harwich lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area codes for Harwich: (508) and (774)<5>
The ZIP code for Harwich: 02645<6>
Websites for Harwich ...
Official Website: www.town.harwich.ma.us/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Harwich had an population of 12,140 people. This is a decrease of 0.84% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 1.99% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Harwich had a population of 12,243 people (which is 5.67% of the total population of Barnstable County). This makes Harwich the county's 9th most populous community.
The population of Harwich represents 0.19% of the population of Massachusetts (which has 6,547,629 people), making it the state's 155th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 12,243 people, the population of Harwich decreased 1.15% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 12,386 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Harwich.
Communities Also Named Harwich ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 2 communities that are also named Harwich - they are located in Louisiana and Ontario.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Harwich.
Communities near Harwich ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Harwich.
- Barnstable
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barnstable have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnstable
- Barnstable is located in Barnstable County
- Population from the 2010 Census: 45,193 people
- Barnstable has also been known as:
- Barnstable Village
- Barnstable Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barnstable Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnstable Town
- Barnstable Town is located in Barnstable County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44,535 people
- Yarmouth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Dennis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Orleans
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Eastham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Wellfleet
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north) - South Dennis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Dennis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dennis
- South Dennis is located in Barnstable County
- West Brewster
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Brewster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brewster
- West Brewster is located in Barnstable County
- West Chatham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chatham
- West Chatham is located in Barnstable County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Harwich. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Harwich.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Harwich. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Harwich.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Harwich. See our Newspapers Page for Harwich.
Adding Harwich to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Harwich in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Harwich was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Harwich post office opened in 1793.
We also found Harwich in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (1803).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Harwich.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Harwich: www.town.harwich.ma.us/
The official website for Barnstable County: www.barnstablecounty.org/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Massachusetts' counties, including Barnstable, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Harwich. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Harwich - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | Area code (774) is an overlay for area code (508). |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Harwich). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Harwich or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |