Welcome to South Orleans ...
South Orleans is located on Cape Cod.
South Orleans is located in Barnstable County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of South Orleans, you might consider that their post office opened in 1835.
A typical abbreviation for South Orleans: S. Orleans
South Orleans is 60 feet [18 m] above sea level.<2>.
Time Zone: South Orleans lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for South Orleans: 508 & 774<3>
The ZIP code for South Orleans: 02662<4>
Communities near South Orleans ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near South Orleans.
- Barnstable
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Barnstable is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnstable
- Population from the 2010 Census: 45,193 people
- Barnstable has also been known as:
- Barnstable Village
- Barnstable Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Barnstable Town is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnstable Town
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44,535 people
- Yarmouth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Yarmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,166 people
- Dennis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Dennis is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,890 people
- Harwich
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Harwich is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwich
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,144 people
- Brewster
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Brewster is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,772 people
- Chatham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Chatham is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,994 people
- Eastham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Eastham is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,902 people
- Wellfleet
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Wellfleet is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellfleet
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,728 people
- Truro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Truro is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,007 people
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 South Orleans. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for South Orleans.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of South Orleans. 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 South Orleans.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around South Orleans. See our Newspapers Page for South Orleans.
Adding South Orleans to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of South Orleans 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 (so far) for South Orleans was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>
From that list, the South Orleans post office opened in 1835.
For more details, see References and Mentions for South Orleans.
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 elevation is an estimate for the area around South Orleans - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <3> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 508 code has been Overlayed with the 774 area code. New phone numbers in the South Orleans area will be assigned with one of these codes: 508 or 774. As a result, placing a call in the South Orleans area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <4> | 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 South Orleans). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether South Orleans or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:
https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |