Welcome to West Harwich ...
West Harwich is located in Barnstable County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of West Harwich, you might consider that their post office opened in 1827.
A typical abbreviation for West Harwich: W. Harwich
West Harwich is near sea level<2>.
Time Zone: West Harwich lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for West Harwich: 508 & 774<3>
The ZIP code for West Harwich: 02671<4>
Communities near West Harwich ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near West Harwich.
- Barnstable
(9 miles [14.5 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
(12 miles [19.3 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
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Yarmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,166 people
- Mashpee
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Mashpee is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mashpee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,266 people
- Dennis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dennis is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,890 people
- Brewster
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Brewster is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,772 people
- Chatham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Chatham is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,994 people
- Orleans
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Orleans is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,802 people
- Eastham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Eastham is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,902 people
- Wellfleet
(19 miles [30.6 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
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 West Harwich. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for West Harwich.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of West 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 West Harwich.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around West Harwich. See our Newspapers Page for West Harwich.
Adding West Harwich to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of West 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 (so far) for West Harwich was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>
From that list, the West Harwich post office opened in 1827.
For more details, see References and Mentions for West Harwich.
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 West Harwich - 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 West Harwich area will be assigned with one of these codes: 508 or 774. As a result, placing a call in the West Harwich 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 West Harwich). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether West Harwich 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/ |