Bartholomew Gosnold arrives on Cape Cod.

May 15, 1602

Sailing from Falmouth, England on the Concord, Gosnold is searching for sassafras, which was thought to be a cure for syphilis. After exploring the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts coast, including Boston Harbor, Gosnold names the large peninsula Cape Cod, after his crew takes in a “great store of cod.” The party subsequently builds a fort on Cuttyhunk Island, but soon abandon it when all its members decided to return to England.

Sources
  • Boston Globe
  • Mass Moments
  • Works Progress Administration
  • & Horwitz, Tony
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