As an English colonial settlement, the land that became Orleans had its roots in the Mayflower landing of 1620 and the establishment of Plymouth Colony.
Isaac Snow’s participation in the American Revolution is a remarkable and iconic story that took place on Cape Cod, in Boston and Newport, at sea on several American privateer vessels, in Portugal, France, and England.
Shipwrecks and lifesaving in Orleans date back to the winter of 1626-1627, approximately 170 years before the town separated from Eastham and was formally incorporated.