Camille Beale & Nancy Eldridge on Main Street in the 1900s

"After the war, Main Street was still the center of business and social life, and those stores were owned by mostly local people, and people seemed to know each other. If they didn't know each other they at least knew each other when they passed each other on the street."

Camille Beale and Nancy Eldridge discuss the changing face of Falmouth Main Street through the 1900s, with Barbara Kanellopoulos. This oral history was recorded on June 30, 2021 at Falmouth Community Television.

Entering Main Street from the west, the bristling signage of the Eastman's Hardware block is visible on the left

Main Street from the east, with a police officer directing traffic

Ready to learn more? Explore our community resources:

From CLAMS:

The Book of Falmouth: a Tricentennial Celebration, 1686-1986, edited by Mary Lou Smith
Falmouth (Images of America series), by Ann Sears & Nancy Kougeas for the Falmouth Historical Society

From the Web:

FPL Historic Postcard Collection: The Anita Gunning and Robert C. Hunt Postcard collections, archived on the Digital Commonwealth. Search by topic, location, or the card identifiers provided in the video transcript below.

From the Falmouth Enterprise archive:

"Main St. Store Changes Hands," April 5, 1934 (pg.10)
"Harvey's Hardware Opens Tomorrow," March 31, 1939 (pg.3)
"Three in a Row for Unlucky Barry," April 2, 1943 (pg.2)
"The Plight of Granville Beale," May 10, 1946 (pg.4)
"Weekend Cold Brings Seasons's First Skating," December 31, 1948 (pg.5)
"Patrolman White Stays on Job," April 4, 1950 (pg.1)
"Business Notes..." [on the closure of the Store of Three Wonders], August 5, 1958 (pg.6)