Located on a peninsula on the south side of Barnstable about midway between Falmouth and Hyannis, Cotuit is bounded by the Santuit River to the west on the Mashpee town line, the villages of Marstons Mills to the north and Osterville to the east, and Nantucket Sound to the south.

That transaction, which occurred on May 17, 1648, was made by Paupmunnuck and his brother, and "sold" about "twenty square miles of land in what is now the southwestern section of Barnstable.

"[1] The purchase price was two kettles, a bushel of Indian corn, and the agreement to fence off 30 acres (120,000 m2) of land comprising the Cotachessett village.

However this was renegotiated shortly after the conclusion of the Standish agreement to drop the fence and corn and settled instead on a price of "one great brass kettle seven spans in wideness round about, and one broad hoe.

The Little River section of the village (near the present location of the Cotuit Oyster Company) was the site of some early shipyards.

Now listed as "Sampson's Folly"[6] on the National Register of Historic Places, this home once operated as a bed and breakfast but is now a private residence.

[7] In the early 20th century, Cotuit saw more commercial activity, including hotels such as The Pines, one of Cape Cod's earliest summer resorts.

During the 1970s there was a large restaurant called The Harbor View, located at 968 Main Street, which has been turned into a private residence.

The former home of the EPAC Grotto of Masons is now the site of St. Michael the Archangel Antiochian Orthodox church.

Sampson's Island is an Audubon bird sanctuary, jointly managed by the Three Bays Preservation organization, that can only be reached by boat.

A private launch service runs from the town dock from May through October, charging a small fee for trips to the mooring field (hail on VHF Channel 68).

A free pump-out service for marine heads (toilets) is provided by the town harbormaster (available by hailing on radio or phoning 508-790-6273, facility also located at Crosby Yacht Yard in Osterville).

"Seed now comes from a hatchery...but unspoiled Cotuit Bay has changed little, and the oysters still have the bright and briny flavor they are famous for.

They were designed by Stanley Butler after the turn of the 20th century and were modeled after the flat-bottomed skiffs used in the oyster and commercial clam trade.

Cotuit Skiffs are rigged like classic Cape Cod catboats—that is they carry only a gaff-rigged mainsail, no jib, and their masts are stepped in the very bow of the boat.

The CMYC is supported by the Association of the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club, a non-profit organization that manages a sailing instructional program for children between 8 and 18 years of age.