Dennis is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, located near the center of the Cape Cod peninsula.

It is a seaside resort town with colonial mansions along the northern Cape Cod Bay coastline and beaches along the southern Nantucket Sound.

After being settled by English colonists of the New Plymouth Colony in 1639 as part of the town of Yarmouth, Dennis became known as the East Precinct.

[7] The Cape Playhouse in northern Dennis, established in 1927,[8] is one of the oldest summer theaters in the United States.

Chapin Memorial Beach, which was previously known as Black Flats for its black sands and extensive tidal flats, was named in honor of George H. Chapin, who was a real estate developer that donated the land to the Town after World War II.

[11] Chase Garden Creek empties into Cape Cod Bay at Chapin Beach and serves as a boundary between Dennis and Yarmouth.

[15] There was once an Indian village at Nobscussett Point and Harbor, which is also called the Bite, a misspelling of bight.

[20] Searsville Road was named in honor of the Sears family, which was once prominent in East Dennis.

In the 1800s, Asa Shiverick and his three sons built schooners, brigs, and clipper ships in the harbor.

The lake is a glacial kettle pond and the hills on the northern side of the town are moraines, formed from gravel and debris left by the glacier.

[37] A series of streets off Kelly's Bay, just north of the Mid-Cape Highway, received their name for the supposed visit of Vikings to Cape Cod.

Norseman, Lief Ericson, Thorwald, Freydis, Viking, and Vinland Drives are all named for the seafaring Scandinavians.

[38] Kelly's Bay took its name from David O'Kelia, who came to Cape Cod from his native Northern Ireland in the late 1600s.

Prince Street is named for Thomas Prence who, as the governor of Plymouth Colony, lived on Cape Cod.

[42] The name may come from the Indian word for "back bend," hockanum, referring to the largest of the rocks which is hooked.

[45] The "fun" in Funn Pond, at the Dennis Pines golf course, is a shortened version of Funnell, or charcoal burner.

[47] Peter Petlz's poem describes the influence the family had in the area: The English were prolific, On Cape Cod's Sandy shores, And if you don't believe it, Look at all the Bakers.

[13] Recently, the West Dennis Light has been restored as an aid to navigation and operates during the summer months.

[51] Uncle Barney's Road, which runs up Wrinkle Point parallel to the Bass River, was named after Barnabas Baker, who had a salt works in the area in the 1800s.

[43] It was said by a late 1800s resident of the road, Anthony Gage, that "Men used to raise sons to sender down her to fight.

[53] It was built by Captain Theophilus Baker in 1801 and was purchased in the 20th century by Virginia Gildersleeve and Elizabeth Reynard.

The average snowiest month is February, which corresponds with the annual peak in nor'easter activity.

The plant hardiness zone is 7a, with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 2.0 °F (–16.7 °C).

The team plays at Red Wilson Field and has featured dozens of players who went on to careers in Major League Baseball such as Craig Biggio, Buster Posey, and Chris Sale.

[71] Crowe's Pasture on the north side of the town provides many acres of open land and hiking with water views.

Before 2018, the Cape's Bay Colony Rail service officially ended in the town just west of Route 134.

Although the right of way for this line probably existed, there has long been no railroad bridge over Bass River and therefore no trains have entered the town of Dennis for decades.

In approximately 2018, this railway was removed, which allowed for the expansion of the Cape Cod Rail Trail.

Construction of the extension included a pedestrian bridge over Bass River, which connected the trail to Yarmouth.

The town itself operates the Ezra H. Baker School, which serves students from pre-kindergarten through third grade.