The Mission of the Chatham Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) organization, is to inform and educate present and future generations about the history and culture of Chatham, Massachusetts, and its vicinity by collecting and preserving records of earlier generations and by exhibiting and interpreting art, artifacts, archives, and places of historical interest. To further this mandate, the Society holds frequent informative and interactive lectures by noted authorities on Chatham and Cape Cod history for the benefit of the general public and the Museum’s members, tours by experienced docents, and visits to and from schools on the Cape.

The Chatham Historical Society was organized in 1923. Three years later, the society acquired the Atwood House – a gambrel-roofed house built in 1752. Except for the addition of essential electricity, the old Atwood House is unchanged from when it was built and is furnished throughout as it was during the 18th and 19th centuries.