Dennis is home to the Cape Cod Museum of Art, which hosts year-round exhibitions, events, and classes, and features the work of the Cape’s finest artists. The nearby Cape Playhouse opened in 1927. Actors such as Basil Rathbone, Jane Fonda, and Bette Davis made their acting debuts there. The seasonal theater shares grounds with the newly renovated Cape Cinema, which screens independent films and Hollywood releases all year long and features a ceiling mural by renowned artist Rockwell Kent. ARTS The Dennis Historical Society offers tours of the 1736 Josiah Dennis Manse, the saltbox home of the man for whom the town was named, the Jericho Historical Center, and the 1801 Captain Baker House and Barn. Liberty Hall, which stands at the center of a well-preserved 19th-century crossroads, has been a stagecoach stop, dry goods store, millinery outlet, post office, supper hall, and venue for lectures, dances, and plays. Dennis has a selection of historic cemeteries and libraries, and is home to the circa 1855 Bass River Light, which is now part of the Lighthouse Inn in West Dennis. HISTORY Public school students in Dennis are served by the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District, which it shares with neighboring Yarmouth. The Ezra H. Baker Innovation School teaches Dennis elementary students. Nathaniel H. Wixon Innovation School is for fourth and fifth graders from both Dennis and Yarmouth, while Mattacheese Middle School, located in Yarmouth, serves sixth and seventh grades from both towns. High school students attend Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School in Yarmouth, home to the Dolphins, whose athletic teams are often highly ranked in the state. EDUCATION The town’s 22.3 square miles stretch from Cape Cod Bay in the north to Nantucket Sound in the south. The Bass River forms the western border with Yarmouth, while to the east lies Harwich on the south side of town and Brewster on the north. With nearly eight percent of its acreage being water, the town has a wealth of ponds and lakes, as well as numerous sandy beaches on both the bay and the sound. The town is divided into five villages: Dennis, Dennis Port, East Dennis, South Dennis, and West Dennis. GEOGRAPHY
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