Marstons Mills is a rural, primarily residential village within the town of Barnstable, first settled by Roger Goodspeed before 1653 and later named for the Marston family, who ran the village's grist and fulling mills for over a century. Set on Cape Cod's glacial outwash plains, it has no saltwater beaches but is dotted with freshwater ponds, including Mystic Lake, its largest.
The village retains a village-center feel around its historic core, with Greek Revival farmhouses, a 19th-century cemetery, and the William Marston House among its preserved landmarks. Burgess Park and a herring run give residents recreational space, while its inland, wooded setting offers a quieter, more rural alternative to Cape Cod's coastal villages.