Great Brewster Island is one of the outer

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

s in the

Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is a national recreation area situated among the islands of Boston Harbor of Boston, Massachusetts. The area is made up of a collection of islands, together with a former island and a peninsul ...

, situated some offshore of downtown

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. The island has a permanent size of , plus an intertidal zone of a further . Unlike the other outer islands, which are low-lying outcroppings of bedrock, Great Brewster is a

drumlin A drumlin, from the Irish word ''droimnín'' ("littlest ridge"), first recorded in 1833, in the classical sense is an elongated hill in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated ...

which reaches a height of over 100 feet (30 m) above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

. It has vegetation cover consisting of

Apple Trees An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

, Pear Trees,

Sumac Sumac ( or ), also spelled sumach, is any of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' and related genera in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae). Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, including Eas ...

, Beach Roses,

Grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

es and Common Reeds, together with a large

Gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century ...

colony. The birds are aggressive during

nesting season The nesting season is the time of year during which birds and some other animals, particularly some reptiles, build nests, lay eggs in them, and in most cases bring up their young. It is usually in the spring. Bird conservation Bird conservat ...

and access by humans, which is by private boat only, is discouraged during that time. Like the neighbouring islands of Little Brewster, Middle Brewster and Outer Brewster, Great Brewster Island is named after William Brewster, the first preacher and teacher for the

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the passengers on the ...

. In 1891, in what was considered a radical action for the time, four women spent two weeks on the island and documented their visit. More recently the island has been home to summer cottages for local families and for soldiers who staffed an

observation post An observation post (commonly abbreviated OP), temporary or fixed, is a position from which soldiers can watch enemy movements, to warn of approaching soldiers (such as in trench warfare), or to direct fire. In strict military terminology, an ...

as part of the

Brewster Islands Military Reservation Brewster Islands Military Reservation was a coastal defense site located on Great Brewster Island and Outer Brewster Island in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts as part of the Harbor Defense Command, Harbor Defenses of Boston. History Outer Brews ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The military post included 90 mm rapid-fire guns, searchlight stations, and a command post that aided in controlling the harbor's minefield.Great Brewster Island at www.FortWiki.com
/ref>

References

External links

Great Brewster Island web page
with visitor information.
Boston Harbor islands Islands of Suffolk County, Massachusetts {{Boston-geo-stub

See also

References

External links