Nantasket Beach is a beach in the town of Hull, Massachusetts. It is part of the Nantasket Beach Reservation, administered by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. The shore has fine, light gray sand and is one of the busiest beaches in Greater Boston. At low tide, there are acres of tide pools.

Name

The name "Nantasket" is derived from Wampanoag and means "at the strait" "low-tide place" or "where tides meet" as Hull is a peninsula. Nantasket was settled not long after Plymouth Colony and before Massachusetts Bay. Roger Conant was in the area after leaving the Plymouth Colony and before going to Cape Ann in 1625. Until Hull was incorporated in 1644, English settlers referred to the whole local region as "Nantasket Peninsula."

History

In 1825, Paul Warrick established "The Sportsman Hotel" on Nantasket Avenue. Later, more hotels were built and

steamboats A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

made three trips a day between Nantasket Beach and Boston in the 1840s. Ralph Waldo Emerson spent time at Nantasket in July 1841, reflecting on "the beauty of the good" and "the book of flesh and blood".The Heart of Emerson's Journals, edited by Bliss Perry, Dover Books, 1958 In 1905, an amusement area called Paragon Park was built adjacent to the beach. A carousel built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC #85) in 1928 was included. This was closed in 1984.

References

External links

Nantasket Beach Reservation
Department of Conservation and Recreation {{Authority control Landforms of Plymouth County, Massachusetts Parks in Plymouth County, Massachusetts

Beaches of Massachusetts Massachusetts Landforms of Massachusetts Swimming venues in Massachusetts Tourist attractions in Massachusetts ...

Hull, Massachusetts State parks of Massachusetts