Squantum is a neighborhood of
Quincy, Massachusetts, connected to the mainland by a causeway that crosses over a wetland area of the bay. Often thought of as a peninsula, Squantum proper is technically a barrier island as it is surrounded on all four sides by water and is only connected to the mainland and Moon Island via causeways. Located in the northernmost portion of the city, Squantum is bordered on the north by Dorchester Bay and
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States.
History
...
, on the east by
Moon Island and
Quincy Bay
Quincy Bay is the largest of the three small bays of southern Boston Harbor, part of Massachusetts Bay and forming much of the shoreline of the city of Quincy, Massachusetts. Locally in the Wollaston neighborhood of Quincy it is known as Wollasto ...
, on the south by Quincy Bay and
North Quincy, and on the west by the
Marina Bay development. The population of the neighborhood in 2000 according to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
was 2,626.
Squantum has scenic, waterfront views of Boston Harbor and the Boston skyline and has many of Quincy’s most expensive homes. Squantum residents are the wealthiest of any neighborhood in Quincy, according to the 2010
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, and the home ownership rate is approximately 92%. The neighborhood is further characterized by its tree-lined streets, its "island getaway" feel, close-knit community, and its annual Squantum Fourth of July Parade. As described in a 2020 book, "One road leads in and out of a square mile of land that is a playground for children and a haven for adults." Squantum also has one of the largest Irish populations, on a per capita basis, of any neighborhood in the United States
The neighborhood includes two public beaches (Nickerson Beach and Orchard Beach), as well as state-owned
Squantum Point Park
Squantum Point Park is a state-owned, public recreation area located on the Squantum peninsula of Quincy, Massachusetts, United States. The park was created on the site of the former Squantum Naval Air Station, which is preserved in a strip of r ...
, which has hiking trails and points for canoeing or kayaking. It is also home to Squantum Elementary School and the First Church of Squantum.
History
Before the arrival of
English colonists in the seventeenth century, Squantum was populated by
Native Americans who valued it as a fertile
mollusk
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...
harvesting site.
Moswetuset Hummock
Moswetuset Hummock is a Native American site and the original name of the tribe (Mosetuset) in the region named Massachusetts after them. The wooded hummock in Squantum, Massachusetts, is formally recognized as historic by descendants of the Ponk ...
, a hill located at the head of the present day
causeway leading to the neighborhood, is by one account the origin of the name of the
Massachusett
The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills ...
tribe of indigenous people for whom the state of
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
is named.
In 1621 the tribe's chief,
Chickatawbut, was visited there by
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 ...
commander
Myles Standish and
Squanto
Tisquantum (; 1585 (±10 years?) – late November 1622 O.S.), more commonly known as Squanto Sam (), was a member of the Patuxet tribe best known for being an early liaison between the Native American population in Southern New England and ...
, a native guide from whom the peninsula and neighborhood take their names.
In the early years following colonization Squantum was part of
Dorchester before joining Quincy when it was incorporated as a town separate from
Braintree in 1792.
By the middle of the eighteenth century Squantum had become a resort destination and was eventually connected to the area's trolley system.
By the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the neighborhood had formed as a year round residence.
Also around this time Squantum had been part of early aviation history as an airshow put on by
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
's Aeronautical Society was held on the peninsula in 1910.
On July 1, 1912, during the 3rd annual Boston aviation meet held in Squantum,
Harriet Quimby
Harriet Quimby (May 11, 1875 – July 1, 1912) was an American pioneering aviator, journalist, and film screenwriter.
In 1911, she became the first woman in the United States to receive a pilot certificate, issued to her by the Aero Club of Ame ...
, the first woman pilot in the United States died while piloting an aircraft. In 1927,
Dennison Airport opened at the lower end of Squantum Peninsula with
Amelia Earhart as a chief employee and pilot.
The
Naval Air Station Squantum
Naval Air Station Squantum was an active naval aviation facility during 1917 and from 1923 until 1953. The original civilian airfield that preceded it, the Harvard Aviation Field, dates back to 1910. The base was sited on Squantum Point in th ...
also began operations on the peninsula in the 1920s as a naval reserve training base.
The base was used until closing in 1954 and eventually was developed into the neighboring Marina Bay section of Quincy in the 1980s, with some opposition from Squantum residents who feared
traffic congestion,
noise pollution
Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is ma ...
,
and environmental damage from filling wetlands. Today Marina Bay includes a variety of restaurants, other businesses, and housing, as well as a popular boardwalk.
Notable residents
*
Lotta Crabtree
Charlotte Mignon "Lotta" Crabtree (November 7, 1847 – September 25, 1924), also known mononymously as Lotta, was an American actress, entertainer, comedian, and philanthropist.
Crabtree was born in New York City and raised in the gold mining ...
*
Bill Chase
Transportation
East Squantum Street becomes a causeway bordered by the Squantum Marshes and Boston Harbor as it enters the neighborhood from North Quincy and Quincy Shore Drive, heading northeast before turning south into the neighborhood at Dorchester Street; it is the only land access onto the peninsula. Dorchester Street continues northeast to the Moon Island Road causeway to Moon Island, controlled by the city of
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 ...
and not available for general public access.
Squantum is served by bus route 211
of the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
(MBTA) with connections to the regional subway at
North Quincy station on the MBTA
Red Line.
Historic ship
The 1846 ship ''Squantum'', 646 tons, was built by J.T. Foster in
Medford, MA, and owned by Thomas B. Wales & Co. of Boston. She was wrecked at
Coorla Burla, India with three lives lost, on June 14, 1860, en route from Boston to Bombay.
[
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References
External links
Official website* United States Geological Surve
Geographic Names Information Service:613008 Squantum
{{coord, 42.296, N, 71.012, W, type:airport_region:US-MA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title
Irish-American culture in Massachusetts
Irish-American neighborhoods
Neighborhoods in Massachusetts
Populated places in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts