Hangman Island, also known as Hayman's Island, is an

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 ...

in the

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 ...

area of 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 ...

. The island is a barren outcrop of bedrock, with a permanent size of half an acre rising to only three feet 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 ...

, plus an intertidal zone of a further . Access is by private boat only. On a 1775,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

chart, this island was labeled Hayman's Island and shows a greater area than presently exists. There is no historical evidence that this island was used as a location for

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

criminals. The source of its current name has a hazy history. In 1882, several fishermen built fishing shacks on Hangman Island and were reported to have cultivated a vegetable garden here among the rocks.

References

Boston Harbor islands Coastal islands of Massachusetts Islands of Norfolk County, Massachusetts {{Boston-geo-stub