Merrymount is a primarily residential neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts, USA, located between the neighborhoods of Quincy Center and Adams Shore. Although it was the site of Quincy's initial settlement, Merrymount was not substantially developed for residential use until the first half of the 20th century, and most of the neighborhood's houses date from that period.

History

Merrymount takes its name from the colony of Mare Mount, also known as Merry Mount or Merrymount. Colonist Thomas Morton wrote that the natives called the area "Passonagessit" and that the inhabitants translated this to "ma-re mount". The colony, established in 1625, was officially named

Mount Wollaston Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 101,636, making ...

by the

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

separatists, but as Morton and other non-Puritans gained influence in the area, the name Merry Mount gained common use. In 1627, Morton and others erected a maypole and conducted a May Day Revel, inviting both colonists and natives. William Bradford indicated that Morton and other English men at Merrymount had been "inviting the Indian eople(both men and women), for their consorts, dancing and frisking together, (like so many fairies, or furies rather,) and worse practices." This was the inspiration for the

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

short story " The May-Pole of Merry Mount." The Puritan Separatists at Plymouth were scandalized and made concerted efforts to repress Morton and what they considered to be his pagan leanings. Finally, in 1630, with the arrival of Governor Winthrop and 900 more Puritans to what would become Boston, the combined Puritans were able to arrest and deport Morton, and the colony of Mount Wollaston/Merrymount was officially dissolved. In 1637 Morton published a book about his experience at Merrymount where he indicated that English colonists may have had relationships with Indian women who bore children whose eyes "were gray."Thomas Morton, ''The New English Canaan'', (1637) The land of the former colony was absorbed by

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 ...

in 1634, then six years later made part of Braintree. The land was eventually sold to an ancestor of

Abigail Adams Abigail Adams ( ''née'' Smith; November 22, [ O.S. November 11] 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, as well as the mother of John Quincy Adams. She was a founder of the United States, an ...

and came to be owned by the

Adams family The Adams family was a prominent political family in the United States from the late 18th through the early 20th centuries. Based in eastern Massachusetts, they formed part of the Boston Brahmin community. The family traces to Henry Adams of Bar ...

. Prior to this point, the Merrymount area had been home to a substantial Native American population. In 1792, Braintree was divided into several smaller towns, and much of what was once Mount Wollaston was incorporated as the new town of Quincy. The area that is now Merrymount remained in the Adams' possession until the early 20th century, at which point it was sold off as housing lots. Development consisted mainly of single-family houses and was largely completed by the post-

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 ...

era. A contemporary account from that period describes Merrymount as "the nicest section of Quincy."

Today

Merrymount, as it is currently recognized, is bordered to the north by

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 ...

, to the west by Black's Creek, to the south by Quincy Center, and to the east by Adams Shore. Landmarks include the Mount Wollaston Cemetery, Maypole Hill and Merrymount Elementary School. Recently, the city placed a stone monument to the first settlement in the neighborhood.

Notable People

• Dick Flavinbr>
“Poet Laureat” of

Red Sox Nation Red Sox Nation is a term used for fans of the Boston Red Sox. The phrase was coined by ''Boston Globe'' feature writer Nathan Cobb in an October 20, 1986, article about split allegiances among fans in Connecticut during the 1986 World Series between ...

•

Joseph Dunford Joseph Francis Dunford Jr. (born December 23, 1955) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, who served as the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2015, until September 30, 2019. He was the 36th command ...

br>
- 36th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Commandant of the Marine Corps, 19th Chairman of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

•

James McConville James Charles McConville (born March 16, 1959) is a United States Army general who serves as the 40th and current chief of staff of the Army. He previously served as the 36th vice chief of staff of the Army from June 16, 2017 to July 26, 2019. ...

br>
-

Chief of Staff of the United States Army The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and ...

References

External links

Woodbury, C. L. ''Genealogical Sketches ...'' (1904) J. B. Clarke Company, "The Maypole in New England",
pg 50 via archive.org
{{coord, 42.2626, N, 70.9953, W, type:landmark_region:US-MA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Neighborhoods in Massachusetts Populated places in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Quincy, Massachusetts