Gurnet Point, also known as The Gurnet, is located at the end of the peninsula at the entrance to

Plymouth Bay Plymouth Bay is a small, well-protected bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the western shore of larger Cape Cod Bay along the coastline of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Plymouth Bay retains historical significance for the landing at Plymouth Rock ...

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...

, and is a

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

and the small private settlement located on it. The Pilgrims who settled Plymouth in 1620 named it Gurnett's Nose for its resemblance to headlands in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

where ''gurnett'' fish were plentiful. The Gurnet (pronounced ''gurn-it'' with the accent on the first syllable) is the home of Plymouth (Gurnet) Lighthouse as well as Fort Andrew from the Revolutionary War and Civil War. Its access by land is either from Gurnet Road in Duxbury or from the Powder Point Bridge at

Duxbury Beach Duxbury Beach is a barrier beach in the town of Duxbury, Massachusetts. It is six miles long and is accessed by the Powder Point Bridge from Duxbury, or Gurnet Road from Marshfield. Since 1975, approximately 4.5 miles of the beach is owned by Dux ...

5 miles to the north by foot or by 4-wheel drive beach buggies, but access is restricted to property owners, residents and their guests, except for once a year on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

when the lighthouse is open to the public.National Park Service fact sheet on Plymouth (Gurnet) Light
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References

Plymouth, Massachusetts Neighborhoods in Plymouth, Massachusetts {{PlymouthCountyMA-geo-stub