Duxbury, Massachusetts
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For the place in England see Duxbury Woods
| Duxbury, Massachusetts | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | Massachusetts | ||
| County | Plymouth County | ||
| Settled | 1624 | ||
| Incorporated | 1637 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Open town meeting | ||
| Area | |||
| - Town | 37.6 sq mi (97.4 km²) | ||
| - Land | 23.8 sq mi (61.5 km²) | ||
| - Water | 13.9 sq mi (35.9 km²) | ||
| Elevation | 36 ft (11 m) | ||
| Population (2000) | |||
| - Town | 14,248 | ||
| - Density | 599.8/sq mi (231.6/km²) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP code | 02332 | ||
| Area code(s) | 339 / 781 | ||
| Website: http://www.town.duxbury.ma.us/ | |||
Duxbury is a coastal town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Although not located in the same county as Boston, Duxbury is considered to be a Boston suburb, located approximately 35 miles to the south of the city. The population was 14,248 at the 2000 census.
For geographic and demographic information on specific parts of the town of Duxbury, please see the articles on Cedar Crest, Duxbury (CDP), and South Duxbury.
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[edit] History
The area now known as Duxbury was inhabited by Native Americans as early as 12,000 to 9,000 B.C. By the time European settlers arrived here, the region was inhabited by the Wampanoags who called this place Mattakeesett, meaning “place of many fish.”
In 1620, the English settlers known as the Pilgrims established their colony in Plymouth. Per the terms of their contract with financial backers in London, they were required to live together in a tight community for seven years. At the end of that term, in 1627, land along the coast was allotted to settlers for farming. Thus, the coastline from Plymouth to Marshfield was parceled out and many settlers began moving away from Plymouth.
At first, those who settled in Duxbury came to work their new farms just in the warmer months and returned to Plymouth during the winter. It was not long, however, before they began to build homes on their land, and soon requested permission from the colony to be set off as a separate community with their own church. Duxbury, which originally included land that is now Pembroke, was incorporated in 1637.
Some of the most influential men in the colony received grants in Duxbury and became its first leaders. Captain Myles Standish, the military leader of the colony, lived in “the Nook,” an area now known as Standish Shore. Elder William Brewster was for many years the religious leader of the colony. He probably led services in Duxbury until it received its own minister in 1637. John Alden was another important settler, Assistant Governor of the colony for fifty years. His house, now a museum on Alden Street, was the site of many important meetings of the colony’s leaders. The graves of many of Duxbury’s first settlers can be found in the Old Burying Ground on Chestnut Street, next to the site of original Meeting House.
Duxbury was primarily a farming community throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Its quiet history in the 18th century was interrupted only by the Revolutionary War.
The most remarkable period in Duxbury’s history, the shipbuilding era, began immediately after the Revolution. Following the Treaty of Paris, the newborn nation was granted fishing rights on the Grand Banks. Several families took advantage of the new opportunity and began to build large fishing schooners. Soon, the schooners built in the 1790s gave way to larger brigs and eventually three-masted ships. As several merchant families began to amass large fleets, shipyards and other ancillary industries flourished and Duxbury prospered. By the 1840s, Duxbury boasted about 20 shipyards and produced an average of ten large sailing vessels per year.
The largest industry in Duxbury was owned by Ezra Weston, who came to be known as "King Caesar" due to his success and influence. Weston began building small vessels in 1764 and soon became famous for his successful merchant fleet. His son, Ezra II, who inherited his father’s kingly sobriquet, would bring the industry to its height. By 1841, the younger King Caesar had constructed the largest vessel built in New England up to that time. The ship Hope was an astounding 880 tons. Lloyd’s of London recognized Weston as the owner of the largest fleet in America, and this judgement was confirmed by Daniel Webster in a speech in 1841. His empire, a fore-runner of vertical integration, dominated the town. The King Caesar House is now a museum owned by the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society.
The shipbuilding era in Duxbury ended as quickly as it began. By the 1850s sailing vessels were made obsolete by other modes of transportation such as steamships and railroads. While other Massachusetts towns grew, Duxbury went into a long economic decline.
There was, however, a silver lining. By the 1870s, Duxbury’s rural character and unspoiled bay began to attract summer visitors. Duxbury soon gained a reputation as an idyllic summer resort. With the completion of the Duxbury and Cohasset railroad line, large numbers of city-folk from Boston could pay their $1.50 for a round trip ticket and enjoy Duxbury’s refreshing environment. Boarding houses sprang up everywhere. The Miles Standish Hotel on the Nook soon became enormously popular. The Myles Standish monument, completed in 1898, was a result of this tourist influx.
This pattern continued in Duxbury well into the 20th century. It was not until the construction of Route 3 that transportation to Boston became expedient and the town’s population exploded with the arrival of thousands of year-round residents.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 97.4 km² (37.6 mi²). 61.5 km² (23.8 mi²) of it is land and 35.9 km² (13.9 mi²) of it (36.87%) is water. Duxbury is bordered by Cape Cod Bay to the east, Duxbury Bay, Kingston Bay and Plymouth to the southeast, Kingston to the southwest, Pembroke to the west and northwest, and Marshfield to the north. The town's border with Plymouth is due to the town having the only land access to Saquish Neck, a thin, hook-shaped strip of land along Duxbury Bay whose tip is in Plymouth.
Duxbury is the sixth largest cranberry producer in Massachusetts. It also has come in recent years to be known for its oyster beds, as well as other shellfish. The town has many ponds and bogs throughout. The Back River lies along the western edge of Saquish Neck, and has many tributaries from the local rivers, brooks and marshes. There are several sanctuaries, a conservation area and other forests within the town, especially in the western half of town.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 14,248 people, 4,946 households, and 3,941 families residing in the town. The population density was 231.6/km² (599.8/mi²). There were 5,345 housing units at an average density of 86.9/km² (225.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.80% White, 0.64% Black or African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population.
There were 4,946 households out of which 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.8% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.3% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.26.
In the town the population was spread out with 29.6% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $97,124, and the median income for a family was $106,245. Males had a median income of $77,228 versus $41,730 for females. The per capita income for the town was $40,242. About 1.2% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Government
On the national level, Duxbury is a part of Massachusetts's 10th congressional district, and is currently represented by Bill Delahunt. The state's senior (Class I) member of the United States Senate, re-elected in 2006, is Ted Kennedy. The junior (Class II) Senator, up for re-election in 2008, is John Kerry.
On the state level, Duxbury is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Sixth and the Twelfth Plymouth districts; the Sixth includes the towns of Hanson, Pembroke and portions of Halifax, and the Twelfth includes all or parts of the towns of Halifax, Kingston, Middleborough, Plymouth and Plympton. The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a part of the Plymouth and Norfolk district, which includes the towns of Cohasset, Hingham, Hull, Marshfield, Norwell, Scituate and Weymouth.[1] The town is patrolled by the First (Norwell) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police.[2]
Duxbury is governed by the open town meeting form of government, and is led by a town manager and a board of selectmen. The town operates its own police and fire departments, with the police station located near the junction of Routes 14 and 139, and fire stations located in the northwest and southeast parts of town. There are two post offices in town; one is at Hall's Corner (near Goose Point) and the other is at Snug Harbor, along Duxbury Bay just south of Powder Point. The Duxbury Free Library is located in the heart of town, next to the John Alden House, and is a member of the Old Colony Library Network. The town also has a highway department, located behind the Town Hall, and a harbormaster, whose office is located next to the Duxbury Yacht Club near Snug Harbor. Duxbury is located within ten miles of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, and as such has a well-organized emergency management agency. The nearest hospitals are Jordan Hospital in Plymouth, and Brockton Hospital.
[edit] Education
Duxbury operates its own school system for the town's approximately 1,000 students. Chandler School is located near Tree of Learning Corner in the west of town and serves students from pre-kindergarten through second grade. The Alden Elementary School, located near the John Alden House, serves grades 3-5. The Duxbury Middle School is located adjacent to the Alden School, and serves grades 6-8. The Duxbury High School is located across Saint George Street from the middle school, and serves grades 9-12. Duxbury High's athletic teams are known as the Dragons, and their colors are green and white.
There are two private schools loated in town. The Bay Farm Montessori Academy is a private, independent school located in the southern corner of town, and serves grades PK-6. Good Shepherd Christian Academy is a private, christian school which serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade. The nearest private high school is Sacred Heart in Kingston. The town does not have any agreements with vocation schools. The nearest college is Massasoit Community College in Brockton.
[edit] Transportation
Route 3, a four-lane divided freeway also known as the Pilgrim Highway, passes through the town, with two exits granting access to the town from it. Routes 3A, 14, 53 and 139 also pass through the town. Routes 14 and 139 both end in the town, and Route 53 ends less than 1/2 mile south of the town line, at Route 3A. There is no rail or air service in town. The Kingston-Plymouth Line of the MBTA's commuter rail passes through (and terminates in) neighboring Kingston and Plymouth, as the southern end of a route which starts at South Station in Boston. The nearest municipal airport is Marshfield Municipal Airport; the nearest national and international air service can be reached at Logan International Airport in Boston.
[edit] Notable residents
- Ichabod Alden, (1739-1778), officer in the American Revolution[3]
- John Alden, a Mayflower immigrant and one of the founders of Duxbury[3]
- Bill Curley, former NBA center for San Antonio Spurs basketball team
- Captain Amasa Delano (b. 1763), became fictionalized as a character in Herman Melville's 1855 novella Benito Cereno
- Peter Farrelly, screenwriter, director; with brother Bobby wrote and directed popular films including Dumb and Dumber, Something About Mary, and Shallow Hal
- Juliana Hatfield (b. 1967), indie rock singer
- Pat Leahy, NHL hockey player for the Boston Bruins
- Philip Parlier former shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team
- Joe Perry, guitarist for Aerosmith
- Mike Sullivan, former coach of the Boston Bruins
- Ezra Weston, Jr., referred to colloquially as King Caesar. Weston's shipbuilding enterprise dominated Duxbury in the early 19th century with a large portion of the population employed in the Weston shipyards, farms, wharves, mill, ropewalk, or aboard Weston’s fishing schooners and merchant fleet. The King Caesar House is now a tourist attraction in town.
[edit] Points of interest
- King Caesar House
- John Alden House
- Myles Standish Monument
- Powder Point Bridge
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Index of Legislative Representation by City and Town, from Mass.gov
- ^ Station D-1, SP Norwell
- ^ a b (1967) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Marquis Who's Who.
[edit] External links
- [1] Duxbury Rural and Historical Society
- Duxbury Clipper
- Wicked Local Duxbury
- Duxbury at Yahoo maps
- Map of Duxbury cemeteries
- The Town of Duxbury
- Duxbury Public Schools
