John R. Nelson House

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, on the east by Moon Island and Quincy Bay, 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 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, 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 StatesThe neighborhood includes two public beaches (Nickerson Beach and Orchard Beach), as well as state-owned Squantum Point Park, which has hiking trails and points for canoeing or kayaking. It is also home to Squantum Elementary School and the First Church of Squantum.

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 Ponkapoag people. The location was the seat of the ruling Moswetuset Sac'hem (Native American chief) Chickatawbut. During the warm season he conducted tribal council here. Members of the Moswetuset (Massachusett) tribe for centuries made the shore of Quincy Bay their seasonal home. Moswetuset Hummock is understood to be the site where Chickatawbut negotiated with Plymouth Colony commander Myles Standish and Tisquantum, a Patuxet tribe guide. In 1617 an epidemic, probably an infectious disease brought by sailors on a visiting European ship, ravaged the native population here and along the New England coastline. Estimates are that 80% of the people died. By the time of King Philip's War, 1675–77, the numbers of the Moswetuset tribe had drastically declined in the town. But, descendants of these original inhabitants still live in the general area today. In his 1747 volume A History of New-England, historian Daniel Neal described Moswetuset Hummock as the origin of the name of the indigenous Massachusett tribe. The colonists named the Commonwealth of Massachusetts after them: The Sachem or Sagamore who governed the Indians in this part of the country when the English came hither, had his seat on a small hill, or hummock, containing perhaps an acre and a half, about two leagues to the southward of Boston, which hill or hummock lies in the shape of an Indian's arrowhead, which arrow-heads are called in their language MOS, or MONS, with O nasal, and hill in their language is WETUSET hence, this great sachem's seat was called Moswetuset, which signifies a hill in the shape of an arrow's head, and his subjects, the Moswetuset Indians, from whence with a small variation of the word, the Province received the name MASSACHUSETTS. Moswetuset translates to 'shaped like an arrowhead'. In 1970 Moswetuset Hummock was formally recognized and added to the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts. The historic site is also recognized by the Native American descendants known as the Ponkapoag people. Moswetuset Hummock is located on East Squantum Street, the northern end of Wollaston Beach, Quincy Bay. A hummock is a geological term: by definition they are small and less than fifty feet in height. Earth hummocks, in contrast to ice hummocks, are also known as a small rounded knoll, mound of land, or a hillock. Hummocks are believed to be relict features that were formed under colder conditions when permafrost was likely present in the ground.

Thompson Island is an island in the Boston Harbor, about 1 mile offshore from downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The island is managed by the Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center, a non-profit education organization. The island is open to visitors on Saturdays and Sundays from Memorial Day through Labor Day; otherwise access is by arrangement only. Thompson Island is one of the largest, most accessible and ecologically diverse islands in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.The island has a size of 170 acres (0.69 km2), and the highest point is a drumlin that reaches a height of 78 feet above sea level. The rest of the island comprises low rolling hills and a salt marsh. The island has a mixed vegetation, including hardwood tree stands, remnant pear and apple orchards, ornamental trees and shrubs, and salt marsh grasses. The island has open meadows, forests, marine wetlands, sumac groves, and a variety of other geological features as well. Amenities include a formal school campus complete with classrooms, dormitories, dining hall, auditoriums, gymnasium, lab space, outdoor challenge courses, and climbing towers. At low tide, a sandbar connects it to Squaw Rock on the Squantum peninsula, allowing land travel between the two.

Sailors' Snug Harbor of Boston was established in 1852 as a retirement home for sailors. It was similar to the much larger Sailors' Snug Harbor on Staten Island. Today, it is a nonprofit organization funding charitable initiatives in fishing communities and for the elderly in eastern Massachusetts.

Massachusetts's 7th congressional district is a congressional district located in eastern Massachusetts, including roughly three-fourths of the city of Boston and a few of its northern and southern suburbs. The seat is currently held by Democrat Ayanna Pressley. Due to redistricting after the 2010 census, the borders of the district were changed, with most of the old 7th district redistricted to the new 5th district, and most of the old 8th district comprising the new 7th district. With a partisan lean of D+35 according to the Cook Political Report, the 7th is the most Democratic district in Massachusetts, and one of the most Democratic districts in the United States. According to The Boston Globe and the latest census data, approximately 33 percent of the population of the district were born outside of the United States, with approximately 34 percent of the population white, 26 percent African American, and 21 percent Latino.In 2019, Ayanna Presley became the first female and person of color to represent the district as well as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in Congress.

Moon Island is an island in Quincy Bay, in the middle of Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. It is the location of the Boston Fire Department Training Academy, and Boston Police Department shooting range. All of the land on the island is owned by the City of Boston but the island is under the jurisdiction of Quincy, Massachusetts. It is also part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The causeway to Moon Island did not exist before the late 1870s and there was no bridge across Western Way to Long Island until the construction of the Long Island Viaduct in 1951. This bridge was closed October 8, 2014. The sand spit from Thompson Island to Squaw Rock on Squantum was a clam bar until the sewage outflow from Moon Island backed up into the local waters. Native Americans summered in this area for thousands of years and consumed the prevalent mollusks. Another two bars pointed from Moon Island toward Squantum, following the general path of the new causeway. In early years, the land where UMass Boston and the Kennedy Memorial are located was open water. The area around Marina Bay was salt marsh leaving a much wider mouth to the Neponset River. In colonial times, Moon Island was recorded as having 20 acres (81,000 m2) of land mass that was used as pasture. This land was connected at very low tides by two sand bars. The proper approach to this island in the late 19th century was from the Quincy Bay side. There was a 100-foot (30 m) hill on the northerly side. Early inhabitants called the island, "Munning's Moone," or "Mennen's Moon," and is also recorded as "Moon Island" and "Moon Head". Today, Moon Island consists of 44.5 acres (180,000 m2) and is connected to Squantum by a two-lane roadway over the causeway. Moon Island is owned by the City of Boston and is no longer available for public access or use. As with many of the other islands in Boston Harbor, municipal and federal authorities have obtained ownership of Boston Harbor islands over the centuries. Most have never returned to private ownership or use. Access to the causeway leading to Moon Island is controlled by police at a guardhouse at its southern end, and permission to enter the island must be obtained in advance since it is a restricted area.

Quincy Shore Reservation is a public recreation area and protected shoreline on Quincy Bay, Boston Harbor, in Quincy, Massachusetts. Its primary attraction is a 2.3-mile-long (3.7 km) beach, accessible along its entire length by Quincy Shore Drive. The largest beach on Boston Harbor, it is known locally as Wollaston Beach, named for the adjacent Wollaston neighborhood. The reservation is part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston and was established in 1889. Also included in the reservation are Moswetuset Hummock, site of the first encounter of Plymouth Colony commander Myles Standish with the local native sachem, or leader, Chickatawbut in 1621 and cited as a source for the name of Massachusetts; and Caddy Park, a preserved salt marsh with nearby picnic facilities.

Quincy Shore Drive is a historic parkway in Quincy, Massachusetts. The road is one of a series of parkways built by predecessors of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, to provide access to parks and beaches in the Greater Boston area. Its development was proposed in 1893 by Charles Eliot, who promoted the development of many of the area's parks and parkways. Planning began in 1897, with land acquisition following around 1900. Construction of the 4-mile (6.4 km) road was begun in 1903 and completed in 1907.The northern terminus of Quincy Shore Drive is at Hancock Street (Massachusetts Route 3A), just south of the Neponset River. It runs northeasterly for about 1 mile (1.6 km) through a neighborhood area, reaching the Quincy Shore Reservation at a junction with East Squantum Street. This section is four lanes wide (two in each direction), separated by a tree-lined median, with additional trees on the sides of the roadway providing an attractive canopy. At East Squantum Street the road turns southeasterly to follow the shore for about 2 miles (3.2 km). The inland side of the roadway is lined primarily with houses, while the shore side provides angled parking and beach access, and provides dramatic views of Boston and outer Boston Harbor. This segment is also four lanes, divided by a grassy median.After passing Fenno Street, the road enters Wollaston Beach Reservation, a city-owned park, which it passes through until it crosses over Black Creek and reaches Furnace Brook Parkway, which provides access to the Blue Hills Reservation. It then runs southerly, away from the shore and through a residential area, reaching its southern terminus at Sea Street.The road was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Marina Bay is a mixed-use development neighborhood of condominium, commercial and entertainment facilities in Quincy, Massachusetts. It includes five housing complexes (including detached, townhouse and low-rise apartment units) and one assisted living complex, office complexes, numerous restaurants, a craft brewery and taproom, a 685-slip marina and a seaside boardwalk. It is situated on the northwestern part of Squantum Peninsula at the mouth of the Neponset River where it meets Dorchester Bay in Boston Harbor. The permanent residential population of Marina Bay in 2000 was about 1,300 according to the United States Census Bureau,; however, the Boston Globe reported in 2004 that the complex had 2,000 residents.

Wollaston Beach is the largest public beach in the Boston harbor. The beach is located parallel to Quincy Shore Drive in North Quincy, Massachusetts, which was constructed to provide access to the bay beach for Greater Boston. Wollaston beach expands Quincy Bay forming part of Boston Harbor. The northern end of the beach is the Native American historical site, Moswetuset Hummock which is where the original Moswetuset Sac'hem (Chief) had a tribal council. Wollaston Beach is now part of the Quincy Shore Reservation which was introduced by the legislative act in 1899. Quincy Shore Drive parallel to the beach was opened on May 30, 1908. It is maintained (waste management) in summer by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Wollaston Beach is the largest in Boston Harbor with roughly 2.3 mi (3.7 km) of shoreline. The promenade stands the entire length of the beach and is often busy with walkers, dog walkers, runners, and casual cyclists. The Wollaston beach promenade has a significant seawall as it is impacted by coastal tides. There are seasonal restaurants that predominately offer battered seafood and become popular on weekends. There is ample parking along the Wollaston Beach promenade. The views from Wollaston beach include Boston, South Boston, Squantum, Houghs Neck, and Nut Island. Boston Harbor Islands are also visible. These islands are; Moon, Long, Georges and Peddocks, Spectacle. The Hull Wind Turbine #1 (200 ft (61 m)) is visible beyond Peddocks. The Hull Wind Turbine #2 (330 ft (100 m)) is visible beyond Houghs Neck. Based on water quality tests determining levels of enterococcus, currently, the beach is not unacceptable for bathing. This research was conducted in 2019 by the City of Quincy Health Department. Wollaston Beach has two yacht clubs and is adjacent to the commercial Marina Bay. The southern end of the beach attracts fishing activities. The Squantum Yacht Club and Wollaston Yacht Club have piers to their clubhouse starting at the beach. The Squantum Yacht Club was founded in 1898. The yacht clubs host annual sailing tournaments.

The Victory Destroyer Plant was a United States Naval Shipbuilding yard operational from 1918 to 1920 in Quincy, Massachusetts. It was then reused as a civil airport, and later Naval Air Station Squantum. It was owned by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, and was constructed in order to relieve destroyer construction at the nearby Fore River Shipyard. Still later in the late 1920s it was used to build yachts by the firm Lamb & O'Connell. One of these yachts, the US10 Tipler III, a 30-square-meter racing yacht, participated in the 1929 International Races sponsored by the Corinthian Yacht Club of Marblehead.

The Glover House is a historic house located at 249 East Squantum Street in Quincy, Massachusetts.