Gurnet Point, also known as The Gurnet, is located at the end of the peninsula at the entrance to Plymouth Bay in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and is a headland 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 where gurnett fish [1] were plentiful. [2] 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. [3] Its access by land is either from Gurnet Road in Duxbury or from the Powder Point Bridge at Duxbury Beach 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 when the lighthouse is open to the public. [4] [5]
Hull is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, located on a peninsula at the southern edge of Boston Harbor. Its population was 10,072 at the 2020 census. Hull is the smallest town by land area in Plymouth County and the eleventh smallest in the state. However, its population density is nearly four times that of Massachusetts as a whole.
Duxbury is a historic seaside town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore approximately 35 miles (56 km) to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 at the 2020 census.
The Marin Headlands are a hilly peninsula at the southernmost end of Marin County, California, United States, located just north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge, which connects the two counties and peninsulas. The entire area is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The Headlands are famous for their views of the Bay Area, especially of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Great Brewster Island is one of the outer islands in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, situated some 9 miles (14 km) offshore of downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of 18 acres (73,000 m2), plus an intertidal zone of a further 49 acres (200,000 m2). Unlike the other outer islands, which are low-lying outcroppings of bedrock, Great Brewster is a drumlin which reaches a height of over 100 feet above sea level. It has vegetation cover consisting of Apple Trees, Pear Trees, Sumac, Beach Roses, Grasses and Common Reeds, together with a large Gull colony. The birds are aggressive during nesting season and access by humans, which is by private boat only, is discouraged during that time.
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 Duxbury Beach Reservation, Inc, which annually leases a substantial portion of the beach—excepting the Duxbury Beach Park area—to the town of Duxbury. Under this arrangement, the town issues beach vehicle permits, provides police protection, and provides conservation officers to patrol the beach in all seasons of the year.
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 in 1620 by the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower who proceeded to establish the first permanent Northern European settlement in North America at Plymouth Colony.
Clark's Island is the name of a small island located in Duxbury Bay in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It was named for John Clark, the first mate of the Mayflower, the ship that brought the Pilgrims to New England. The island was initially considered for the location of the Pilgrim's settlement, but was rejected in favor of a site to the south, which became known as Plymouth, Massachusetts. Today Clark's Island is a part of the town of Plymouth.
There are several neighborhoods in Plymouth, Massachusetts. With a total area of 134.0 mi2 (347.0 km2), Plymouth is the largest municipality in Massachusetts by area. In addition, with a population of 51,701 at the 2000 census and an estimated population of 57,901 in 2007, Plymouth is the second-largest town in the state by population (after Framingham. As such, Plymouth is home to many distinct neighborhoods and geographical locations.
Plymouth Beach is a small village located in Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. It is located directly south of Plymouth Center, and is adjacent to Plimoth Patuxet. Plymouth Beach consists of a motel, a restaurant and a small beachside community along Warren Cove.
Pine Hills is a sparsely populated hilly region located in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is a large, mostly undeveloped hilly and forested area lying south of Plymouth Beach and Chiltonville, north of Manomet, and east of Route 3, where the southern portion of the region can be accessed from Exit 3, and the northern portion can be accessed from Exit 4. The area rises from Plymouth Bay at Rocky Point, which is considered to be located in the foothills of the region, and runs southwest. Route 3A winds through the heart of the Pine Hills. The region consists of the Rocky Point neighborhood in the north and The Pinehills, a new residential and commercial development in the extreme southern part of the area.
Warren Cove is an exclusive oceanfront residential area Plymouth Bay in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Plymouth Beach and Rocky Point surround the southern edge of the cove. Stately homes along Warren Avenue and Rocky Hill Road have a commanding view of Plymouth Long Beach, Gurnet Light, Duxbury Bay, "Bug Light", Saquish, and Kingston Shores.
Plymouth Light, also known as Gurnet Light, is a historic lighthouse located on Gurnet Point at the entrance to Plymouth Bay in the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. The light is accessible only by passing through the town of Duxbury, which lies to the north. The tower is located inside the earthworks of Fort Andrew, which existed in the Civil War, War of 1812, and Revolutionary War.
Fort Andrew is a former fort built as Gurnet Fort in 1776 for the American Revolutionary War on Gurnet Point in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It became a federal fort and was rebuilt in 1808, and again in 1863 during the Civil War when it received its current name. It is named for John A. Andrew, governor of Massachusetts 1861–1866. In 1863 Fort Standish was built nearby on Saquish Head. After the war, the federal government declared Fort Andrew an inactive military reservation in 1869. The reservation was sold in 1926 and mostly became private property, except for the US Coast Guard light station. A World War II fire control tower was built on the parapet of the old fort. Plymouth lighthouse is also on Gurnet Point, and was moved inside the fort's earthworks to protect it from beach erosion in 1997–1998.
Duxbury Bay is a bay on the coast of Massachusetts in the United States. The west shore of the bay is the town of Duxbury, Massachusetts; and the bay is formed by a sandbar called The Gurnet extending southeasterly from Marshfield, Massachusetts into Cape Cod Bay. The town of Marshfield was named for the estuarine wetland at the north end of the bay. The bay opens southerly toward Plymouth, Massachusetts between Captains Hill to the west and Saquish Head to the east.
First Parish Church in Plymouth is a historic Unitarian Universalist church at the base of Burial Hill on the town square off Leyden Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The congregation was founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims in Plymouth. The current building was constructed in 1899.
Myles Standish Monument State Reservation is a state-owned historic preserve and public recreation area in Duxbury, Massachusetts. The focus of the state park is a 116-foot granite shaft topped by a statue of Captain Myles Standish. Standish was military leader of Plymouth Colony. The park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Saquish Beach, sometimes simply referred to as Saquish, is a beach and headland located at the end of the peninsula at the entrance to Plymouth Bay in Plymouth, Massachusetts. A small private settlement of summer cottages line the beach and headland, sometimes referred to as Saquish Neck and Saquish Head respectively. It is located east of Clark's Island and west of Gurnet Point. Its only access by land is from the Powder Point Bridge at Duxbury Beach, 5 miles to the north by foot or by 4-wheel drive beach buggies. As a private beach, access is restricted to property owners, residents, and their guests.
Fort Nichols was a fort that existed in 1775 in Amesbury, Massachusetts during the American Revolutionary War. It was also known as Fort Merrimac during its existence. Two possible locations for the fort exist. One is a location named Salisbury Point on modern topographic maps, where Interstate 95 crosses the Merrimack River; this is the location of the coordinates given. Another possibility is the mouth of the Merrimack at Salisbury Beach in Salisbury. One source (Heitman) states that the American Civil War Fort at Salisbury Point was built at the same location as Fort Nichols, which is given as "at Salisbury Point, opposite Newburyport". The Civil War fort was sometimes referred to as Fort Nichols by local civilians.
Fort Standish was a fort built in 1863 for the American Civil War on Saquish Head in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was named for Myles Standish, military leader of the Plymouth Colony in the 1620s, and augmented the nearby Fort Andrew on Gurnet Point. It was designed and constructed under the supervision of Major Charles E. Blunt of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The fort had five gun emplacements with five 8-inch smoothbore guns, along with a bombproof shelter, two magazines, and a well. Outside the fort were a barracks, officers' quarters, and a mess hall. From January to June 1865 the fort was garrisoned by the 27th Unattached Company of Massachusetts militia.
The Bluefish River is a stream in Duxbury, Massachusetts ending in a tidal river estuary that was the center of an active shipbuilding industry during the early 19th century. Its source is a set of small ponds located near the intersection of Partridge Road and Washington Street, about one-third of a mile from Hall's Corner in Duxbury. The river is fed by Hounds Ditch Brook which empties into the Bluefish at the tidal estuary. The river contains Duxbury’s second anadromous fish run, with a privately-owned fish ladder south of Harrison Street. A large portion of the northern shore of the Bluefish River estuary is occupied by the Capt. David Cushman Preserve operated by the Wildlands Trust which contains walking trails with views of the estuary. Near its mouth, the river passes under the stone Bluefish River Bridge, a local landmark and part of the Old Shipbuilders Historic District. The river discharges into Duxbury Bay between Long Point and Bumpus Park.
42°00′18.62″N70°35′58.26″W / 42.0051722°N 70.5995167°W