Quincy Massachusetts History & Facts

Quincy is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. 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 it the seventh-largest city in the state. Known as the "City of Presidents", Quincy is the birthplace of two U.S. presidents—John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams—as well as John Hancock, a President of the Continental Congress and the first signer of the Declaration of Independence, as well as being the first and third Governor of Massachusetts.

First settled in 1625, Quincy was briefly part of Dorchester before becoming the north precinct of Braintree in 1640. In 1792, Quincy was split off from Braintree; the new town was named after Colonel John Quincy, maternal grandfather of Abigail Adams and after whom John Quincy Adams was also named. Quincy became a city in 1888.

For more than a century, Quincy was home to a thriving granite industry; the city was also the site of the Granite Railway, the United States' first commercial railroad. Shipbuilding at the Fore River Shipyard was another key part of the city's economy. In the 20th century, both Howard Johnson's and Dunkin' Donuts were founded in the city.

The area that is now Quincy is historically Massachusett, Wampanoag, and Pokanoket land. The road that eventually became the Old Coast Road from Boston to Plymouth, going through Quincy and Braintree, started out as a native american trail.

Massachusett sachem Chickatawbut had his seat on a hill called Moswetuset Hummock prior to the settlement of the area by English colonists, situated east of the mouth of the Neponset River near what is now called Squantum. It was visited in 1621 by Plymouth Colony commander Myles Standish and Squanto, a native guide.

Four years later, a party led by Captain Wollaston established a post on a low hill near the south shore of Quincy Bay east of present-day Black's Creek. The settlers found the area suitable for farming, as Chickatawbut and his group had cleared much of the land of trees. (The Indians used the name Passonagessit This settlement was named Mount Wollaston in honor of the leader, who left the area soon after 1625, bound for Virginia.

Quincy shares borders with Boston to the north (separated by the Neponset River), Milton to the west, Randolph and Braintree to the south, and Weymouth (separated by the Fore River) and Hull (maritime border between Quincy Bay and Hingham Bay) to the east. Historically, before incorporation when it was called "Mount Wollaston" and later as the "North Precinct" of Braintree, Quincy roughly began at the Neponset River in the north and ended at the Fore River in the south.

Quincy Bay, within city limits to the northeast, is part of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay. There are several beaches in Quincy, including Wollaston Beach along Quincy Shore Drive. Located on the western shore of Quincy Bay, Wollaston Beach is the largest Boston Harbor beach. Quincy's territory includes Hangman Island, Moon Island (restricted access, and all land is owned by the City of Boston), Nut Island (now a peninsula), and Raccoon Island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.

Famous Peoples From Quincy Massachusetts

Noreen Margaret Corcoran

Noreen Margaret Corcoran (October 20, 1943 – January 15, 2016) was an American film and television actress. She is best known for playing Kelly Gregg in the American sitcom television series Bachelor Father.

Corcoran was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, the third of eight children to William Henry "Bill" Corcoran, Sr. and Kathleen Hildegarde Corcoran (née McKenney). Her siblings, William Henry "Bill Jr.," Donna, Kerry, Hugh, Kevin, Brian and Kelly, all acted as children. She attended Fresno State University from 1962–1964, but did not graduate.

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