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Quincy, Massachusetts

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Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. It bears the nicknames "The City of Presidents," "City of Legends," "Birthplace of the American Dream. A major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The name is correctly pronounced /ˈkwɪnzi/, as it is named after Colonel John Quincy, though non-locals often mispronounce it as /ˈkwɪnsi/. Quincy is the birthplace of former Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, as well as statesman John Hancock.

History

The Wollaston neighborhood is the oldest part of Quincy, first settled by English immigrants in 1625 as Mount Wollaston. Quincy itself later became part of Braintree, Massachusetts, was officially incorporated as a separate town in 1792, and was made a city in 1888.

Among its several firsts was the Granite Railway, the first commercial railroad in the United States. It was constructed in 1826 to carry granite from a quarry in Quincy to the Neponset River in Milton so that the stone could then be taken by boat to erect the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Quincy granite became famous throughout the nation, and stonecutting became the city's principal economic activity.

Second was shipbuilding. Sailing ships were built in Quincy for many years, and the final known clipper ship built was in Germantown in the 1870s. The Fore River area became a shipbuilding center in the 1880s — originally owned by Thomas A. Watson of telephone fame — and many famous warships were built at the Fore River Shipyard, including the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2), the battleships USS Massachusetts (BB-59) and USS Nevada (BB-36), and the USS Salem (CA-139), the world's last all-gun heavy warship, which is still preserved at Fore River as the main exhibit of the United States Naval Ship Building Museum. John J. Kilroy, the originator of the famous Kilroy Was Here graffiti, was a welding inspector at Fore River.

Quincy was also an aviation pioneer. Dennison Field in the Squantum section of town was one of the world's first airports and was partially developed by Amelia Earhart. In 1910 it was the site of the Harvard Aero Meet, only the second air show in America. It was later leased to the Navy for an airfield, and served as a reserve Squantum Naval Air Station into the 1950s.

Of some note, Howard Johnson's and Dunkin Donuts were founded and started in Quincy, and the celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys got its start in Wollaston. The Quincy Mine in Hancock, Michigan, founded in 1846, was named after Quincy because the mine started with significant investment from Massachusetts.

Geography

Quincy is located at 42°15′10″N, 71°00′10″W (42.252778°, -71.002778°).

Quincy shares borders with Boston, Massachusetts to the north (separated from by the Neponset River), Milton, Massachusetts to the west, Randolph, Massachusetts to the south, and Hull, Massachusetts (Maritime border), Weymouth, Massachusetts, and Braintree, Massachusetts to the east.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.9 square miles (69.6 km²), of which, 16.8 square miles (43.5 km²) of it is land and 10.1 square miles (26.2 km²) of it is water. The total area is 37.60% water.

Quincy Bay is part of Massachusetts Bay and Boston Harbor.

There are several beaches in Quincy, including Wollaston Beach along Quincy Shore Drive. Located on Quincy Bay, part of Boston Harbor (and Massachusetts Bay), Wollaston Beach is the largest beach in Boston.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census², the city had a total population of 88,025, making it the ninth largest city in the state. The population density was 5,244.3 people per square mile (2,025.4/km²). There were 40,093 housing units at an average density of 2,388.7/sq mi (922.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.60% White, 2.21% African American, 0.16% Native American, 15.39% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.85% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.08% of the population.

Out of the 38,883 households and 20,530 families residing in the city, 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.2% were non-families. 37.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 17.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 36.1% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,121, and the median income for a family was $59,735. Males had a median income of $40,720 versus $34,238 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,001. About 5.2% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Neighborhoods

Quincy is divided into numerous neighborhoods with histories all their own.

Education

Quincy is home to various educational institutions, including a private college.

Private

Eastern Nazarene College, a Christian liberal arts college in the Wollaston neighborhood. It is the only evangelical Christian college in metropolitan Boston.

Public

Public education in Quincy includes one community college, two high schools, five middle schools, and 11 elementary schools.

Higher education

High schools

Middle schools

Elementary schools

  • Atherton Hough
  • Beechwood Knoll
  • Bernazzani
  • Clifford Marshall
  • Lincoln-Hancock
  • Merrymount
  • Montclair
  • Parker
  • Snug Harbor
  • Squantum
  • Wollaston

Transportation

Because Quincy is part of Metro Boston, it has easy access to transportation facilities. State highways and the Interstate system connect the Greater Boston area to the airport, port, and intermodal facilities of Boston. Due to its proximity to Boston proper, Quincy is connected not only by these modes of transportation but Boston's subway system, the T.

Rail

Subway service is available on the Red Line of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) from 4 separate T stations: North Quincy, Wollaston, Quincy Center, and Quincy Adams.

Bus

Buses are also available for transportation in Quincy, including the following bus lines provided by the MBTA: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Major highways

Principal highways are State Routes 3, 3A, 28, 37, and 53, in addition to Interstate 93.

Airport

The majority of Quincy residents use Logan International Airport, which is accessible via the Blue Line, the MBTA commuter boat or Silver Line, Airport stop, in addition to Interstate 93.

Water/Ferry

Quincy is a major terminal for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) commuter boat system that crosses Boston Harbor to Long Wharf, Hull, Rowe's Wharf, Hingham and Logan Airport.

Sports

Active sporting programs include the Red Raiders of North Quincy High School, the Presidents of Quincy High School, and the Crusaders of Eastern Nazarene College. Quincy also hosted the youth baseball Babe Ruth League World Series in 2003 and 2005 and is due to do so again in 2008.

Quincy has had brief flirtations with professional sports. The Quincy Chiefs of the minor league Eastern Basketball Association (the predecessor to the current Continental Basketball Association) played a single season in 1977-78, and was coached and managed by current Boston Celtics executive Leo Papile. The Chiefs finished 12-19 in third place, and lost in the playoffs to eventual league champion Wilkes-Barre.

The final season of the Boston Minutemen of the North American Soccer League was played at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy, in 1976, finishing 7-17.

Quincy will host the Babe Ruth World Series for the third time in 2008. The games are played at the Adams Field.

Notable Residents

See also

Gallery

References

Further reading

  • Browne, Patricia Harrigan, "Quincy - A Past Carved in Stone", Images of America Series, Arcadia Publishing, July 1996, ISBN 0-7524-0299-4

External links



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Last updated on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 15:35:22 PDT (GMT -0700)
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