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flag  History of Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

Journey back in time to Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

(Cedar Crest) (South Duxbury) (West Duxbury)

Visit Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA. Discover its history. Learn about the people who lived there through stories, old newspaper articles, pictures, postcards and ancestry.

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Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA - Crab Island. The Old Southwick House, built 1646

Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

By the time European settlers arrived in Duxbury, the region was inhabited by the Wampanoags, who called this place Mattakeesett, meaning "place of many fish." kids.kiddle.co

Duxbury includes: Ashdod, Cedar Crest, Gardnerville, Island Creek, Millbrook, Powder Point, and Tinkertown.


netronline.com/mass_lookup.htm

There is MUCH more to discover about Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA. Read on!

Duxbury Nostalgia: Vintage Photos, Ads, and Postcards


Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Crab Island. The Old Southwick House, built 1646

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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John Alden House, Built 1653, Duxbury, Mass.

"The John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites is a National Historic Landmark consisting of two separate properties in Duxbury, Massachusetts, United States. Both properties are significant for their association with John Alden, one of the settlers of the Plymouth Colony who came to North America on board the Mayflower, and held numerous posts of importance in the colony. Alden and his relationship with Priscilla Mullins were memorialized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in The Courtship of Miles Standish, a narrative poem that made the story a piece of American folklore.

One of the two properties contains the archaeological remains of the house John Alden built c. 1630, and is also significant in the field of historical archaeology as the mature field work of Roland Wells Robbins (1908-1987), an early historical archaeologist. It is on land owned by the Town of Duxbury. On the second property stands a house which was traditionally dated to ... Read MORE...

Read more about John ALDEN

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Myles Standish House, Built in 1666 - it is claimed to have been built by Alexander Standish, son of Myles Standish, but there are questions about the accuracy of this claim. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Read more about Myles STANDISH photo of ancestor

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Colonial Inn, Built 1783

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Old Department Store, 1912

Old Ford Store and Old Boarding House, built about 1826

Fire destroyed what is believed to be the first department store in America recently, when the old Ford store of Duxbury, Massachusetts burned to the ground. Clipper ships of New England brought goods from Europe and the West Indies for sale over its counters. The store was built in 1826.

The Dearborn Independent
Dearborn, Michigan
November 12, 1921

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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House of Fanny Davenport
Read more about Fanny Lily Gypsy DAVENPORT photo of ancestor

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Town Square, 1905

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Captains Hill, Standish House and Monument, 1905

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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The Main Thoroughfare, 1905

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Cable Office, 1907

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Washington Street, looking North

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Town Hall and Partridge Academy

Upon his death, George Partridge bequeathed $10,000 to form a private secondary school in Duxbury. This led to the establishment of Patridge Academy which was built on Tremont Street in Duxbury in 1844. The Academy served as the town's only secondary school until the construction of the first Duxbury High School in 1927. Partridge Academy burned in 1933 and its location is now occupied by the Duxbury Town Offices. wikipedia
Read more about George PARTRIDGE photo of ancestor

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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The Standish Store from Monument (owned by Alexander Standish)

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Powder Point Hall or Knapp School

The Powder Point School for Boys was a private college-preparatory academy operating in Duxbury, Massachusetts between 1893-1926. The school was established by Frederick Bradford Knapp on the former estate of Ezra “King Caesar” Weston, Jr. In 1910 Knapp sold the school to John and Philip Moulton who ran the school, despite a disastrous fire in 1913, until 1926. The school was then merged with Tabor Academy in Marion, MA. After the school closed, the dormitory building was converted into the National Sailor’s Home and the headmaster’s house, also known as the King Caesar House, was sold as a private residence. Today, the King Caesar House is owned by the Duxbury Rural & Historical Society. www.loc.gov
Read more about Frederick Bradford KNAPP

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Powder Point from Bridge, Duxbury, Mass.

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Masonic Hall

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Church of the Holy Family, built in June of 1934

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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Way Croft Inn

The St. George House Inn and restaurant was located at 576 Washington Street. It was owned by George W. Scott and his wife, Louise. This very successful hotel was one of the only Duxbury businesses operated in the 19th century by a Black couple. Their clientele included summer visitors, but also locals, for example the third meeting of the Duxbury Yacht Club was held here. The Scotts operated the hotel for almost thirty years, c. 1890-1926. After their tenure, it became the Waycroft Inn. duxburyhistory.org

Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

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St Margaret's Junior Camp, South Duxbury

Discover Duxbury: History, News, Travel, and Stories

Add informationAdd History/News/Story
  • 1624 - Duxbury is settled

    Massachusetts City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates
  • 1637 - Duxbury is incorporated

    Massachusetts City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates
  • 1826 - The Ford Store established in 1826 was the first department store in the United States. (Duxbury)

    www.town.duxbury.ma.us/ Public_Documents/ DuxburyMA_WebDocs/ townhistory
  • 1839 - Duxbury
    Duxbury, Massachusetts
    Plymouth county. This town lies on Massachusetts bay in Plymouth harbor. It is 29 miles S.E. from Boston and 6 N. from Plymouth. Duxbury affords some good land, a good water power, and a great variety of scenery. Its Indian name was Matakeeset. Ship building, the coasting trade and fisheries is the chief business of the place. In 1837, it had 46 vessels employed in the cod and mackerel fishery, the product of which amounted to $69,548. Value of vessels built, $169,048. The value of woolen cloth, leather, boots, shoes, salt, iron, brass castings and tin ware manufactured, amounted to $105,787. Some attention is paid here to rearing sheep, and the manufacture of cordage.

    There is in Duxbury an apple tree noted for its age, size, and fruitfulness. It is upwards of a hundred years old. It is forty feet in height, and its circumference, eight inches from the ground, is 16 feet. Its fruit, in one year, has made 10 barrels of cider, besides 30 bushels for the... Read MORE...

  • 1845 - DUXBURY. [Pop. 2,798. Inc. 1637.]
    Its Indian name was Mattacheeset. Duxbury is supposed to be derived from Dux, which means Leader, and Borough or Bury ; Miles Standish, the prompt and fearless military Leader, or Dux, of the Puritans, having been one of the earliest settlers of this town. Captain's Hill, so called, was part of his farm.

    The first settlement was at the southerly part, near Plymouth. A strip of land, called the Gurnet, shelters the harbor of Duxbury, as well as that of Plymouth from the ocean.

    Duxbury is largely engaged in ship-building, in the fisheries, and in the manufacture of boots and shoes.

    Distance from Plymouth, 6 miles: from Boston, 29.
    An Elementary Geography for Massachusetts Children by William Bentley Fowle and Asa Fitz, 1845
  • 1854 - Duxbury
    Duxbury, a post-township of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, on the Atlantic coast, 80 miles S. E. of Boston. The inhabitants are principally engaged in ship-building, commerce, and the fisheries. Population, 2679.
    A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.
  • 1859
    DUXBURY, a township in the state of Massachusetts, U.S., 30 m. SSE of Boston. Pop. 2,798.

    A Gazetteer of the World: Or, Dictionary of Geographical Knowledge, Publisher A. Fullarton, 1859
  • News  1860 - Sea "Monsters"
    [Yes, this is an actual newspaper article from 1860 - unbelievable!]

    A fortnight since, there was a very remarkable scene in a creek close by the sea at Duxbury, Mass., between Plymouth and Marshfield. A small sail boat in coming up the creek from the ocean came upon a drove of porpoises. Other boats joined the first and drove the sea-monsters up the creek into water so shallow, that they could not easily make their escape. Some of the party in the boats began to shoot at the porpoises. Others with guns from the shore immediately joined them, and soon there was a general slaughter with guns and knives. The battle raged some time, when the entire drove, 75 porpoises, old and young were killed. The largest porpoise weighed 800 pounds.
    genealogybank.com
    New London Daily Chronicle
    New London, Connecticut
    September 7, 1860
  • Duxbury Massachusetts, 1890
    Duxbury, one of the oldest and most notable towns of the State, is situated midway of the eastern shore of Plymouth County. It is 27 miles southeast of Boston on the South-shore Branch of the Old Colony Railroad, and about six miles north of Plymouth, from which it is separated by the town of Kingston and Plymouth Harbor. Its bounding town on the west is Pembroke, on the north and northeast Marshfield, and on the east are Duxbury Bay and the ocean.

    The land is generally level, sandy and unproductive; yet there are some very fertile spots, especially at South Duxbury, where it rises into a beautiful and commanding eminence, on which is a monument to the memory of Captain Miles Standish. From this point is a fine view of the village of Duxbury, in which the Unitarian church, the Partridge Academy and the Town House, contrast finely with the deep-green forest on the north; of Duxbury Harbor with picturesque points, — the long, narrow strip of land called Duxbury Beach, which... Read MORE...

  • 1895 - Duxbury
    Dux'bury, a post-village of Plymouth co., Mass., in Duxbury township, on a bay of the Atlantic Ocean, and on the Old Colony Railroad, 38 miles S.S.E. of Boston, and 9 miles by rail N. of Plymouth. It has 4 churches, and is partly supported by fisheries. It contains the Partridge Academy. The township contains West Duxbury hamlet, and has a pop. of 1908. Here the ocean telegraph from Brest, in France, terminates.
    Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World Containing Notices of Over One Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Places ... Joseph Thomas January 1, 1895 J.B. Lippincott
  • 1916
    Duxbury, a post-village and summer-resort of Plymouth co., Mass., in Duxbury township (town), on a bay of the Atlantic Ocean and on the New York, New Haven and Hartford R., 38 miles SSE. of Boston. It has fishing- industries. It contains the Partridge Academy and the Powder Point and Alden Schools. Here the ocean telegraph from Brest, France, terminates. Pop. in 1900, about 500 ; of the town, 2075.
    Lippincotts New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns, Resorts, Islands, Rivers, Mountains, Seas, Lakes, Etc., in Every Portion of the Globe, Part 1 Angelo Heilprin Louis Heilprin - January 1, 1916 J.B. Lippincott - Publisher

  • 2023 - There are plenty of places to go and things to do in Duxbury. Here's a list:
    1. Duxbury Beach Park:
    Duxbury Beach is a stunning barrier beach that stretches for miles along the coast. You can spend a day sunbathing, swimming, or simply strolling along the shoreline. The beach park also offers picnic areas, dunes, and beautiful views of Duxbury Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Keep an eye out for the resident piping plovers and other shorebirds that inhabit the area.

    2. Island Creek Oysters:
    Duxbury is famous for its oysters, and you can experience the local culinary delight at Island Creek Oysters. They offer tours of their oyster farm, where you can learn about oyster cultivation and, of course, taste some of the freshest oysters you'll ever find. It's a must-visit for seafood lovers.

    3. Duxbury Bay Maritime School:
    If you're interested in maritime activities, check out the Duxbury Bay Maritime School. They offer a variety of programs, including sailing lessons, kayaking, and paddleboarding. It's a great way to explore the coastal waters and learn about... Read MORE...

Discover Your Roots: Duxbury Ancestry

Ancestors Who Were Born or Died in Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

We currently have information about ancestors who were born or died in Duxbury.

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male ancestorRoger CHANDLER (4 April 1580, Colchester, Essex, England - 1665, Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA (Cedar Crest) (South Duxbury) (West Duxbury))
photo of Myles STANDISHMyles STANDISH (1584, , England (United Kingdom) - 3 October 1656, Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA (Cedar Crest) (South Duxbury) (West Duxbury))
female ancestorIsabella CHILTON (15 January 1586, , England (United Kingdom) - 1665, Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA (Cedar Crest) (South Duxbury) (West Duxbury))
female ancestorBarbara (Sarah) UNKNOWN (1588, , England (United Kingdom) - 6 October 1659, Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA (Cedar Crest) (South Duxbury) (West Duxbury))
female ancestorMary BUCKETT (BECKETT) (17 January 1590, Worcester, Worcestershire, England - 16 December 1676, Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA (Cedar Crest) (South Duxbury) (West Duxbury))
male ancestorGeorge SOULE (1593, , England (United Kingdom) - 22 January 1679, Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA (Cedar Crest) (South Duxbury) (West Duxbury))
male ancestorJohn ALDEN (1598, , England (United Kingdom) - 12 September 1687, Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA (Cedar Crest) (South Duxbury) (West Duxbury))
male ancestorJohn IRISH (1600, , England (United Kingdom) - 5 March 1677, Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA (Cedar Crest) (South Duxbury) (West Duxbury))
male ancestorPhillippe DE LANNOY (DELANO) (1602, Leiden, Netherlands (Holland) (Leyden) - 22 August 1681, Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA (Cedar Crest) (South Duxbury) (West Duxbury))

Ancestors Who Were Married in Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA

We currently have information about ancestors who were married in Duxbury.

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male ancestorEdward BUMPAS (1605 - 1684) and female ancestorHannah UNKNOWN (1607 - 12 February 1693) married 1628
male ancestorHenry SAMPSON (SAMSON) (15 January 1604 - 24 December 1684) and female ancestorAnn PLUMMER (1610 - 24 December 1684) married 6 February 1635
male ancestorSolomon LEONARD (LEONARDSON) (1610 - 1 May 1671) and female ancestorSarah CHANDLER (1616 - 27 October 1675) married abt. 1640
male ancestorWilliam HILLIARD (HILYARD) (1614 - 25 March 1655) and female ancestorEsther UNKNOWN (1619 - 25 April 1655) married October 1640
male ancestorThomas THACHER (1 May 1620 - 15 October 1678) and female ancestorElizabeth PARTRIDGE (1619 - 2 June 1664) married 11 May 1643
male ancestorWilliam PABODIE (1616 - 13 December 1707) and female ancestorElisabeth ALDEN (1625 - 31 May 1717) married 26 December 1644
male ancestorThomas DELANO (21 March 1642 - 13 April 1723) and female ancestorRebecca ALDEN (1643 - ) married 1667
male ancestorRodolphus (Ralph) THATCHER (THACHER) (1649 - 26 July 1733) and female ancestorRuth PARTRIDGE (1645 - 30 October 1717) married 1 January 1669
male ancestorJohn TRACY (1642 - 16 August 1702) and female ancestorMary WINSLOW (1650 - 31 July 1721) married 17 June 1670
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Updated: 9/15/2023 2:34:28 PM

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