Hull, Massachusetts

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Hull, Massachusetts
nickname =
motto =


imagesize = 250px
image_caption = Aerial view of Hull
image_

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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location in Plymouth County in Massachusetts


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Massachusetts
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Plymouth
established_title = Settled
established_date = 1622
established_title2 = Incorporated
established_date2 = 1644
established_title3 =
established_date3 =
government_type = Open town meeting
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 73.1
area_total_sq_mi = 28.2
area_land_km2 = 7.8
area_land_sq_mi = 3.0
area_water_km2 = 65.2
area_water_sq_mi = 25.2
population_as_of = 2000
settlement_type = Town
population_total = 11050
population_density_km2 = 1408.8
population_density_sq_mi = 3648.9
elevation_m = 15
elevation_ft = 50
timezone = Eastern
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = Eastern
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd = 42 |latm = 18 |lats = 07 |latNS = N
longd = 70 |longm = 54 |longs = 30 |longEW = W
website = http://www.town.hull.ma.us/
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 02045
area_code = 339 / 781
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 25-31645
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0618343
footnotes =

Hull is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,050 at the 2000 census. Hull is the smallest town by land area in Plymouth County and the fourth smallest in the state. However, its population density is within the top thirty towns in the state.

Hull has been the summer home to several luminaries throughout the years, including former Boston mayor John F. Fitzgerald (a.k.a. "``Honey Fitz"), the father of Rose Kennedy [http://www.paragonparkmemories.com/PARAGONPARK.html Paragon Park Memories] Paragon Park Memories] ; President Calvin Coolidge; and Joe Kennedy Sr.

History

The Masssachusetts tribe called the area "Nantasket," meaning "at the strait" or "low-tide place." It is a series of islands connected by sandbars forming Nantasket Peninsula, on which the Plymouth Colony established a trading post in 1621 for trade with the Wampanoags. The town was first settled in 1622 and officially incorporated in 1644, when it was named for Hull, England. Early industries included fishing, trade and salvaging shipwrecks. During the Revolution, General Benjamin Lincoln oversaw the evacuation of Boston from here in 1778.

Hull was originally part of Suffolk County, and when the southern part of the county was set off as Norfolk County in 1793, it included the towns of Hull and Hingham. In 1803 those towns opted out of Norfolk County and became part of Plymouth County. [ [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cisctlist/ctlistidx.htm Information and Historical Data on Cities, Towns and Counties in Massachusetts] ]

Lifesaving has been an important part of Hull history. The Massachusetts Humane Society placed one of its first Huts of Refuge on Nantasket Beach after the American Revolution. When it expanded its boat houses for lifeboats it places several in Hull at Stoney Beach, on Nantasket Beach, and near Cohasset. Joshua James (1826-1902), Hull’s most famous lifesaver, became the first Keeper of the Pt. Allerton U.S. Life Saving Station, when in opened in 1889. James and his crews, both Humane Society volunteers and U.S. Life-Savers, are estimated to have saved over 1000 people from shipwrecks. The exact number is not known because Massachusetts Humane Society records were lost in the Great Boston Fire in 1872. The Hull Lifesaving Museum is now located in the 1889 Pt. Allerton Life Saving Station, with the Museum's Maritime Program housed in the old Coast Guard boathouse at Pemberon Point. The new U.S. Coast Guard Station Point Allerton opened at the edge of Hull Village near Pemberton Point in 1969.

Hull features Nantasket Beach, with fine, light gray sand -- generally considered one of the finest beaches in New England.Fact|date=March 2008 At low tide, there are acres of sandy tide pools. Beginning the community's development as a tourist resort, in 1825 Paul Worrick established the "Sportsman Hotel" on Nantasket Avenue. More hotels were built, and by 1840, steamboats made 3 trips a day between the town and Boston.

Following the crowds onto the boardwalks were gamblers, pickpockets and confidence men, so "Paragon Park" was built as a safe place for those seeking amusement. Called a "marvel of fantasy," it once featured a ride based on the Johnstown Flood. The complex closed in 1984 when the property was sold for condominium development. Today, the only surviving remnants of "Paragon Park" on the boardwalk are the historic carousel and clock tower.

Geography

Hull is located at coor dms|42|17|10|N|70|52|35|W|city (42.286347, -70.87663).GR|1 According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.2 square miles (73.1 km²), of which, 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²) of it is land and 25.2 square miles (65.2 km²) of it (89.26%) is water. Hull is located on narrow Nantasket Peninsula, which juts into Massachusetts Bay, and is the southern land point at the entrance to Boston Harbor. The town is bordered by Hingham Bay to the west, Massachusetts Bay to the north and east, and the towns of Cohasset and Hingham to the south. Hull is located almost twenty miles by land from Boston, although by water, not counting islands, it is just five miles from Pemberton Point in Hull to City Point in Dorchester.

Hull is separated from Cohasset and Hingham by the Weir River Estuary, which is state-recognized as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. The Estuary contains almost 600 acres of undeveloped land, including almost 140 undeveloped acres of undeveloped land in Hull, of which close to 80 percent is protected from development. The Estuary is important as a nursery for fish and other marine life. Over 100 species of birds also use the Weir River Estuary. The Weir River Estuary Center, owned by the town and being developed by the Weir River Watershed Association, located at the entrance to Hull on George Washington Boulevard, is expected to open by summer 2009.

Black Rock Beach connecting to Cohasset is the town's only landed connection to the mainland, although two bridges link the town to Hingham. Town neighborhoods include (from south to north) Green Hill, Straits Pond, Crescent Beach, Gunrock, Atlantic Hill, West Corner, Rockaway, Rockaway Annex, Nantasket Beach, Sagamore Hill, Hampton Circle, Sunset Point, Kenberma, Strawberry Hill, Waveland, Windermere, Allerton, Spinnaker Island, Stony Beach, Telegraph Hill, Hull Village, and Pemberton. The areas west of the northerly two miles of the three-mile-long Nantasket Beach constitute the majority of the town's landed area. The southern hills near the Town Hall are composed of volcanic rock created 600 million years ago. Green Hill near Cohasset and all of the hills out along the peninsula--Sagamore, Hampton, Sunset Point, Strawberry, Allerton, Telegraph, and Hull Hill--are drumlins formed by the last glacier about 14,000 years ago. The lands between the hills are tombolos, or tying sand bars. Telegraph Hill above Stony Beach is the site of Fort Revere Park, a park located at the site of a former defense installation which was active during the first half of the twentieth century. It is capped with an observation tower, which provides spectactular views of the rest of Boston Harbor, as well as much of the northern coast of the South Shore. The tower was sited on one of the five points of the star-shaped Fort Independence, which was created during the American Revolution.

The lands of Hull also include Peddocks Island, a part of the Boston Harbor Islands State Park.

There are no freeways in Hull. Route 228 becomes Nantasket Avenue at the center entrance to Hull. The main entrance is on George Washington Boulevsrd which connects to Route 3A at the Hingham rotary. The avenue continues on through the rest of town, to Main Street in Hull Village, which then goes on past the Pt. Allerton Coast Guard station ending at Windmill Point, also known as Pemberton Point, at the high school near the Hull Wind 1 windmill. The MBTA's bus service extends into neighboring Hingham, and the Greenbush Line of the commuter rail recently re-opened, with its closest station being at Nantasket Junction, site of the former Hingham Lumber Company lumber yard, which is where the Hull branch of the railroad once connected. This Hull branch was the first electrified railroad in America in 1895. Commuters to Logan International Airport and Boston (and in the summer to Boston Harbor Islands) can take the MBTA Commuter Boat, which leaves from Pemberton Point, the very tip of Hull. The nearest air service can be reached at Logan International Airport in Boston.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 11,050 people, 4,522 households, and 2,821 families residing in the town. The population density was 3,648.9 people per square mile (1,408.1/km²). There were 5,366 housing units at an average density of 1,771.9/sq mi (683.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.95% White, 0.46% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.09% of the population.

There were 4,522 households out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $52,377, and the median income for a family was $62,294. Males had a median income of $43,030 versus $34,738 for females. The per capita income for the town was $26,331. About 5.6% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.7% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

On the national level, Hull is a part of Massachusetts's 10th congressional district, and is currently represented by Bill Delahunt. The state's senior (Class I) member of the United States Senate, re-elected in 2006, is Ted Kennedy. The junior (Class II) Senator, up for re-election in 2008, is John Kerry.

On the state level, Hull is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Third Plymouth district, which includes Cohasset, Hingham and Scituate. The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a part of the Plymouth and Norfolk district, which includes the towns of Cohasset, Duxbury, Hingham, Marshfield, Norwell, Scituate and Weymouth. [ [http://www.mass.gov/legis/citytown.htm Index of Legislative Representation by City and Town, from Mass.gov] ] The town is patrolled on a secondary basis by the First (Norwell) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police. [ [http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eopsterminal&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Law+Enforcement+%26+Criminal+Justice&L2=Law+Enforcement&L3=State+Police+Troops&L4=Troop+D&sid=Eeops&b=terminalcontent&f=msp_divisions_field_services_troops_troop_d_msp_field_troop_d_station_d1&csid=Eeops Station D-1, SP Norwell] ]

Hull is governed on the local level by the open town meeting form of government, and is led by a town manager and a board of selectmen. The town hall, as well as the police headquarters and the Green Hill Fire station, are all located in the southern portion of town, closest to the mainland. Fire Department Headquarters is in Waveland, and there is a branch firehouse in Hull Village as well, although it has been closed for some time. Emergency services bring patients to nearby South Shore Hospital, Quincy Medical Center, or into Boston if deemed necessary by EMS. There are two post offices, at Kenberma and Allerton, which serve the central and north parts of town, respectively. The town's public library is located on Main Street in Hull Village in a stoneVictorian mansion, built in 1889 as a summer home by John Boyle O'Reilly (1844-1890, famed as an Irish patriot, editor of the Catholic weekly Pilot, and poet. The home was built on the site of an earlier house, where Susanna Haswell Rowson (1764-1826) lived as a girl during the start of the American Revolution. Susanna eventully became America's first bestselling novelist with the publishing of her story of Charlotte Temple.

Education

Hull has its own school system for its approximately 1,250 students. The Lillian M. Jacobs School, located on Telegraphs Hill above Stony Beach serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The Memorial Middle School is located near the center of the peninsula, adjacent to Bayside Park, and serves sixth through eight grade students. Hull High School is located at the end of the peninsula. All three schools have recently completed major renovations. Hull High's teams are known as the Pirates, and their school colors are blue and gold. The teams compete in the South Shore League, and their chief rival is similarly-sized Cohasset High.

The town does not have any private schools but does have agreements to send students to regional vocational schools. The nearest private schools are located in neighboring Hingham, and the nearest vocational high school is located in Weymouth.

Gallery

References

7. Nantasket Beach Branch: Transportation Bulletin No. 90, January - December, 1981, MCGARIGLE, BOB. ROGER BORRUP, EDITOR - Warehouse Pt. CT, Connecticut Valley Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. 1981, First Edition. (ISBN: 0-910506-21-3). 8. Joshua James, Life-Saver, by Sumner Increase Kimball, Unitarian, Boston 1909. PDF available on line at http://books.google.com9. “The Form of Nantasket Beach,” Douglas w. Johnson and William G. Reed, Jr., Journal of Geology, University of Chicago Press, 1910, as reprinted in Introduction to Coastline Geology, J.A. Steers, ed., MIT Press, Cambridge, MA 197110. Fanatic Heart: A Life of John Boyle O'Reilly, 1844-1890, by A.G. Evans, Northeastern University Press, Boston, 1997

External links

Local newspapers: [http://www.thepatriotledger.com The Patriot Ledger] and [http://www.hulltimes.com The Hull Times]
* [http://www.town.hull.ma.us/ Town of Hull "Official Website"]
* [http://top10.wikia.com/wiki/New_England_Beaches Top 10 New England Beaches -- Nantasket Beach]
* [http://www.paragonparkmemories.com Paragon Park Memories]
* [http://www.hullwind.org Hull Wind Project]
* [http://www.hulllandconservationtrust.org Hull Land Conservation Trust]
* [http://www.weirriver.org Weir River Watershed Association]
* [http://www.hullmagazine.com HULLMAgazine]
* [http://www.hullchamber.com Hull Nantasket Beach Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.lifesavingmuseum.org Hull Lifesaving Museum]
* [http://www.fortreverepark.org Fort Revere Park]