Nantasket Beach facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nantasket Beach Reservation |
|
|---|---|
Nantasket Beach in 2023
|
|
 Nantasket Beach Reservation
Location in Massachusetts
Nantasket Beach Reservation
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Hull, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States |
| Area | 39 acres (16 ha) |
| Elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Established | Unspecified |
| Operator | Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation |
| Website | Nantasket Beach Reservation |
Nantasket Beach is a cool beach located in the town of Hull, Massachusetts. It's part of the Nantasket Beach Reservation, which is managed by the state Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. This beach has super soft, light gray sand. It is known as one of the best beaches in the Greater Boston area.
Because it slopes gently, when the tide is low, the beach gets really wide. This creates amazing tide pools that are famous for reflecting beautiful sunsets and sunrises. The northern part of the beach is private. It is managed by the Town of Hull. Visitors cannot park there unless they are guests of residents. The beach is also home to special animals. These include the Piping Plover, Least Tern, and sometimes even harbor seals.
What's in a Name?
The name "Nantasket" comes from the Wampanoag language. It means "low-tide place" or "where tides meet." This name makes sense because the area was originally a tidal island. It was connected to the mainland by a sandbar that only appeared at low tide.
Nantasket was settled very early in American history. It was settled soon after Plymouth Colony and before Massachusetts Bay. Roger Conant was in this area around 1625. He visited after leaving Plymouth Colony and before going to Cape Ann. Before Hull became an official town in 1644, English settlers called the whole local area "Nantasket Peninsula."
A Look Back in Time
Nantasket has been a favorite summer spot for many famous Americans. These include U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his family. His brother Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., and his parents, ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Kennedy, also spent time here. Other notable visitors include U.S. President Calvin Coolidge. Former Boston mayor John F. Fitzgerald also enjoyed the area.
The Irish-American poet John Boyle O'Reilly had a house on the peninsula. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a famous writer, visited Nantasket in July 1841. He wrote about the beauty of nature and people during his time there.
The peninsula was covered in forests until at least 1624. That's when the first European settlers started farming. At that time, it was a tidal island. A land bridge connected what is now Nantasket Beach to the mainland. Plymouth colonists had a building here. It was used as a storehouse for trading with the Massachusett tribe. This shows that Indigenous people regularly used the site.
More settlements grew over the years. They supported a fishing community and some farming. In 1825, Paul Warrick opened "The Sportsman Hotel" on Nantasket Avenue. Later, more hotels were built. Steamboats started making three trips a day between Nantasket Beach and Boston in the 1840s.
By 1888, the Old Colony Railroad connected Boston to Hull. This was the nation's first electric railroad! In 1905, an amusement park called Paragon Park was built next to the beach. It even had a carousel built in 1928. The park closed in 1984.
