Hull, Massachusetts | |
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 Aerial view of Hull, 2010 | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Location in Plymouth County in Massachusetts | |
| Coordinates:42°18′07″N70°54′30″W / 42.30194°N 70.90833°W /42.30194; -70.90833 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Plymouth |
| Settled | 1622 |
| Incorporated | 1644 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Open town meeting |
| Area | |
• Total | 69.6 km2 (26.9 sq mi) |
| • Land | 7.3 km2 (2.8 sq mi) |
| • Water | 62.3 km2 (24.1 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 10,072 |
| • Density | 1,380/km2 (3,600/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP Code | 02045 |
| Area code | 339/781 |
| FIPS code | 25-31645 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0618343 |
| Website | www |
Hull is a town inPlymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, located on apeninsula at the southern edge ofBoston Harbor. Its population was 10,072 at the2020 census.[1] Hull is the smallest town by land area in Plymouth County and the eleventh smallest in the state.[2] However, its population density is nearly four times that of Massachusetts as a whole.
Hull is home to the popular resort community ofNantasket Beach and has been the summer home to several luminaries throughout the years, includingCalvin Coolidge and former Boston mayorJohn F. Fitzgerald (also known as "Honey Fitz"), the father ofRose Kennedy and grandfather ofJohn F. Kennedy.
The Massachuset tribe called the areaNantasket, meaning "at the strait" or "low-tide place". It is a series of islands connected bysandbars formingNantasket Peninsula, on which thePlymouth Colony established atrading post in 1621 for trade with the Wampanoags. The town was first settled in 1622 and officially incorporated in 1644, when it was named forKingston upon Hull, England.Roger Conant was in the area, after leaving the Plymouth Colony and before going toCape Ann in 1625. Early industries includedfishing, trade and salvagingshipwrecks. During theRevolutionary War, GeneralBenjamin Lincoln oversaw the evacuation of Boston from here in 1778. In 1776 a fort called "Fort Independence" (name transferred tothe current fort in 1797) was built on Allerton Point, and in 1901Fort Revere was built on the same site. In 1927Fort Duvall was completed on Hog Island (nowSpinnaker Island) armed with 16-inch guns, the largest ever deployed by the United States.
Hull was originally part ofSuffolk County, and when the southern part of the county was set off asNorfolk County in 1793, the towns of Hull andHingham petitioned to remain in Suffolk County. In 1803 those towns opted out of Suffolk County and became part ofPlymouth County.[3]
Lifesaving has been an important part of Hull history. TheMassachusetts 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 placed 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 it opened in 1889. James and his crews, both Humane Society volunteers and U.S. Life-Savers, are estimated to have saved over 1,000 people from shipwrecks. The exact number is not known because Massachusetts Humane Society records were lost in theGreat Boston Fire of 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 Pemberton Point. The new U.S. Coast Guard Station Point Allerton opened at the edge of Hull Village nearPemberton Point in 1969.
Hull featuresNantasket Beach, with fine, light gray sand—generally considered one of the finest beaches inNew England.[citation needed] At low tide, there are acres of sandytide 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 three trips a day between the town and Boston.
Following the crowds onto theboardwalks weregamblers,pickpockets andconfidence men, soParagon Park was built as a safe place for those seeking amusement. Called a "marvel of fantasy," it once featured a ride based on theJohnstown 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 historiccarousel and clock tower.
Hull is located at42°17′10″N70°52′35″W / 42.28611°N 70.87639°W /42.28611; -70.87639 (42.286347, −70.87663).[4] According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 26.9 square miles (69.6 km2), of which 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2) is land and 24.1 square miles (62.3 km2), or 89.58%, is water.[5] Hull is located on the narrow Nantasket Peninsula, which juts intoMassachusetts Bay and is the southern land point at the entrance toBoston Harbor. Hidden in Hull's bay is Hog Island, now known asSpinnaker Island. Hog Island was home to Hull's first high school, as well as Fort Duvall before WWII, and aNike missile site during theCold War. Parts of the island sat very low and fill was brought in to prevent flooding. Spinnaker Island has been developed with condominiums, and is connected to mainland Hull via a low bridge. The town is bordered byHingham Bay to the west, Massachusetts Bay to the north and east, and the towns ofCohasset andHingham to the south. Hull is located almost 20 miles (32 km) by land fromBoston, although by water it is just 5 miles (8.0 km) fromPemberton Point in Hull to City Point inSouth Boston. Although it is a forty-five-minute drive into the heart of Boston, it is a twenty-minute boat ride from Pemberton Pier, at the tip of Hull, into Boston'sLong Wharf, which is close to theNorth End andFaneuil Hall.
Hull is separated from Cohasset and Hingham by theWeir River estuary, which is state-recognized as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Theestuary contains almost 600 acres (2.4 km2) of undeveloped land, including almost 140 acres (.57km2) 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, was 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 Hull Hill, 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—aredrumlins formed by the last glacier about 14,000 years ago. The lands between the hills aretombolos, or tying sand bars.Telegraph Hill above Stony Beach is the site ofFort Revere Park, located at the site of a former defense installation that was active during the first half of the twentieth century. It is capped with an observation tower, which provides 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-shapedFort Independence, which was created during theAmerican Revolution.
The lands of Hull also includePeddocks Island, a part of theBoston Harbor Islands State Park.
There are no freeways in Hull.Massachusetts Route 228 becomes Nantasket Avenue at the center entrance to Hull. The main entrance is on George Washington Boulevard, which connects toRoute 3A at the Hinghamrotary. The avenue continues through the rest of town, to Main Street in Hull Village, which then goes on past the Pt. AllertonCoast Guard station ending atWindmill Point, also known as Pemberton Point, at the high school near the Hull Wind 1 windmill. TheMBTA's bus service extends into neighboring Hingham, and theGreenbush Line of the commuter rail recently re-opened, with its closest station being atNantasket 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 theMBTA ferry F2H service, which leaves from Pemberton Point, the very tip of Hull. The nearest air service can be reached atLogan International Airport in Boston.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 253 | — |
| 1860 | 285 | +12.6% |
| 1870 | 261 | −8.4% |
| 1880 | 383 | +46.7% |
| 1890 | 989 | +158.2% |
| 1900 | 1,703 | +72.2% |
| 1910 | 2,103 | +23.5% |
| 1920 | 1,771 | −15.8% |
| 1930 | 2,047 | +15.6% |
| 1940 | 2,167 | +5.9% |
| 1950 | 3,379 | +55.9% |
| 1960 | 7,055 | +108.8% |
| 1970 | 9,961 | +41.2% |
| 1980 | 9,714 | −2.5% |
| 1990 | 10,466 | +7.7% |
| 2000 | 11,050 | +5.6% |
| 2010 | 10,293 | −6.9% |
| 2020 | 10,072 | −2.1% |
| 2024* | 10,278 | +2.0% |
| * = population estimate. Source:United States census records andPopulation Estimates Program data.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] | ||
As of thecensus[17] of 2020, there were 10,072 people, 4,504 households, and 2,387 families residing in the town. The population density was 3,648.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,408.8/km2). There were 5,856 housing units at an average density of 2,091.42 per square mile (807.50/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 92.45%White, 0.73%Black orAfrican American, 0.19%Native American, 1.06%Asian, 0.05%Pacific Islander, 0.90% fromother races, and 4.59% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 2.21% of the population.
There were 4,504 households, out of which 18.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were married couples living together, 30.9% had a female householder with no spouse/partner present, 12.9% had a male householder with no spouse/partner present, and 8.4% were cohabitating couple households. Of all households, 34.8% were made up of individuals, and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 13.8% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 19.5% from 25 to 44, 38% from 45 to 64, and 23.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.4 males.
51.8% of the population attained a Bachelor's Degree or higher. The median income for a household in the town was $128,022. Theper capita income for the town was $69,609. About 3.6% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 4% of those under age 18 and 7% of those age 65 or over.
On the national level, Hull is a part ofMassachusetts's 8th congressional district, and is currently represented byStephen Lynch.
On the state level, Hull is represented in theMassachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Third Plymouth district, which includes Cohasset, Hingham and Scituate. The town is represented in theMassachusetts Senate by Senator Patrick O' Connor (R-Weymouth) as a part of thePlymouth and Norfolk district, which includes the towns of Cohasset, Duxbury, Hingham, Marshfield, Norwell, Scituate and Weymouth.[18] The town is patrolled on a secondary basis by the First (Norwell) Barracks of Troop D of theMassachusetts State Police.[19] The closest courthouse is the 2nd District Court located in Hingham, right outside of the town of Hull's perimeters on George Washington Boulevard.
Hull is governed on the local level by theopen town meeting form of government, and is led by a town manager and aboard 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. The 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. The fire department provides advanced life support services and brings 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 byJohn Boyle O'Reilly (1844–1890), a prominentIrish Republican Brotherhood member and literary figure who served as an editor of the Catholic weekly newspaperThe Pilot. The home was built on the site of an earlier house, whereSusanna Haswell Rowson (1764–1826) andRobert Haswell lived as children during the start of the American Revolution. Susanna eventually became America's first bestselling novelist with the publishing of her story,Charlotte Temple.
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 15, 2008[20] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Number of Voters | Percentage | |||
| Democratic | 2,801 | 36.08% | |||
| Republican | 841 | 10.83% | |||
| Unaffiliated | 4,060 | 52.30% | |||
| Libertarian | 61 | 0.79% | |||
| Total | 7,763 | 100% | |||
Hull has its own school system for its approximately 1,250 students:Hull Public Schools. Hull has an election-based school board committee with five members.
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 eighth 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 theSouth Shore League, and their chief rival is similarly-sizedCohasset High School.
The town does not have any private schools (excluding Seaside Montessori, a Pre–K Montessori school) 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.
Hull is named afterKingston upon Hull,United Kingdom.Hull in Quebec, Canada, is also named after Kingston upon Hull.
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