Quincy, Massachusetts
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| Quincy, Massachusetts | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | Massachusetts | ||
| County | Norfolk County | ||
| Settled | 1625 | ||
| Incorporated | 1792 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Mayor-council city | ||
| - Mayor | William J. Phelan | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 26.9 sq mi (69.6 km²) | ||
| - Land | 16.8 sq mi (43.5 km²) | ||
| - Water | 10.1 sq mi (26.2 km²) | ||
| Elevation | 20 ft (6 m) | ||
| Population (2000) | |||
| - City | 88,025 | ||
| - Density | 5,244.3/sq mi (2,024.8/km²) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP code | 02169, 02170, 02171 | ||
| Area code(s) | 617 / 857 | ||
| Website: http://ci.quincy.ma.us/ | |||
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts and was the hometown of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. It bears the nickname "The City of Presidents". As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 88,025. First settled in 1625, the city was originally part of Braintree. It was incorporated in 1792 as the town of Quincy, and became a city in 1888. The city's name is correctly pronounced "Quin-zee", though non-locals often mispronounce it as "Quin-cee", and it is named after Colonel John Quincy.
Howard Johnson's and Dunkin Donuts were founded and started in Quincy.
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[edit] History
Quincy was first settled by English immigrants in 1625, as Mount Wollaston (with a most unusual history), subsequently became part of Braintree, Massachusetts, was officially incorporated as a separate town in 1792, and 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 base into the 1950s.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 88,025 people, 38,883 households, and 20,530 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,025.4/km² (5,244.3/mi²). There were 40,093 housing units at an average density of 922.5/km² (2,388.7/mi²). 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.
There were 38,883 households out of which 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.
[edit] Neighborhoods
Quincy is divided into numerous neighborhoods whose names have changed over the years. Current neighborhoods include:
- Adams Shore
- Germantown
- Hough's Neck
- Merrymount
- North Quincy
- Atlantic
- Montclair
- Norfolk Downs
- Quincy Center
- Hospital (President's) Hill
- Quincy Point
- Squantum
- South and West Quincy
- Quincy Adams
- Wollaston
 President John Adams birthplace. |
 The "Peacefield", residence of four generations of Adams. |
 The Josiah Quincy House. |
[edit] Education
Quincy is home to Eastern Nazarene College, a four-year liberal arts college in the Wollaston neighborhood operated by the Church of the Nazarene and notable for a mandatory "Lifestyle Covenant" regulating students' conduct and social life. Quincy College, a two-year community college, is unique in Massachusetts as being the only post-secondary institution owned and operated by the municipality in which it is located.
[edit] 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.
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 Association was played at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy, in 1976, finishing 7-17.
[edit] See also
- The Abigail Adams Cairn
- John Adams birthplace
- John Quincy Adams birthplace
- The Josiah Quincy House
- Peacefield (Old House)
- The Quincy Plan
- Thomas Crane Public Library
- United First Parish Church
[edit] Further reading
- Browne, Patricia Harrigan, "Quincy - A Past Carved in Stone", Images of America Series, Arcadia Publishing, July 1996, ISBN 0-7524-0299-4
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- QUINCY.COM
- Official Webpage
- Discover Quincy - The Official Quincy Tourism Website
- Quincy, MA Events & Activities
- Quincy, MA Online
- Quincy History
- The Granite Railway
- Quincy Public Schools link
