Duxbury, Massachusetts

Duxbury is a coastal town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Duxbury is a suburb of Boston, located approximately 35 miles (56 km) to the south of the city on the South Shore. The population was 14,248 at the 2000 census.

Pilgrim Settlement
In 1620, the English settlers known as the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth_Colony. Per the terms of their contract with financial backers in London, they were required to live together in a tight community for seven years. At the end of that term, in 1627, land along the coast was allotted to settlers for farming. Thus, the coastline from Plymouth to Marshfield was parceled out and many settlers began moving away from Plymouth.

At first, those who settled in Duxbury came to work their new farms just in the warmer months and returned to Plymouth during the winter. It was not long, however, before they began to build homes on their land, and soon requested permission from the colony to be set off as a separate community with their own church. Duxbury, which originally included land that is now Pembroke, was incorporated in 1637.

Prominent Settlers
Some of the most influential men in Plymouth colony received grants in Duxbury and became its first leaders. The graves of many of Duxbury’s first settlers can be found in the Old Burying Ground on Chestnut Street, next to the site of original Meeting House.


 * Captain Myles Standish, the military leader of the colony, lived in “the Nook,” an area now known as Standish Shore.
 * William Brewster (1567-1644) was for many years the religious leader of the colony. He probably led services in Duxbury until it received its own minister in 1637.
 * John Alden (c1599 -1687) was another important settler, Assistant Governor of the colony for fifty years. His house, now a museum on Alden Street, was the site of many important meetings of the colony’s leaders.