History
In the 1980s, Massachusetts Bay, Wollaston Beach included, was one of the most polluted areas in the United States due to a waste-disposal system that discharged approximately 138 tons of waste each day into Boston Harbor, from the Nut Island plant at the end of Houghs Neck. The outfall pipe was known as the 'bubbler'. Officials permanently closed the beach to shell fishing and even swimmers. In 1982, the city of Quincy successfully sued the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for violating the Clean Water Act. The city of Quincy has been a leader in environmental cleanup around Massachusetts Bay and, in 1988, a program was established to help clean up Massachusetts Bay beaches, and testing along Wollaston Beach has demonstrated since 2006 that it is once again safe for swimming and recreation.
In 1990, Massachusetts Bay was selected by the Environmental Protection Agency as an Estuary of National Significance. Despite the environmental challenges, Wollaston Beach continues to be a well-known spot for walking along the boulevard and sun bathing.
Read more about this topic: Wollaston Beach
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—Thomas Paine (1737–1809)
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“The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)