Everything about Moon Island Massachusetts totally explained
Moon Island is situated in
Quincy Bay, in the middle of
Boston Harbor,
Massachusetts. The island is controlled by
City of Boston but part of
Quincy, Massachusetts and the
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.
To fully appreciate Squantum and Moon Island, one must visualize the island's location before it was "improved." The
causeway to Moon Island didn't exist before the late
1870s and there was no bridge across Western Way to
Long Island until
1951. The sand spit from Thompson Island to Squaw Rock on Squantum was a fabulous clam bar until the sewage outflow from Moon Island backed up into the local waters. Local Indians summered in this area and enjoyed the juicy
mollusks that were prevalent in this area for thousands of years. Europeans are relatively new visitors to this part of the world.
Another two bars pointed from Moon Island toward Squantum, following the general path of the new causeway. Without the existing causeway, one would have a clear view from Chappell Rock on Squantum over to Hough's Neck across Quincy Bay. Looking northwest, you'd have an unobstructed view over to
Dorchester Heights in
South Boston. In early years, the land where
UMass Boston and the Kennedy Memorial are located was open water. The area around Marina Bay was salt marsh leaving a much wider mouth to the
Neponset River.
In Colonial times, Moon Island was recorded as having twenty-acres of land mass that was used as pasture. This land was connected at very low water (tides) by two sand bars. The proper approach to this island in the late 1800s was from the Quincy Bay side. There was a 100-foot hill on the northerly side. Early inhabitants called the island, "Mennen's Moon," and is also recorded as "Moon Island" and "Moon Head."
Today, Moon Island consists of 44.5 acres and is connected to Squantum by a two-lane roadway over the causeway. Moon Island is owned by the City of Boston and is no longer available for public access or use. As with many of the other islands in Boston Harbor, municipal and federal authorities have obtained ownership of Boston Harbor islands over the centuries. Most have never returned to private ownership or use.
History
On June 2,
1641, by order of the General Court of Elections in Boston, Moon Island came under the jurisdiction of the Town of
Dorchester. In
1659, Moon Island was valued at twenty-eight pounds. John Howard was the first recorded owner of Moon Island in
1665. Upon his death, the island was sold to Henry Ashhurst.
During
1775, armed British barges chased a Colonial raiding party from Long Island to Dorchester. One American soldier was killed on Moon Island. There is a
1776 reference to a Moon Island Redoubt fortification that was authorized. However, there's no evidence that it ever had been constructed.
In
1850, Boston's first comprehensive public report blamed poor sanitary conditions for the high mortality rates among immigrants. The report recommended collecting the sewage instead of allowing it to drain into Boston Harbor. At this time, Boston's sewage was discharged into drains along the streets of Boston directly from residences and buildings. These drains discharged directly into local streams, bays, and from docks, polluting the harbor waters, poisoning the air, and leaving effluent on mud flats that surrounded Boston. On warm summer days, the odors from these flats became unbearable. Affluent Bostonians left Boston during the summer months for their summer residences on the North Shore.
In
1878, the
Massachusetts State Legislature approved the construction of the Boston Main Drainage System, which was supposed to handle the sewage from 18 cities and towns by pumping it to Moon Island for storage and release into Quincy Bay on the outgoing tides.
The City of Boston began construction of a large 7.5-foot diameter brick sewer conduit from Old Harbor Point (Columbia Point) under Dorchester Bay to Squantum and out to Moon Island under a causeway. The shaft is 150 feet below ground and a mile and a half in length. It took 5 million bricks and 8,000 barrels of cement to complete the pipe. There is a small brick building located at the end of the
University of Massachusetts Boston campus facing Squantum. This was the location of the sewer system's pump house. Initially, this pump house was on a long narrow land-filled peninsula. The land where UMASS Boston]] is currently located was open water at that time.
Exiting the tunnel, the sewage was pumped through Squantum Neck and reached holding tanks on Moon Island through another conduit placed under the embankment from Squantum to Moon Island. The sand and gravel needed to complete this project was stripped from Half Moon Island, a crescent-shaped island that was located near the mouth of Black's Creek in Quincy Bay. Four hugh cut-granite storage tanks with a 50-million gallon capacity were built by the Cape Ann Granite Company to handle the sewage. These vats were formed by digging out the northern section of the hill and cementing and bricking the sides of the excavation. This reservoir was divided into four compartments, each with inlets and four outlets. The tanks were 900 by 150 feet and 17 feet deep. The bottoms were seven feet thick and were grooved to ease the removal of sludge. At one end was a gatehouse. The tank outlets were connected with a power pump and a turbine that was used to open the gates of the outflow pipe. The 12-foot diameter outflow conduit extended 600 feet into the harbor from the northern end of Moon Island. The Sewage Plant was completed in 1884 at a cost of $6-million.
The original operating plan was to collect the raw sewage in the four storage tanks during times of high water and, then, two hours after the start of ebb (out-going current flow), the sewage would be discharged into the harbor. This allowed approximately four hours until slack water. The total outflow time was three to four hours per cycle or six to eight hours per 24 hour period. Boston Harbor normally has two tide and current cycles each day. The expection was that the effluent would flow between Long and Rainsford Islands, through a small gut between Gallops and Georges Island, then out through Black Rock Channel and Nantasket Roads. The aromatic effect on the summer hotels on the harbor islands and Squantum wasn't very positive.
As time passed, the population of Boston expanded and additional communities were added to the system. The discharge of sewage at Moon Island required longer and longer outflow periods. The situation worsened until the incoming tides distributed the unprocessed sewage throughout the sand flats and beaches of Boston Harbor and Quincy Bay.
In
1889, The MSD (Metropolitan Sewerage District) was formed to build one of the first regional sewer systems in the United States. The system continued to expand through the early 1900s. The Moon Island system provided no treatment capability. It merely collected wastewater and effluent, and pumped it out into Boston Harbor.
During
1892, a garbage reclaiming plant was established on Moon Island. The plant was moved to
Spectacle Island during
1912.
During
1919, severe pollution from the Moon Island sewage outflow caused the closing of many of the clam beds and beaches in Boston Harbor and Quincy Bay. Also during this year, the MDC (Metropolitan District Commission) took over control of the Moon Island/Squantum Sewer System from the MSD.
In
1933, the pollution of Boston Harbor worsened to the point that all clams taken in the area required purification processing before sale or consumption. Pollution on the Boston and Quincy beaches worsened.
In
1939, a legislature committee found that Quincy Bay and Hingham Harbor were "revolting" and "in violation of all public health requirements." Both Boston and Quincy beaches have been closed since
1890. More than 250-million gallons of raw sewage were being dumped into Boston Harbor daily.
In
1940, Massachusetts State planners recommended the construction of sewage treatment plants at Moon Island,
Deer Island, and Nut Island in Quincy.
On August 4,
1951, then Secretary of Labor,
Maurice J. Tobin, dedicated the two-lane steel bridge from Moon Head to Long Island.
In
1959, The Boston Fire Department constructed a fire-fighting training facility at the northern end of Moon Island. A concrete building was designed and built to simulate the various roof designs and window shapes found in the City of Boston.
In 1960, the Boston Police Department established an outdoor pistol range on the southern side of Moon Island. This facility is now jointly used by the Boston and Quincy Police Departments.
A cache of stone blades were found on a Squantum beach in 1961. These artifacts belonged to the early Indians who lived in the Squantum area.
The Moon Island sewage facility was still operating in 1967, pumping about a million gallons of sewage into Boston Harbor. 15-20% of the sludge that was discharged with the outgoing tides returned on the next incoming tide. The result was that Boston Harbor and Quincy Bay became severely polluted.
With the opening of the Deer Island Sewage treatment plant in 1968, the discharge of sewage from the Moon Island facility was put on emergency standby status and the flow of the sewage to Moon Island was diverted to Deer Island.
The Squantum Naval Air Station in Squantum was abandoned and in ruins by 1970. Also during this year, the skeleton of an Eskimo-type dog was found below a heap of shells in Squantum. The dog's remains were carbon dated to 300 AD. The remains of a few native Indians have also been discovered nearby. The
sachem Chickataubut had his summer home at Moswetuset Hummock in the early 1600s.
In 1972, federal and state laws mandated primary and secondary treatment for all municipal sewer systems, effectively taking the option for lesser treatment plants away from the control by states.
In 1984, due to the extensive pollution on Quincy's beaches, the City of Quincy filed a lawsuit in state court against the MDC. As a result, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) was created to manage the cleanup of Boston Harbor. Judge Troy made a judicial decision that prohibited the attachment of any new buildings or homes to the existing sewer system until a plan was established to solve the sewerage overflow problem in Boston Harbor. In 1985, the MWRA assumed control of all of the MDCs water and sewer systems. Because these systems were below federal standards, a federal court order mandated the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant on Deer Island.
In 1993, National Guard bulldozers, with little public notice, began clearing the woods on Moon Island for a firing range that was planned to have lights for night shooting. Outraged local Squantum residents feared that the increased shooting on Moon Island would endanger them or even passing boat operators. The Seaside Environmental Alliance claimed the Boston Plan was a ruse, indicating that this expansion would affect the plans for any use of Moon Island by the general public. History has proved them correct because the public continues to be banned from both Moon and Long Islands.
In 1996, the Boston Globe reported that Mayor
Tom Menino and MIT engineer Clifford Goudey were planning a program to use the great tanks on Moon Island as a fish farm or a temporary home for tuna or lobster. The prices of both these fish types vary by season. The plan was to collect and store fish in the tanks and sell the fish at higher prices when they were out of season. Nothing has come of this plan to date.
Today, Moon Island remains closed to the general public and is still owned by the City of Boston. With the cessation of sewage discharge, the waters around the island have become a prime fishing resource. However, access is limited to private boat. The lagoon on the northwest of Moon Island formed by the Moon Island causeway, Squantum and Thompson Island has become an anchorage for private boats on summer weekends where they enjoy the warmer water on the flats, the fishing, and the protection from the boat wakes in Dorchester Bay and Western Way.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Moon Island Massachusetts'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://moon_island__massachusetts.totallyexplained.com">Moon Island (Massachusetts) Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
