Duxbury, MA: Town History and Location

Duxbury sits on Duxbury Bay just north of Plymouth and Kingston . Call or text 508-466-5460 or book online.

Duxbury sits on Duxbury Bay just north of Plymouth and Kingston. It was one of the first towns to grow out of Plymouth Colony. Here's a short look at its history, plus how dumpster delivery works for Duxbury homes.

People lived in the area thousands of years before Europeans arrived. When the Pilgrims came, it was Wampanoag land called Mattakeesett, which is often translated as "place of many fish."

The Pilgrims who settled Plymouth in 1620 were required by their backers to live together for seven years. When that term ended in 1627, coastal land from Plymouth to Marshfield was divided among the settlers for farming. At first families farmed Duxbury in warm months and went back to Plymouth for the winter. Soon they built homes, asked to form their own church, and Duxbury was incorporated in 1637. It originally included land that is now Pembroke.

Several colony leaders took land in Duxbury. Captain Myles Standish lived at "the Nook," now Standish Shore, and the town is thought to be named after his family's estate, Duxbury Hall, in Lancashire. Elder William Brewster and John Alden also settled here. The Alden house on Alden Street is now a museum, and some of the first settlers are buried in the Old Burying Ground on Chestnut Street.

Before the Revolution, crowds gathered on Captain's Hill to protest the Stamp Act. After the war, Duxbury families began building fishing schooners for the Grand Banks, then larger brigs and ships. By the 1840s the town had about 20 shipyards. Ezra Weston, nicknamed

Duxbury is now a residential town with a long barrier beach and an active harbor. About 16,090 people lived there at the 2020 census.

Plymouth Dumpster Rental delivers 10 to 30 yard roll-off containers to Duxbury for remodels, roofing, cleanouts and new builds. Many Duxbury homes have long, finished driveways, so ask about boards under the rails when you book.

Call or text 508-466-5460, or book at southshoredumpster.com/book. See also our Duxbury dumpster rental page.