Marshfield, MA: Town History and Location

Marshfield sits on the South Shore where Cape Cod Bay meets Massachusetts Bay. Call or text 508-466-5460 or book online.

Marshfield sits on the South Shore where Cape Cod Bay meets Massachusetts Bay. Its history runs from thousands of years of Native habitation through the Pilgrim era to its years as Daniel Webster's home.

Wampanoag and Massachusett people lived in the area for thousands of years. Evidence of habitation goes back to roughly 9,000 to 10,000 B.C. The Wampanoag name for the area is recorded as Missaucatucket. Native roads were well established by the time the English arrived, and several of them became the town's main roads.

Edward Winslow, a Mayflower passenger, the third signer of the Mayflower Compact and later a governor of Plymouth Colony, set up Marshfield as a separate settlement in 1632. He founded the first church and school near the cemetery that still bears the Winslow name. The town was formally set off from Plymouth in 1640. Before that, a fishing operation run by William Green gave part of the coast the name "Green's Harbor." The town was briefly called Rexhame, then Marshfield, for the tidal salt marshes along the Green Harbor, South and North rivers.

Winslow's friendship with the Wampanoag leader Massasoit helped hold an alliance that lasted about 40 years. In 1662, Massasoit's son Wamsutta collapsed and died after visiting Governor Josiah Winslow's home in Marshfield. His brother Metacomet, known to the English as King Philip, later led the uprising known as King Philip's War. Josiah Winslow commanded the colonial forces. Neighboring Scituate was attacked during that war, but Marshfield was spared.

Cattle farming came with the first settlers and remained a major local industry for about 300 years. Fishing and the coast shaped the rest of the economy.

The statesman Daniel Webster (1782 to 1852), a senator and three-time Secretary of State, lived in Marshfield, and the town's motto is still "Home of Daniel Webster." His son Fletcher Webster died for the Union at the Second Battle of Bull Run. The Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary along the Green Harbor River carries his name.

Marshfield has eight villages, including Brant Rock, Green Harbor, Ocean Bluff and Rexhame, along with a five-mile public seashore. The Rexhame-Humarock barrier beach has an 84-foot moraine, one of only two barrier beach moraines on the U.S. East Coast. The population was 25,825 at the 2020 census and nearly doubles in summer.

Planning a project in town? See our Marshfield dumpster rental page.