Merrymount in Quincy in Norfolk County, Massachusetts — The American Northeast (New England)
Maypole Park
Established 1625
Photographed by G.W.Bartlett
1. Maypole Park Marker
This park is featured on the official seal of the City of Quincy
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1625.
Location. 42° 15.737′ N, 70° 59.876′ W. Marker is in Quincy, Massachusetts, in Norfolk County. It is in Merrymount. It is at the intersection of Ridgeway Drive and Ridgeway Drive, on the right when traveling north on Ridgeway Drive. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 86 Samoset Avenue, Quincy MA 02169, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Historic Boston and specifically in Greater Boston. It is also in the American Northeast, in New England, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: City of Quincy Cedar Marker (within shouting distance
this page online
Regarding Maypole Park. Thomas Morton and his fellow traders first set up an 80-foot-long pine maypole in this spot on May 1, 1627, near their their trading post in a settlement they named Merry Mount. Morton had arrived in 1625 as a partner in a private colonization effort led by Captain Richard Wollaston, but remained behind when others returned to England. Pagan ceremonies and socially liberal activities, and trading firearms with Native Americans at the Merry Mount settlement offended both Pilgrim and Puritan neighbors and Thomas Morton was eventually banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The hill at Merrymount, which was later named after Captain Wollaston and became part of influential Colonel John Quincy's Mount Wollaston Farm estate, is memorialized
Photographed by G.W.Bartlett, December 15, 2025
2. Maypole Park Marker on Hill
Native Americans knew this hill as Passonagessit. According to Thomas Morton, Massachusett Indian Sachem Chickatawbut (father of Wompatuck) indicated that his mother was buried at Passonagessit, and that the Plymouth people, on one of their visits, incurred his enmity by despoiling her grave of its bear skins.
This is very small park. There are views to Boston and to Quincy Bay in winter, but tree leaves obscure in the summer.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
Also see . . .
1. Lord of Misrule: Thomas Morton's American Subversions.
Morton set up a gigantic maypole, a goodly pine tree of eighty feet long . . . with a pair of bucks horns nailed on somewhat near unto the top of it, where it stood as a fair sea mark for directions on how to find the way.(Submitted on December 15, 2025, by G.W.Bartlett of Hingham, Massachusetts.)
2. Thomas Morton's Maypole Songe (YouTube video).
Photographed by G.W.Bartlett, December 25, 2025
3. View of Quincy Bay
This view to the north is from the top of the hill. Logan Airport's Control Tower is to the right of the spruce tree in the background (reflecting the sun).
We set it to [the tune] Staines Morris, a popular melody of the time. This lyric was written by Morton.(Submitted on December 15, 2025, by G.W.Bartlett of Hingham, Massachusetts.)
3. from New English Canaan [The Songe]. Lyrics to Thomas Morton's Maypole song "from New English Canaan":
Drink and be merry, merry, merry boyes(Submitted on December 15, 2025, by G.W.Bartlett of Hingham, Massachusetts.)
Make greene garlons, bring bottles out
And fill sweet Nectar freely about
Uncover thy head and feare no harme
For here's good liquor to keepe it warme.
4. Merrymount (Quincy, Massachusetts). History of Merrymount 1625 - today.
View of Mount Wollaston ("Merrymount") as it appeared in 1840, virtually unchanged from the time of initial English settlement in 1625.(Submitted on December 15, 2025, by G.W.Bartlett of Hingham, Massachusetts.)
5. Notes on the History of Mt. Wollaston, 19 October 1802. Source: National Archives, Founders Online, The Adams Papers
The Setting up of this Maypole was a lamentable(Submitted on December 17, 2025, by G.W.Bartlett of Hingham, Massachusetts.)Spectacle to the precise Separatists that lived at New Plymouth. They termed it an Idol; yea they called it, the Calf of Horeb: and stood at defyance with the place naming it Mount Dagon; threatening to make it a woefull Mount and not a Merry Mount.Photographed by G.W.Bartlett, December 15, 20254. View of BostonView to the Northwest: John Hancock Tower is in top left corner below branch
Photographed by coutesy of Wikimedia Commons, December 15, 2025
5. City of Quincy Seal
Credits. This page was last revised on May 23, 2026. It was originally submitted on December 15, 2025, by G.W.Bartlett of Hingham, Massachusetts. This page has been viewed 180 times since then and 140 times this year. Last updated on March 24, 2026, by G.W.Bartlett of Hingham, Massachusetts. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 15, 2025, by G.W.Bartlett of Hingham, Massachusetts. 5. submitted on December 15, 2025. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
