Squantum Yacht Club Pier

In the latter years of the nineteenth century, the enthusiasm for sailing among an increasing number of residents in the Greater Boston area had led to the establishment of several yacht clubs in Dorchester and Hingham Bays.In the late 1800’s the western shore of Quincy Bay was significantly different from today. The shore line consisted of large and small creeks which cut into what was mostly a marshland waterfront which flooded with the tide, much like the marshes that surround present day Squantum. There was no dredged channel although there was a small natural one in this area of marsh and mudflat and it was in this small natural channel where boats in Quincy Bay would be moored. In July of 1890 a small group of those who so moored their boats met and decided to form a yacht club named “North Quincy Yacht Club” for the residents of Wollaston, Atlantic, and Squantum. Initially the “North Quincy Yacht Club” consisted of twenty members but by August of 1890 the name was changed to the “Merrymount Yacht Club” to broaden the connotation of the range of the club. In 1891, with continued expansion of the membership of the club, the officers of the club began the search for shoreline property to be acquired for the erection of a clubhouse and boat landing facilities. In 1892 the club again changed its name, this time to the “Squantum Yacht Club of Atlantic” and simultaneously adopted the present design for the club burgee. In 1893, a waterfront building was leased by the club for the season but in April of 1893 the club purchased a 5,800 square foot lot with 116 feet of shoreline on Channing Street in Quincy. Also, in March of 1983 the “of Atlantic” part of the name was dropped and the club filed a charter with the Commonwealth. In 1894 the Squantum Yacht Club purchased the clubhouse of the then defunct Massasoit Canoe Club of South Boston, loaded it on to a large scow and towed it over to the Quincy shore line where it was then re-erected on the new club land. A 250’ long runway was also constructed and a large landing float was moored at its outer end. The float enabled landings on not much less than half tide for the membership which by 1895 had expanded to 96 and included 23 sailboats. From 1896 through 1903 the Squantum Yacht Club went through some tough times. The “Great Portland Storm” heavily damaged the club’s facilities. It is believed that a membership rift led to a splintering off of the membership who then formed “Wollaston Yacht Club”. Then in 1903 the club was forced to abandon its facility since it was in the path of the Commonwealth’s new Quincy Shore Drive. In taking the Squantum Yacht Club’s site, the Commonwealth gave the club permission to erect a new clubhouse on a piled wharf. Work was promptly started and in April of 1904 the attractive new facility was formally opened. In 1904 the Commonwealth dredged a channel and basin to the club and at long last the club finally became water accessible at all tides.