Scituate

Scituate is a coastal community located about 25 miles southeast of Boston, roughly halfway between Boston and Plymouth, bordered by Marshfield, Norwell, Cohasset, and Hingham. Humarock, which remains part of Scituate, can only be reached through Marshfield — the two used to be connected until the Portland Gale storm of 1898 washed out the land between them. The town's landscape varies from rocky shores and sandy beaches to salt marshes and significant forests in the West End. The town also has a very popular harbor for boating.

Much of Scituate's conservation land exists in two main areas: the Driftway and the Scituate Forest in the West End. In 2002, Scituate voters adopted the Community Preservation Act, establishing a nine-member Community Preservation Committee to make recommendations for the use of CPA funds, made up of four at-large members and representatives from the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Housing Authority, Recreation Committee, and Historical Commission.

Scituate was first settled in 1627 and incorporated as a town in 1636. The name is derived from a Wampanoag term "satuit," meaning cold brook. Scituate, Rhode Island is named after this town — in 1710, a group of residents moved to Rhode Island and named it after their prior hometown. Over the course of 132 years, portions of the original town separated and incorporated as Hanover (1717), Marshfield (1788), and Norwell (1849). Fishing and sea mossing were significant parts of the local economy. The coast of Scituate is protected by ledge hidden by the tide, which prompted two lighthouses: Old Scituate Light (1810) and Minot's Ledge Light, also visible from Cohasset.