The Duxbury Name and Places

The “Duxbury” family originated near Chorley in Lancashire, England sometime between 600 and 900 CE (AD). The name Duxbury is believed to have been derived from Deowuc's Burgh, from the original settlement founded by Deowuc, an Angle.

The family gave its name to the manor of Duxbury about 2.5km south of Chorley which belonged to the family before the 1300s.  After Henry Duxbury's involvement in the abortive BanastreRebellion in 1315, and his subsequent imprisonment in Lancaster Castle, ownership of the Duxbury land was transferred to the Standish family around 1335.

The first Duxbury Hall was built in 1632 in the Elizabethan style and was home to the Standish family for many decades.  It is believed that it was built on the site of an earlier dwelling which was the birthplace of American Founding Father Myles Standish.

Captain Myles Standish sailed in the Mayflower in 1620. He served as the Military Governor of Plymouth, Massachusetts and also held many official positions including Assistant Governor of Plymouth and commander-in-chief of all New England companies until his death in 1656.  Within the Plymouth area there is still the Myles Standish State Forest.

According to old and persistent New England tradition, the township of Duxbury, some 8 km north of Plymouth, was named in honour of him taking its name from Duxbury Hall, Myles’s ancestral home near Chorley, Lancashire.

Duxbury, MA, is now the place where the name is best known. With a population of over 15,000 in 2010, the area is believed to have been inhabited by people as early as 12,000 to 9,000 B.C. It is now famous for the Duxbury Oysters.

In Chorley the name is remembered by Duxbury Hall Road, leading to Duxbury Park Golf Course on the lands of the old manor which include Duxbury Woods. Some 1km to the north, but still in Chorley, there is Duxbury Manor Way and Duxbury Gardens.

30km to the northeast, and between Blackburn and Accrington, there is a “Duxbury Wood” which borders the Hyndburn Brook.

In Sherbourne Road, Blackpool one finds Duxbury House, a Residential Care Home.

Elsewhere in England, and 3km east of the centre of Leicester, one finds a Duxbury Road.

In South Africa there is a Duxbury Road in Hillcrest Pretoria and another Duxbury Road in Bergvliet 12km South of Cape Town, while in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe there is also a Duxbury Road.

The country with the greatest number of roads and streets bearing the name Duxbury is the United States. Well over half of the states have roads, streets etc named Duxbury with a few having townships so named. The list below of places and features named Duxbury will not be exhaustive. Please advise on any omissions.

Alabama	None
Alaska	None
Arizona	East Duxbury Court, Gilbert, Pheonix, AZ
Arkansas	None
California	Duxbury Circle, Corona, CA
	Duxbury Cove, San Rafael, CA
	Duxbury Lane, San Diego, CA
	Duxbury Lane, Vacaville, CA
	Duxbury Place, Rancho Cucamonga, CA - 80 km East of Los Angeles
	Duxbury Place, Santa Clarita, CA - 50km North of Los Angeles
	Duxbury Place, Vallego, CA - 40 km north-east of San Francisco
	Duxbury Place, Valentia, CA
	Duxbury Road, Hesperia, CA - 85km north-east from Los Angeles
	Duxbury Road, Manchester, CA - 180km north-west of San Francisco
	Duxbury Street, Laderna Ranch, CA - 80km south-east from Los Angeles
	Duxbury Circle, Duxbury Lane, Duxbury Place and Duxbury Road, CA - 16km West of Los Angeles
	Duxbury Way, Folsom, CA
	Duxbury Point and Duxbury Reef, CA – see below for more details
Colorado	None
Connecticut	None
Delaware	None
Florida	Duxbury Ave., Molino, FL Duxbury Ave., Port Charlotte, FL Duxbury Lane, Winter Garden, FL
Georgia	Duxbury Lane, north-west Kennesaw, GA
Hawaii	None
Idaho	Duxbury Pier Avenue, Garden City, ID
Illinois	Duxbury Court, Quincy, IL
	Duxbury Court, Streamwood, IL
	Duxbury Drive, North Barrington, IL
	Duxbury Lane, Bartlett, IL
	Duxbury Lane, Cary, IL
	Duxbury Lane, Schaumburg, IL
Indiana	Duxbury Court, Granger, IN
	Duxbury Court, Michigan City, IN
	Duxbury Lane, Indianapolis, IN
Iowa	None
Kansas	None
Kentucky	Duxbury Road, Louisville, KY
Louisiana	None
Maine	None
Maryland	Duxbury Court, Jarrettsville, MD
	Duxbury Drive, Largo, MD
	Duxbury Road, Ocean Pines, MD
	Duxbury Road, Silver Springs, MD
Massachusetts	Duxbury – the historic seaside town in Plymouth County, MA
	· With the Duxbury Fire Engine
	· With the Duxbury Post Office - by courtesy of Brian Duxbury
	· With Duxbury Pizza at 7 Standish St
	· Within the area of Duxbury, Duxbury Bay, a 3-mile-wide bay enclosed by a sandy spit with mudflats, beaches & wetlands
	· To the north of Duxbury, the 6-mile long Duxbury Beach
	Duxbury Road, Boston, MA
	Duxbury Way, Kingston, MA
	Duxbury Lane, Longmeadow, MA
	Duxbury Lane, Amherst, MA
	Duxbury Road, Newton, MA
	Duxbury Road, Wellesley, MA
Michigan	Duxbury Lane, Southfield, MI - 25km north-west of Detroit
	Duxbury Lane, Dearborn, MI
Minnesota	Duxbury Lane, Apple Valley, MN
	Duxbury Road, Sandstones, MN - on the North side of the Saint Croix State Forest and the Duxbury Community at the junction of Duxbury Road and Tamerack River Road. The community is an unincorporated community in Wilma Township, Pine County and includes the Duxbury Fire Department
Mississippi	None
Missouri	Duxbury Way, Chesterfield, MO
Montana	None
Nebraska	None
Nevada	Duxbury Drive, Henderson, NV
	Duxbury Valley, Las Vegas, NV
New Hampshire	None
New Jersey	Duxbury Court, Holmdel, NJ
	Duxbury Court, West Windsor Township, NJ
	Duxbury Lane, Barneget, NJ
	Duxbury Lane, Flemington, NJ
	Duxbury Road, Toms River, NJ
New Mexico	None
New York	Duxbury Circle, Manlius, NY
	Duxbury Circle, Victor, NY
	Duxbury Heights, Fairpoint, NY
	Duxbury Heights, Perinton, NY
	Duxbury Road, Great Neck, NY
	Duxbury Road, Purchase, NY
	Duxbury Way, Rochester, NY
	Duxbury Point on the northern tip of Staten island, NY.  So named as the land on which it lay belonged to Judge Ellis Duxbury. The ship Martha, sent home as a prize on suspicion of being engaged in the slave trade, dragged her anchors and went aground near Duxbury Point.
North Carolina	Duxbury Court, Wilmington, NC
	Duxbury Court, Clemmons, NC
	Duxbury Court, Durham, NC
	Duxbury Drive, Raleigh, NC
	Duxbury Road, Mooresville, NC
North Dakota	None
Ohio	Duxbury Circle, Centerville, OH
	Duxbury Court, Oakwood Village, OH Duxbury Court, Fairfield, OH
	Duxbury Drive, Berea, OH
	Duxbury Lane, Brunswick, OH
	Duxbury Lane, Perrysburg, OH
	Duxbury Place, Lorain, OH
Oklahoma	None
Oregon	None
Pennsylvania	Duxbury Court, Allentown, PA
	Duxbury Crescent, Allentown - 85km North of Philadelphia, PA
	Duxbury Drive, Langhorne - 30km north-east of Philadelphia, PA
Rhode Island	Duxbury Court, Lincoln, RI
	Duxbury Court, Warwick, RI
	Duxbury Street, Providence, RI
South Carolina	Duxbury Drive, Simpsonville, SC
	Duxbury Lane, Bluffton, SC
	Duxbury Lane, Easley, SC
South Dakota	Duxbury, Junction of 387th Avenue and 148th Street
Tennessee	Duxbury Court, Nashville, TN
	Duxbury Drive, Columbia, TN
	Duxbury Lane, Knoxville, TN
Texas	Duxbury Court, Arlington - 30km West of Dallas, TX
	Duxbury Court, Sunningvale - 25km East of Dallas, TX
	Duxbury Drive - 14km north-west of Dallas, TX
	Duxbury Drive, El Paso, TX
	Duxbury Drive, Frisco, TX - 40km North of Dallas, TX
	Duxbury Park - 35km North of San Antonio TX
	Duxbury Street - 16km south West of Houston TX
Utah	None
Vermont	Duxbury, VT – A community of 1,289 (in 2000) on the Winooski River
	Duxbury Road, Bolton, VT
Virginia	Duxbury Circle, Newport News, VA
	Duxbury Court, Lake Ridge, VA
	Duxbury Court, Midlothian, VA
	Duxbury Lane, Salem, VA
	Duxbury Place, Alexandria, VA
	Duxbury Place, Chesterfield, VA
Washington	The Duxbury Apartments, 226 St. Helens Avenue, Tacoma, WA  98402
	Duxbury Place, Willetton, WA
West Virginia	None
Wisconsin	Duxbury Road, Humbird, WI
	Duxbury Road, Tomahawk, WI
	Duxbury Cottage on Lake Minoqua, Minoqua,, WI
Wyoming	None

25km north-west from San Francisco, and near the town of Bolinas, is Duxbury Point; it lies to the North of Duxbury Reef, a marine protected area, so named as the good ship Duxbury was grounded there. The flyer “Best Chance for California” advertised the ships intended journey. She was reported to have left Boston on 9 February 1849 and arrived in San Francisco on 22 August 1849; however not before an unfortunate incident of grounded on a reef on 21 August. Some reports suggest incorrectly that the ship was wrecked but others say that the ship was refloated by the passengers and crew and sailed into San Francisco on 22 August 1849. She sailed from there in November that year but it is unknown as what became of her. Any information would be gratefully received.

A brig and three schooners also carried the name of Duxbury, one of which built in 1896 traded up and down the Pacific Coast and ended by being crushed in the Arctic Ocean in 1925.

Thanks to Joe Duxbury for this research.

In WWII the USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38), a United States Navy Barnegat-class small seaplane tender, was in commission from 1944 to 1966.