For our next historical adventure on the South Shore, we’ll visit one small town with a whole lotta history, Hingham. The first trip in this series was to Plymouth. These South Shore adventures are based on my book, “A History Lover’s Guide to the South Shore.” With Hingham, we’ll focus on the military past since so much of it is tangible with visits to the Hingham Shipyard, Bare Cove Park, Wompatuck State Park, and Turkey Hill. Let’s get ready to visit History Lover’s Hingham.
Wompatuck State Park
Hingham, with its immaculately preserved homes from a bygone era lining Main Street, Central Street, and the town center, seems worlds away from nuclear ammunition, bunkers, and machine gun shells. The picture-perfect community has much green space, a good amount of which was once under the jurisdiction of the United States military. Wompatuck State Park, whose entrance is at 204 Union Street in Hingham, is named for Chief Josiah Wampatuck (sometimes spelled Wompatuck), who sold the land to the English in 1655. A chief in the Mattakeesett of the Massachusetts tribe, Wampatuck, also deeded the land on which Boston would be built to English settlers. The park is located in four towns: Hingham, Cohasset, Scituate, and Norwell. Today, it is a popular place to ride bikes, camp, stroll, boat, and run. It even has a natural spring, the Mount Blue Spring, to fill up reusable water bottles from this clean water source. Even without knowing the history of Wompatuck, walking through its many paths and roads, something seems amiss. Be it random fire hydrants, power lines, or fences, not to mention an abandoned bunker or two, questions arise quickly about this park’s former use.
The United States government purchased this land from residents and operated it as the Hingham Naval Depot Annex between the years of 1941 and 1965. With the US’s involvement in World War II, arms production and military activity ramped up. Its use was revived during the Korean War. This facility, commonly known as the Cohasset Annex, provided much ammunition to fuel the naval fleet of the Atlantic. A train line, which was a spur from the Old Colony Railroad, led to this property. From the Annex, tracks extended to the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot at Bare Cove. The peak of its use was the year 1945. During that year, at the Cohasset Annex, over 2000 non-military personnel were employed, as well as over 700 sailors and officers, and 375 Marine guards on site. Around 108 bunkers were located on the property. Most of them have been razed or filled in. The former train line from the park to the Old Colony Railroad has been reconditioned into a rail trail, known as the Whitney Spur, which connects Wompatuck State Park to the Cohasset commuter rail station.
This Park is a Blast!
It is not unusual to be wandering around the massive park of over 3500 acres and stumble upon a former military installation. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts took ownership of the land in 1966 after the Navy no longer had a use for it. From 1971 to 1982, the property was the home of the United States Army Reserve 187th Infantry Brigade. The most prominent and intriguing place in the park is Bunker N9. This bunker looked different from the rest in the park, but no one was quite certain what its use was. After it was discovered due to a cleanup by a Boy Scout group from Kingston, its history came to light. It contained the first nuclear depth charge by the Navy (yes, nuclear!) A depth charge is a bomb that is used to blow up rival submarines. The bunker has extra layers of protection compared to most. Also built at this facility were surface-to-air missiles. Different races, both foot and bike, are held throughout the year at Wompatuck, including the appropriately named “Landmine Bike Race” since in an earlier day, venturing off course at this facility might have resulted in a detonated landmine!
Wompatuck State Park Today
The park is free of contaminants and is a nifty perspective into the cycle of nature versus industry. The wilds which once inhabited this land were cleared by the settlers and then taken over by the heavy industry of the military, with nature winning out in the end, overtaking traces of its wartime past. Wompatuck is known for its array of flora and fauna, including the painted turtle, yellow warbler, and mountain laurel. It is also the location of Prospect Hill, the highest point in all of Hingham. The visitor center at the park provides much-needed orientation. Since the park is large without an abundance of signage, it is important to stop there first or visit www.friendsofwompatuck.org online. The visitor center also includes the deed of the sale of Old Braintree from Chief Josiah Wompatuck to the English.
Bare Cove Park
Whereas the Annex was mainly used for storage, the Hingham Naval Ammunitions Depot manufactured the ordnance used in the guns of the warships. The land, which was once the depot, was acquired by the Navy from residents in 1906. The first building campaign began five years later, as the area was used for Camp Hingham, which lasted until 1925. During that year, the camp structures were demolished, save for the depot. The campus consisted of seventeen barracks, as well as a hospital, and was the training site for sailors. The depot was in full swing during World War II years. Ships would stock up on munitions here en route to or from the Charlestown Navy Yard. Munitions were manufactured and supplied here.
At its peak in 1945, there were around 2400 people in the depot, a number which is bigger than some towns! The depot was its self-sufficient community, which included a Howard Johnson’s restaurant, a store, a pool, their basketball team, and their own jazz band. A neat fact is that acclaimed saxophonist John Coltrane was stationed at Hingham and played in the band. A picture of the band with him in it can be viewed at the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot Memorabilia Display at the Dock House. Although the base never received any direct combat, a calamitous event took place in May of 1944 when seventeen soldiers died. They were disposing of ammunition fifteen miles off the South Shore coast when an explosion ended their lives. The site also included underground bunkers and the Naval Handling Materials Laboratory, which directed how to pack cargo for ships all over the Atlantic. In all there were roughly 100 buildings on the campus. It lasted until 1961 and was decommissioned a year later. The Navy kept control of the property until it was given to the town of Hingham in 1971.
A Visit to Bare Cove Today
Bare Cove Park is located on 484 acres and is flanked by the Weymouth Back River. The park is a wildlife sanctuary that contains a variety of flora and fauna. Similar to Wompatuck, remnants of the former military infrastructure still exist, with forlorn roads and decrepit piers echoing its former use. It is best known as a popular spot for dog walking. Recently, a leash law was enacted at the park; before this, it was not uncommon to see herds of dogs off leash. Not all of the former property is Bare Cove Park. It also consists of two museums, nearby condominium complexes, and the South Shore Conservatory, an arts and music center. The conservatory building was once the commandant’s house. On the Bare Cove property itself is the Dock House Museum, whose contents include a variety of artifacts from its military use, including gas masks and many photographs, and ammunition shells. The museum is operated by local firefighter Scott McMillan and holds open houses on a single Saturday during spring, summer, and fall.
Also on the former site is the Bare Cove Fire Museum, which has been in existence since 1974. Its collection includes a variety of firetrucks and other apparatus, as well as much memorabilia. It is open Wednesday nights from seven to nine and is located at 45 Bare Cove Road. Across the street is the South Shore Model Railroad Club and Museum. The group was founded in 1938 and moved to this site, a former warehouse for munitions, in 1998. They hold annual shows and open houses which are available to the public. It is located at 52 Bare Cove Road. Bare Cove Park today is another fascinating view of Hingham’s military past. In addition to this, the park offers visitors a great place to walk the dog, ride a bike or go for a run. The coves of the Back River are gorgeous, with both land to explore and water views that encourage the visitor to stay awhile and escape the bombardment of modern life.
NIKE sites- Turkey Hill
As the NIKE missile site in Weymouth and Hull protected the Boston area and the ammunitions base, which is now Bare Cove Park in Hingham, the site at Hingham and Cohasset was near the ammunitions annex, current day Wompatuck State Park. The outposts of NIKE missile launching sites and control areas were erected for defensive measures in case of an attack by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. This former site, whose control center is located at today’s Turkey Hill reservation, is managed by the trustees, along with the Whitney and Thayer Woods, which is next to it. This NIKE site lasted for five years, from 1956 to 1961. Its only remnant is a concrete structure atop Turkey Hill. The hope is to someday turn it into a museum about its history and that of others like it. The small size of the concrete structure was surprising to me. Benches are available to rest on inside. The launch site housed thirty missiles, located close by off of Route 3A in Cohasset at Crocker’s Lane. The area today is where the Cohasset Sports Complex and Avalon Cohasset condominium complex are located. The land at Turkey Hill has been reclaimed by nature with preservation by the trustees. It was once fields and stables, and today has been reverted back to a nature preserve with around ten miles of trails, with much flora and fauna protected on the property. There are two access points to Turkey Hill, one at the bottom of the hill on Route 3A and the other near the top via the parking lot at the end of Turkey Hill Lane. The 62-acre preserve came under management by the trustees in 1997. Wompatuck State Park is connected to these properties as well.
Hingham Shipyard
At the location of today’s residential and commercial complex known as the Hingham Shipyard, there was an actual shipyard that produced 227 ships in three and a half years of existence. It was situated across the Weymouth Back River from the former NIKE site and current Webb Memorial State Park. Before its use in building ships, this section of land was the Bayside Airport, a small airfield which the military put to fast use as a shipbuilding center once the attack on Pearl Harbor signaled the United States’ entrance into World War II. At the outset of the US’s involvement, its fleet was outdated, with much of its apparatus dating from the First World War. In what seemed like a moment’s notice, the area was reconfigured to eventually employ 23,000 individuals, many of whom were women since a large number of the male workforce were active in the service. The contract was awarded to the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company, which was a branch of Bethlehem Steel from Pennsylvania. When the Pennsylvania-based company was granted the operation from the government, its shipyards were already full, so there was a need to create a new one. It was overseen by the nearby Fore River Shipyard in Quincy.
The men and women of the South Shore who were to be employed here did not have the outright skills needed, so a group of a few hundred employees from Bethlehem had to train the workers. Train they did, since Hingham’s production was top notch. They even won an award from the United States military since in 1943, the military commissioned sixty ships, but Hingham gave them ninety. Talk about efficient! On-site, many destroyers and ships were built, including the state-of-the-art Destroyer Escort. Ships manufactured here were used in the pursuit and destruction of German U-boat submarines, which were terrorizing the high seas. Among the craft built at the Hingham Shipyard were the Landing Ship Tanks, which were amphibious vehicles that could be used both in the water and on the sand. These were used on beach attacks such as the Battle of Normandy. The creation of each ship was a cause for celebration, as the effort at Hingham and other similar sites helped the Allied cause and were vital in winning the war. Shipbuilding here helped usher in a new dawn of a modern fleet for the American military.
Less than a century ago, bucolic parks and green space in Hingham were once used for a variety of military purposes. The Back River was teeming with ships and industry. At the shipyard, cranes, a steel mill which was roughly a third of a mile in length, warehouses, and of course, the ships in various stages of completion dotted the landscape. This area now houses a marina, popular restaurants including the flagship Wahlburger, a variety of trendy stores including Trader Joe’s and Talbot’s women’s clothing store (which is actually headquartered and originally from Hingham), as well as residences. How different this area of Hingham and nearby Weymouth must have looked from its appearance today.
Hingham Public Library
Another fun Hingham diversion is the public library. For a town library, Hingham’s collection is unmatched. Browsing through its movie section puts Blockbuster to shame (if video rental stores still existed). Their children’s section is vast, with toys to play with and character art on the walls. The library is built in a mid-century modern design with much natural light. It’s non-traditional in design with maze maze-like feel to it. During my latest visit, I brought home a slew of goodies from the film The Purple Rose of Cairo to a ton of Mo Willems books to a few travel DVDs about Quebec. The collection is extensive
After exploring history lover’s Hingham, we sure worked up an appetite. Good thing that Hingham is home to one of the tastiest ice cream places around, Nona’s. Nona’s is a Hingham institution and serves delicious homemade ice cream. Grab a cone to enjoy at one of the aforementioned parks, or after your day enjoying history lover’s Hingham has come to an end.
