Lovells Island Facts

Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR)

Harbor Islands Reservation

Park purposes.

Quincy Bay

7.2 miles

Approximately one mile of broken asphalt roads traverse the island. Mowed grass paths and shoreline walking are necessary to tour all of the gun batteries.

The gun batteries contain steep drops, open holes in parapets rusty rebar, railings and pipes, and crumbling concrete surfaces.

61.90  upland acres

79 ft.

The island was seasonally occupied by Native Americans. During the colonial period, the island was granted to Charlestown for timber harvesting and fishing, with half of the timber reserved for the fort on Castle Island. With its location along the first shipping channel into Boston, it briefly served as a quarantine station in the 1600s and was the nearest island to many shipwrecks. The country's first "hut of refuge" was constructed on the island by the Massachusetts Humane Society. In 1902 it was decided to construct two navigational range lights to assist mariners using the South Channel. In 1919, Charles Jennings, previously at Boston Light, became keeper at Lovell's range lights. The range light towers were torn down in the late 1930's when Army Fort Standish was expanded. Today all that remains is the oil house. The topography of the island was altered first by the construction of a granite seawall in the mid 1880s and second by military installations in the late 1800s. The island was acquired for military use in 1825 and garrisoned during the Civil War, WWI and WWII then declared surplus property. The MDC acquired the island in 1958.

The oldest tree on the island may be the stump of a horsechestnut with a cluster of viable stems. Most of the planted species date to the 1930s when the Civilian Conservation Corps attempted to reestablish a natural forest on the island, planting poplar, pine, spruce, oak, and rose. Much of this was cleared when the fort was reactivated in the 1940s. Left to recover after the war, the island is now characterized by over fifty years of natural succession of vegetation on a disturbed site with remnant patches of stands of poplar, pine and spruce. Successional species include staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina), black cherry, choke cherry, apple (Malus sp.), and gray birch (Betula populifolia). Common shrubs include bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica), beach plum, raspberry (Rubus sp.), Virginia rose (Rosa virginiana) and salt-spray rose (Rosa rugosa). The wet meadow area was altered by fill during military construction. Phragmites covers most of the area while a small area contains native marsh species (Spartina patens, Juncus gerardii, Salicornia and Limonium). Dunes on the north and south shores are vegetated with beachgrass. There is minimal poison ivy on the island, located in Battery Terrill.

Overview survey in progress.

Lovells is composed of a wet meadow and three low connected drumlins: the southeast head, Ram's Head at the northwest end, and the central drumlin, which rises to an elevation of 79 feet. The island is surrounded by a rock-strewn shoreline with the exception of the northeast side where there is a long section of gravel, sand and shell beach. A half mile-long dune extends along the southern shore and a short dune is located on the northern shore. A constructed seawall and fortifications have altered the shape and topography of portions of the island.

The remains of a well over a small seep, constructed during the period of military use, are located in an poplar grove on the central drumlin. The primary source of fresh water for the military was water pumped from an off-island source. Further study required.

From the central drumlin there are views to Boston and the islands in the middle harbor including Deer, Long, Gallops, Rainsford, and Georges. From the swimming beach, gun batteries and southeast head there are views to the outer islands and Boston Light.

Visitor shelter near pier constructed on old building foundation; building foundations from Fort Standish; seasonal ranger trailer; seasonal outhouses.

Fort Standish: Battery Whipple (southeast head -- three 3-inch repeating guns atop two bunkers), Battery Williams (southeast head -- two 6-inch repeating guns and bunkers), Battery Morris (central drumlin -- two 10-inch disappearing guns and bunkers), Battery Burbeck (central drumlin -- two 10-inch disappearing guns and bunkers), Battery Terrill (Ram's Head -- three 6-inch disappearing guns and bunkers), remnants of Battery Weir, range towers.

Pier; old pier and groins for erosion control (breakwaters); granite block seawall and rip rap.