what's there
Extending nearly half a mile into Hingham Bay, Webb Memorial State Park offers a harbor experience. The peninsula provides quiet enjoyment with vistas of Boston's skyline and the Harbor Islands. Many of the natural features common to the islands are well represented, from drumlin formations to the presence of Bayberry and Staghorn Sumac.
Visitors come to the park for picnicking, fishing, and walking on the trails. A large pavilion is available for use to organized groups from May through October. Handicap-accessible restrooms are available and parking is free. The parking lot, with its adjacent beach, provides easy access when launching a kayak.
Operating Hours & Seasons
Webb Memorial is open year-round during day-light hours. No boat access, enter the park through River Street in Weymouth.
 Travel Directions
short history
Webb's two glacial hills (called drumlins) and connecting lowland have been used and influenced by humans for more than 4,000 years. Originally part of an area known as Wessagussett (Algonquian for "by the small saltwater cove"), Native Americans used this area extensively for its shellfish, fin fish, and wild fruits.
European settlers used the area primarily for agriculture until a large complex of buildings was constructed by the Bradley Fertilizer Company in 1872. This facility operated for over 50 years, leaving behind a legacy of contaminated soil. In the late 1950s a Nike anti-aircraft missile base was constructed. Located within the base's underground storage facilities were 30 Nike Ajax or Nike Hercules missiles, controlled and tracked by radar at a companion site on Little Hog Island (now Spinnaker Island). The Nike site was dismantled in 1974.
Following the shut down of the Nike base the land was acquired by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and a major cleanup of the area commenced. Opening in 1980 as Webb Memorial State Park, the park is now part of Boston Harbor Islands.
managing agency
This island of Boston Harbor Islands national park area is managed by Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). To obtain a Recreation/Use Permit for use of the site for a group of 25 or more, please contact Doris Berlo at 781-740-1605 x 200.
|
