Hingham Shipyard Marinas - North and South Rivers Watershed Association

24 Shipyard Dr # 202, Hingham, MA 02043, USA

Owned By: Hingham Shipyard Marinas

Directions

This full service marina offers 500 slips and 100 moorings, secured and gated state-of-the-art concrete slips, as well as transient slips and guest dockage for almost any size vessel. Three nautical miles from the open ocean, it provides easy access to Boston Harbor, the Cape and Islands, and the entire New England Coast. Nearby are numerous restaurants, retail stores, and walking trails, as well as a movie theater.

Also on site, a 0.18-mile concrete walkway with a series of interpretive signs. Extending along the water’s edge, it offers gorgeous views of the Back River and Weymouth Neck. The walkway connects the Hingham Shipyard Marinas with the Hingham Shipyard shopping area and the MBTA Commuter Boat terminal.

Features

The Hingham Shipyard once stood on this site. It was established as World War II began, and it was truly a bustling place! Before the United States entered the war, it offered to lend many of its naval ships to England. However the vessels were remnants from World War I, and rather outmoded. The Navy designed a new ship, the Destroyer Escort, contracted with Bethlehem Steel to build it, and commissioned a new shipyard where this work would be done. (Bethlehem Steel’s existing shipyards were already working at full capacity.) Hingham’s deep harbor and relative lack of waterfront development made it a prime site.

As 1941 drew to a close, constructions teams arrived in Hingham to clear 150 acres of land, erect a steel mill on site, and construct wooden cradles in which the ships would be built. At least 12 cranes were brought to the site as well. Each ship would require more than 1,000 workers. Since most men aged 18+ were heading off to war, many of the workers were either teenagers, or those who were otherwise ineligible to join the military. Bethlehem Steel brought in 400 veteran workers. Close to 15,000 others joined the ranks, including 2500 women. Rather than construct one ship at a time, the shipyard devised an extraordinary mass production system that produced six completed ships per month!

From 1942-1945, a total of 227 warships were built and launched at the Hingham Shipyard. This included 100 Destroyer Escort ships as well as 127 Landing Ship Tanks. A full list of these vessels, including name, number, and launch date, is posted on a series of interpretive signs along the Hingham Shipyard Waterfront Walkway. Numerous British Naval ships were built there as well.

Follow the Back River Watershed Association for more information about the Weymouth Back River.

Trail Description

Look for the entrance to the walkway just outside the Hingham Shipyard Marinas headquarters. It extends in both directions for a total of 0.18 miles. There is a small plaza with benches and one very large anchor next to Alma Neve restaurant.

Habitats and Wildlife

The Hingham Shipyard Marina is located on the Weymouth Back River, which rises from several ponds and swamps, including Whitman’s Pond in Weymouth. The Back River flows for about 10 miles, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Hingham Bay, just south of Grape Island and Slate Island.