Julian Street Bridge

Julian St, Scituate, MA, USA

Owned By: Town of Scituate

• Directions

The Julian Street Bridge is the smaller of the two bridges that connect Marshfield to Humarock. It is also known as the Francis R. Powers Memorial Bridge. It extends from Bayberry Road to Julian Street, on the southern end of Humarock.

Features

The Julian Street Bridge was constructed during World War II. The street itself was deemed a public way in 1942, and the bridge was completed the following year. The bridge was built because the guns that were to be installed for the Boston Harbor Defense System at the military station on Fourth Cliff were too heavy to be transported across the Sea Street Bridge! After crossing the bridge and following Julian Street to the beach, the guns were transported north to the base of Fourth Cliff.

According to Fred Freitas’s book Humarock: Hummocks, Humming Rocks, and Silver Sands, the US military began its tenure at Humarock in 1910, when the Army Corps of Engineers conducted a partial survey of the area. Just after World War I, the government built a Navy Radio Compass Station on the northernmost section on Fourth Cliff. The station coordinated with additional stations at Deer Island and Gloucester to triangulate signals, helping ships in and out of harbors in fog or other murky conditions. The barracks were constructed 1924.

The US Army purchased 57 acres on Fourth Cliff in 1941. In 1942, it built a Coastal Artillery Gun Site here, considered “one of the most unique and deadly coastal fortifications in New England.” It was known as battery 206 (or 208), and was part of the World War II Boston Harbor coastal defense system. There were two 6-inch Model T2 guns mounted about 60 feet above sea level, concealed with shrubbery and with a small wooden shed-like structure built over them for camouflage.

From the ocean, the area was made to look like cottages on a cliff, but it was really a military base in disguise. In addition, a radar unit was erected on Holly Hill, across the South River, to guide the guns. The bunker and concrete observation tower are still present on Fourth Cliff, but not open to visitors. There is concern about erosion of the cliff, which is beginning to undercut them.

After World War II, and the advent of the jet engine, coastal defense became more of an air-based effort, not sea-based. The US Air Force, then a new branch of the military, took control of Fourth Cliff in 1948. In 1955 it was called the Fourth Cliff Research Annex. Antenna towers were added during the Cold War.

The gun platforms have now been covered up. One has a wooden picnic pavilion over it, and the other has been converted into a RV camping site. The area itself became an Air Force Family Recreation Area in 1964. The antennae were taken down, some of the buildings were restored, new cottages were built and RV pads constructed. There is no public access.

The Julian Street Bridge was rebuilt prior to 2007, after sustaining storm damage. It was dedicated in 2008 to Francis Powers, who lived in Humarock, and served as the Plymouth County clerk of courts for more than 30 years.

The South Humarock Civic Association maintains its headquarters at the eastern end of the Julian Street Bridge. Since 1945, it has supported various civic and charitable causes and hosted events such as dances, races, Bingo, yoga classes and the annual Horribles Parade.

This land is within the region of the Massachusett (or Massachuseuk). To learn more about local Native American tribes, we encourage you to interact with their members. The Mattakeeset band of the Massachusett, and the Massachusett tribe at Ponkapoag, both share information on their websites.

Trail Description

If you’d like to launch a canoe or kayak on the South River near Humarock, go a little bit farther downstream to the Marshfield Town Landing or Humarock Beach parking lot, where it’s safer to do so. Currents here can be swift and unpredictable!

Short drive with multiple river views: Begin at Ferry Street in Marshfield, near the Bridgwaye Inn. Turn onto Sea Street and follow the bridge to Humarock, perhaps parking for a while in a roadside spot to admire the South River below. Next, turn right on River Street, heading south. Look to the right as you pass Newton, Milton, and Lincoln Streets for additional water views. Then cross back into Marshfield by turning right onto Julian Street. Its bridge offers yet another gorgeous view. After the bridge, take an immediate right onto Ridge Road for a few more glimpses of the river before you complete the loop and return to Ferry Street.

Habitats and Wildlife

This bridge crosses the South River at a beautiful spot between Marshfield and Humarock.

The South River originates deep in Duxbury. Its source is in the Round Pond area, and from there it winds unobtrusively through the woods for several miles. Although one can view it from Route 3, and also from both the South River Bogs and the Camp Wing Conservation Area, it remains a narrow and mostly un-navigable stream until just below Veterans Memorial Park. From there it flows through South River Park, behind the playground of South River School, and under the Willow Street and Francis Keville Bridges. Wider at that point, and navigable at most tides, its course winds through the marshes as it runs parallel to Route 139, all the way to Rexhame. From there the river turns northward. It flows for 3 miles between Humarock and the mainland to Fourth Cliff, where it joins the North River at its outlet to the sea.