| Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot Annex | |
|---|---|
| Part of United States Navy | |
| Hingham, Massachusetts | |
| Type | Ammunition Depot Annex |
| Coordinates | 42°12′22.95″N 70°50′49.82″W / 42.206375°N 70.8471722°W |
| In use | 1941-1962 |
| Open to the public |
Yes |
| Controlled by | Navy |
The Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot Annex, sometimes called the “Cohasset Annex” or "Hingham Annex" by local residents, was located between Cohasset and Hingham, Massachusetts.
Contents |
History
Beginnings
The land for the Annex was bought by the U.S. Navy in 1941, from local landowners, to expand the nearby Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot, in Hingham. The Depot was the main ammunition supplier for Naval Forces of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, during World War II, employing 2,091 civilians along with 721 naval officers and sailors and 375 Marine guards at its peak in June, 1945.[1] A rail spur, sided off the Old Colony Greenbush Line, was built to facilitate the transfer of ammunition, stored in cement bunkers at the Annex, to the Depot at the Hingham Shipyard.
Reactivation
Reverted to maintenance status after the War, the Annex was reactivated for the Korean Conflict, during which time it held some of the Navy's first experimental nuclear depth charges, in bunker N9.[1] Depth charges, bombs, and rocket motors were assembled at the Annex until declared surplus, by the Navy, in 1962.
Post-Closure Usage
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts took possession of the Annex, in 1966, and later turned the 3,500 acres (14 km2) into the present day Wompatuck State Park. The last military activity at the Annex took place when the U.S. Army Reserve 187th Infantry Brigade was stationed at United States Army Reserve Center Hingham from 1971 to 1982.[1]
In the late 1990s the government, who were in charge of the remaining section of the Depot that was not turned into Wompatuck, announced they were going to donate the remaining part to the park. This involved, first, cleaning the area, featuring the demolition of the remaining buildings, despite their historical value. This task has not been fully accomplished to date.
Some old buildings, bunkers, and track exist today, and can be seen from some of the Park’s hiking trails or accessed from the end of Levitt Street, Hingham. The bunkers had, in recent years, been used as shelters by homeless people; following the grisly torture-murder of two homeless there in 2005, the authorities sealed off the remaining bunkers.[2] However, local Boy Scouts have worked to preserve some of these bunkers, including N9, as a memorial to the military and civilian personnel who served at the Depot.[1]
Images
 Cohasset Annex Power Plant. |
 The Ballistite Grain Inhibiting Building during its use. |
 The Ballistite Grain Inhibiting Building today. |
 The Ballistite Grain Inhibiting Building's main hallway today. |
References
- ^ a b c d Jim Rose (Winter 2007). "Bunker N9 and Nuclear ASROC" (PDF). Wompatuck News (Friends of Wompatuck State Park). http://www.friendsofwompatuck.org/FOW2.PDF. Retrieved on 2009-01-20.
- ^ Maureen Boyle (April 17, 2008). "Reliability of key witness in slayings of 2 homeless men questioned". The Patriot Ledger. http://www.patriotledger.com/news/x2103872288. Retrieved on 2009-01-20.
External links
- SackRabbit.com's summary of the site today. SackRabbit is dedicated to documenting such sites before they are lost to history.
- Info on the state and cleanup of the site.
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