Slate Island

The Weymouth Back River, sometimes called Back River, is a short, primarily tidal river in Hingham and Weymouth, Massachusetts, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Boston. It arises from a number of tributaries in ponds and swamps, most notably Whitmans Pond, flows northward, and empties into Hingham Bay (just south of Grape Island and Slate Island).

Grape Island is an island in the Hingham Bay area of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The island is part of the territory of the town of Weymouth, Massachusetts. The island has a permanent size of 54 acres (220,000 m2), plus an intertidal zone of a further 46 acres (190,000 m2), and is composed of two drumlins, reaching an elevation of 70 feet (21 m) above sea level, and connected by a marshy lowland. Tidal sand spits extend from the west end towards Weymouth Neck in Webb Memorial State Park and from the east end towards Slate Island. As a visitor attraction, Grape Island offers trails, rocky beaches, and camping in wooded campsites. At weekends and summer weekdays it is served by a shuttle boat to and from Georges Island, connecting there with ferries to Boston and Quincy.The island was farmed and grazed for three hundred years, until the 1940s. On the eve of the American Revolution, the island was owned by Hingham resident Elisha Leavitt, a Tory. In 1775, British troops raided the island during the siege of Boston, as Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John about May 24, 1775: "...it seems their Expidition (sic) was to Grape Island for Levets hay." A pitched battle ensued until the British were forced to retreat to the mainland. The angry colonists burned Leavitt's barn to the ground. In the end, very little damage was done to either side despite the effort expended. Three British soldiers may have been wounded (unconfirmed), no Continental soldiers or partisans were wounded, and less than two tons of hay were taken by the British.Since the abandonment of agricultural use in the 1940s, the natural succession of vegetation has created a wooded and shrubby landscape. Vegetation on the island includes early successional tree and shrub species on the drumlins, including staghorn sumac, gray birch, and quaking aspen. The island has an abundance of berries, including blackberry, dewberry, raspberry, blueberry, huckleberry, and American elderberry. The island's marshy lowland contains salt tolerant species such as saltspray rose, cordgrass, purple loosestrife, honeysuckle, and seaside goldenrod.Grape Island contains two freshwater springs. One spring is located on the north side of the western drumlin and is located underneath a large boulder that faces Peddock's Island. Another freshwater spring is located behind the marsh that is situated in the saddle between the two drumlins. Both of these areas are off the trail.

Webb Memorial State Park is a public recreation area located on a peninsula that extends nearly half a mile into the Hingham Bay area of Boston Harbor in Massachusetts. It is composed of three connected drumlins and a low marsh area. The state park forms the only mainland portion of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.

Hingham Bay is the easternmost of the three small bays of outer Boston Harbor, part of Massachusetts Bay and forming the western shoreline of the town of Hull and the northern shoreline of Hingham in the United States state of Massachusetts. It lies east of Quincy Bay and is met at the southwest by the mouth of Weymouth Fore River, also forming part of the waterfront of Weymouth. The bay is home to several of the Boston Harbor Islands.

The Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard of Hingham, Massachusetts, was a shipyard in the United States from 1941 until 1945. Located on Weymouth Back River, it was owned by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company and operated by the nearby Fore River Shipyard. During the three and a half years that the yard was operational, it produced 277 ships, including a destroyer escort delivered in 23 days.

Bumpkin Island, also known as Round Island, Bomkin Island, Bumkin Island, or Ward's Island, is an island in the Hingham Bay area of the Boston Harbor. In 1902, Albert Burrage, a Boston philanthropist, had a summer hospital opened on the island for children with physical disabilities. During World War I the island was used by the U.S. Navy. Starting around 1940, the island was used as a facility for polio patients. However, the hospital closed during World War II and burned down in 1945. Since 1996, it is part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The island has an area of 30 acres (120,000 m2), plus an intertidal zone of a further 31 acres (130,000 m2). It is composed of a central drumlin with an elevation of 70 feet (21 m) above sea level, surrounded by a rock-strewn shoreline. A sand spit, exposed at low tide, connects the eastern end of the island to Sunset Point in Hull.On weekends and summer weekdays, Bumpkin Island is accessible by a shuttle boat to and from Georges Island, which connects from there with ferries to Boston and Quincy.

Sheep Island is a small uninhabited island of about 3.2 acres (1.3 ha) (or less) in Hingham Bay, an outer arm of Boston Harbor. It is within the bounds of the town of Weymouth, Massachusetts, is owned by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation, and is part of the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park. Sheep Island is an eroded glacial drumlin, long and narrow, the highest elevation being 10 feet (3.0 m). A patch of vegetation grows on the west end, sumac and other grasses, and the shoreline is entirely gravel beach. The island was formerly a good deal larger, about 25 acres (10 ha) in early colonial times, and since then has been steadily eroding to its present size. The island (then called Round Island) was deeded to the town of Weymouth in 1636. In colonial times it was used by the town for grazing sheep. William Chamberlain is the first known owner. In the 19th century people would sometimes camp there, and in the 20th century there was a house and a hunting lodge, belonging to a Mr. Bicknell. No structures remain now. Sheep Island serves as a nesting ground for local birds. People birdwatch there, but the authorities discourage visits during nesting season (all visits are by private boat, as the island is not served by the park's ferry service). There are unimproved trails but no other amenities. Sheep Island has also appeared in maps and publications as Shean Island (1759), Sun Island (1775), Sheaf Island (1865), and Ship Island.

Ragged Island is an island in the Hingham Bay area of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The island has a permanent size of 4 acres (16,000 m2), and it is composed of Roxbury puddingstone (pebbles embedded in finer-grained cement) which rises to a height of 30 feet (9.1 m) above sea level. Broken ledges surround most of the island with small gravel beaches on the southeast and northwest sides; there are also small tidal mudflats.The island was first occupied by John Langlee in the late seventeenth century. In the late nineteenth century, it was developed as part of a summer resort, and it has subsequently been the site of a restaurant and rustic observation shelters. Today, it is uninhabited and has an interesting mix of cultivated and naturalized plants, including lily-of-the-valley, daylily, silver maple, red maple, Norway maple, cedar, Norway spruce, linden, greenbrier and poison ivy. The island is managed by the town of Hingham and access is by private boat only.

Weymouth Back River Reservation is a protected coastal reservation in Hingham and Weymouth, Massachusetts. It contains parks on the west and east sides of the northern end of Weymouth Back River. On the west side in Weymouth, Abigail Adams Park is adjacent to and north of Route 3A Bridge and Great Esker Park is south of the bridge. On the east side in Hingham, Stodder's Neck is north of the bridge and Bare Cove Park is south of the bridge. It features Weymouth Back River views, walking trails and landscaped areas.The reservation is part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston.

Derby Academy is a private elementary and middle school that offers a coeducational curriculum to Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade. It is located near Route 3A and Broad Cove in Hingham, Massachusetts. The grades are divided into the Primary/Lower School (Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 3), Middle School (Grades 4–5), and Upper School (Grades 6–8).

Langlee Island or Langley Island is an island in the Hingham Bay area of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The island has a permanent size of 4 acres (16,000 m2), plus an intertidal zone of a further 3 acres (12,000 m2), and is composed of a massing of Roxbury puddingstone which rises to a height of 40 feet (12 m) above sea level. This results in steep cliffs on the northern shore, while there are several small sandy beaches and a tidal mudflat on the east side. The center of the island contains glacial till that supports tree and shrub cover. As a result of previous planting, the island hosts large examples of oak, maple, juniper, and birch trees, while self-seeded huckleberry and viburnum mix with common greenbriar, dewberry, sumac, and poison ivy.The island was purchased by John Langlee in 1689, and has had several private owners since. Eventually, it was given to the town of Hingham by its last private owner, and the town still manages it as part of the National Recreation Area. Access is by private boat only.

Sarah Island is an island in the Hingham Bay area of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The island has a permanent size of just under 5 acres (20,000 m2), and is composed large outcroppings and ledges of Roxbury puddingstone together with glacial till which rises to a height of 30 feet (9.1 m) above sea level. The ledges, beaches and mudflats make the ideal nesting place for gulls.The island was purchased by John Langlee in 1686, later passing to John R. Brewer, at the time the owner of nearby World's End. Today it is managed by the town of Hingham and access is by private boat only. Access by humans is discouraged during the nesting season.