Navigating Nahant: Rocky shores and military ruins

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Above: The Nahant Lifesaving Station, located near the entrance to the town.

Just a few miles north of Boston is the peninsula of Nahant, which is is known for its beaches, but is perhaps less well known for its military structures. Nahant is a unique geological feature: A rocky land mass connected to the mainland by a long, sandy neck. The outer shore, with its roadway currently under construction (June 2013) is a great beach that often gets some decent surf when there is an eastern swell. The rocky land mass at the end extends down so far from its head near the towns of Revere and Lynn, that one feels almost in Boston Harbor when standing there: In fact, Nahant is less than four miles from Graves Light, making it an easy day trip from Boston Harbor by boat.

Nahant is seems a bit of an insular place, perhaps as a result of its relatively difficult accessibility. For this reason, the place is likely better explored by boat or bike than by car: I don’t think I have seen a place that made it more clear that one would be towed if they parked at one of the town’s facilities without a resident parking sticker! So, being it early in the season, I risked it. I later followed up with a few photos from the boat.

Below is a view of the city of Boston from a hill in Nahant’s Lodge Park, named for former US Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. Clearly visible are the two fire control towers build by the military in the WWII era. Similar towers can be found all along the Greater Boston Coastline, from Halibut Point in Rockport down to Brant Rock in Marshfield.

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Nahant’s position made it a logical place for more military fortifications: As such, the government build several batteries around Fort Ruckman and the Lodge property on the southern shores of the peninsula. Battery John B. Murphy, seen below was built in WWII. From this location, any unfriendly intrusion into Boston Harbor could be stopped rather quickly with fire from the battery’s 16″ guns. Also because of its removed location relative to Boston, Nahant was integral to the system of submarine detection in WWII. This was a series of wires running from Nahant to the other far end of the outer Boston Harbor at The Glades in Scituate. A very detailed resource about it can be found here.

The ruins of these structures can be seen today at two separate locations: around Lodge Park and at Bailey’s Hill Park in Nahant. Below, the remains of the first casemate at Battery Murphy can be seen, along with the fire control towers and the city skyline in the background. The casemate is surrounded by dense growth:

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The battery near its front entrance: overgrown, but still somewhat accessable:

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The second casemate, which is even more secluded and covered with brush.

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The second casemate, as seen from a few hundred yards offshore:

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The fire control towers, as seen from the water:

Views and perspectives of Nahant: Below, the view looking south from Lodge Park is rather unique in that one can see both Graves Light (near right) and Minot Light (far left) off Scituate. This open, elevated perch provides for some good perspective on the expanse of Massachusetts Bay. On the horizon, just to the left of Graves lighthouse, one can see the outline of the Lawson Tower, another good landmark.

graves light view

A view looking north from Henry Cabot Lodge park on a bleak spring day. Visible are various rock outcrops off Marblehead Neck, as well as Salem Sound and Gloucester.

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A view of the park from the water. Note the absence of trees and the military structures on these rocky ledges. I have heard that these shores were the backdrop used in filming the Lighthouse scene in the movie Shutter Island.

park view

A prominent feature of the Nahant shoreline is Egg Rock, a steep and rocky island rising abruptly from the ocean northwest of the Nahant peninsula. This island may make a good diving location as I noticed several divers nearby. However, it seems difficult to beach on, and probably a bit too steep to attempt hiking:

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An old boat near the entrance to Nahant. Its inscription should read, “welcome to Nahant, just don’t even think about parking here!”

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