2 History of Hingham. 



to the mouth of Weymouth River presents much diversity, and at 

 Huit's Cove, where the rocky cliffs are covered with forest growth, 

 the scenery becomes again quite interesting, and continues so upon 

 the river front to the head of navigation. 



"O' 



The Harbor. 



The harbor of Hingham, properly so called, is embraced within 

 an extension of land on the east side which rises into hills of con- 

 siderable magnitude, the outermost of which is World's End, and 

 an opposite shore of less extent, which presents itself partly as a 

 sandy and stony beach, but having towards its extremity some 

 rocky prominences, finally terminating at an elevation of land 

 which received at an early period the name of Crow Point, prob- 

 ably from the great number of crows that congregated there. In 

 the harbor, which is from three fourths of a mile to a mile in 

 width and about one mile and a half in depth, are three beautiful 

 islands, bearing the names respectively of Ragged, Sarah's, and 

 Langlee's ; of which the first named is particularly picturesque, 

 from the rugged outline of its coast and the dark savins upon its 

 crags. They are all of moderate elevation, and shrubs of low 

 growth cover their undulating surfaces. Only one deciduous tree 

 is seen, and that a Linden of considerable size, upon the one known 

 as Langlee's. 1 Besides these three islands, there is yet another near 

 the shore of the town, and which from its diminutive size received 

 the name of Button Island. The harbor itself is a charming one 

 when the tide is in, and by no means lacks beauty when this has 

 ebbed. True, the lovely sheet of water has disappeared from view, 

 but the exposed flats are covered everywhere with the dense sea- 

 grass that rests recumbent on their surfaces, and there is seen 

 meandering through its sombre green a silvery channel pleasing 

 to the eye, and which is of sufficient width and depth to admit the 

 steamers and other vessels that approach the town. Other large 

 islands lie off the coast of Hingham, but the town line separates 

 them from its possessions. Particular attention is called to those 

 of the harbor and to the contour of the coast, in order to the 

 better understanding of the geological phenomena to be hereafter 

 presented. 



Area. 



The area of Hingham, as given in the Town Report for 1885, 

 p. 76, is 12,973 acres. 



The greatest length of the town is that shown by a line from 

 World's End to the southwesterly point at Rockland. This is over 

 eight miles. 



1 Since the above was written young trees set out upon the two islands, Sarah's 

 and Langlee's, by the present proprietor, are becoming conspicuous, and promise to add 

 much to the beauty of their surfaces and of the harbor generally by their growth. 



