Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex, Cliff Road, Humarock Peninsula Hanscom Air Force Base, Scituate

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MA-1357. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Cliff Road, Humarock Peninsula Hanscom Air Force Base Scituate Plymouth County Massachusetts The 56-acre site is located on the South Shore of Massachusetts at the northern end of Humarock Peninsula in Scituate. It is bounded by New Inlet (the confluence of North and South Rivers) to the west, Massachusetts Bay to the east, and residential properties to the south. The approximate center of the site is located at latitude and longitude which was determined using Google Earth on April 25, There is no restriction on the release of this data to the public.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MA-1357. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The intact WWII-era buildings at Fourth Cliff were constructed by the U.S. Army when the site was fortified as a coastal defense battery in anticipation of World War II. The base was constructed amidst a cluster of pre-existing resort-style cottages, which served as camouflage for the military structures. While this was a standard tactic for the design of coastal defense observation structures and bases prior to World War II, Fourth Cliff is one of the few examples of such a technique that is extant and intact today.

The two observation towers and a mounded earth bunker were part of the battery site until their use for military purposes ceased in While Fourth Cliff does not retain sufficient integrity for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district, the Fire Control Observation Tower, Fire Control Observation Station, and Battery 208 were each determined individually eligible for inclusion in

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MA-1357. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This Project was completed by AECOM on behalf of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as a component of the Fence to Fence Environmental Compliance Services contract to support the USAF at Joint Base McGuire- Dix-Lakehurst, NJ; Hanscom AFB, MA; New Boston NH; and Rome Labs, NY. Photography by Rob Tucher took place March 29 through April 4, fieldwork was conducted by AECOM at the same time. The initial report was presented for review to the USACE, the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) Installation Support Services (ISS), and Hanscom Air Force Base personnel in May PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History 1. Date of construction: Construction of the military installation at Fourth Cliff took place between and 2.

Architect/Engineer: United States Army Corps of Engineers, Seacoast Defense Section 3. Original and subsequent owners, occupants, uses: A portion of the parcel on which Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex is located was owned and occupied by the United States Navy as a radar compass station beginning in The United States Army Corps of Engineers, Seacoast Defense Section designed the buildings that are the subject of this documentation for use by the U.S. Army as a Coastal Artillery Gun Site beginning in Ownership of the parcel on which the compass station was located transferred from the Navy to the United States Navy Army Corps of Engineers in The Army transferred ownership to the U.S.

Air Force for use as a field station by In the site was repurposed as a recreational annex of Hanscom Air Force Base under Air Force Systems Command. 4. Builder: United States Army Corps of Engineers 5. Original plans and construction: A comprehensive set of plans and drawings are held within the Civil Engineering division of Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Massachusetts. No deviation was discerned between initial designs and the buildings as constructed, including plans for removal of the small cottage originally erected on the west elevation of the Fire Control Observation Tower. 6.

Alterations and additions: Alteration to the buildings includes removal of the original cottage at the base of the Fire Control Observation Tower in the Plexiglass window sash set in wooden frames were placed in the openings of the Fire Control Observation Station and Fire Control Observation Tower in The porch on the east elevation of the Fire Control Observation Station was replaced in The interior walls were drywalled in and the building exterior was repainted at the same time. An asphalt single roof was installed in FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 3) B. Historical Context Early Settlement of Scituate and Fourth Cliff, Early Fourth Cliff is located on the South Shore of Boston in Scituate, Massachusetts.

It is approximately 22 miles southeast of Boston, 14 miles north of Plymouth, and 26 miles northwest of Provincetown on Cape Cod. The land was originally inhabited by Native Americans, including an estimated to members of the Wampanoag Nation. Between and the tribe was decimated by the introduction of foreign disease into the Nation. 1 A pact in between the surviving Wampanoags and early European settlers was intended as a mutually beneficial political decision for both parties; however, the Wampanoags were ultimately defeated and their land in the region was lost to the Europeans.

Early documents of European settlement in Scituate refer to men of Kent, a group from Kent County, England who came to the area in Most were merchants of means and included William Gillson, Anthony Annable, Thomas Bird, Nathaniel Tilden, Edward Foster and Henry Rowley. 2 The group came north to the region after a brief stay in Plymouth and quickly realized the advantages offered by the topography, which included four prominent gravel cliffs fronting on a natural harbor with a river flowing to dense forests inland. The cliffs were named on early maps and in deeds by their north to south arrangement, with First Cliff being farthest north, Second Cliff, Third Cliff, and Fourth Cliff to the south.

3 On April 12, land on Second Cliff was granted to and divided among Gillson, Annable, Foster, and Rowley. By August 2, the founders laid out a small central village along Kent Street, which traveled east from the village toward Third Cliff and the harbor. Lots here went to Annable, Cobb, Foster, Gillson, Rowley, and Humphrey Turner, and the town was incorporated on October 6, 4 The geography of Scituate played a significant role in its early development and continued success. With approximately eight miles of coastline, a wide North River, and numerous tributaries, the area provided valuable resources for the settlers. While only seven linear miles, the river s meandering course through the town was approximately 18 miles.

North River and its tributaries provided a steady supply of water power for gristmills and lumbermills, and was well-sited for shipyards, landings, fishing, and the movement of goods. Early maps depict a robust network of roadways, bridges and ferries that linked Scituate to nearby, newly settled towns such as Marshfield, to the south, over broad marshes and through hilly areas. The result was a network of mills and wharves, with schoolhouses, shops, and churches. Cliff One and Cliff Two were easily reached from inland, and Third Cliff s topography lent itself to the construction of a windmill erected on the bluff by At Fourth Cliff, the 1 John S. Marr and John T. Cathey, New Hypothesis for Cause of Epidemic among Native Americans, New England, Emerging Infectious Diseases, 16.

Accessed April 2 Samuel Deane, A History of Scituate: Massachusetts from its First Settlement to (Boston: James Loring), p. 8. 3 Betty Miessner, Early Families of Scituate, Scituate Historical Society, Accessed April 4 A. Robbins and S.A. Turner, A Map of Scituate, Mass. (Boston: Pendleton s Lithography), FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 4) North River s wide mouth and marshes limited accessibility, isolating inhabitants, who may have appreciated its remote nature, as well as the rich soil atop the bluff.

5 Nathaniel Tilden and his descendants made their home at Fourth Cliff, and freeman Thomas Hyland of Kent owned a lot in town on Kent Street and a farm on Fourth Cliff by 6 By the a two- story house and barn locally known as Fourth Cliff House was let to summer boarders, and shorebird hunters. 7 An description of the area records two barns on Fourth Cliff, including one owned by the family of John Hyland. 8 Coastal Lifesaving and Rescue, Fourth Cliff s location at a high point on the coast, within a busy waterway at the edge of an active community made it an ideal lookout for passing ships. The Humane Society of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was established in to assist shipwrecked mariners and passengers along the colony s coastline.

9 The society erected huts for shelter on exposed areas of the Massachusetts coast, but quickly exceeded available funds due to the need for additional resources. A resolution of the Commonwealth in allowed for ongoing government funding to support the society. 10 Expansion of the society included the Scituate Charity House, constructed at Fourth Cliff in and overseen by John Tilden. 11 It was stocked with furniture, food, clothing, utensils, and a means for making light and fire. 12 Decades of infrequent funding of maritime disaster relief by private, local, and state agencies led to establishment of the federal United States Life-Saving Service in by the United States Treasury Department.

13 The LSS sought the reduction of the distance between lifesaving stations along the Massachusetts coastline. In July Captain Merriman of the United States Revenue Cutter Service surveyed Scituate on behalf of the LSS and decreed that Fourth Cliff would be the site of a new station in Scituate. 14 Construction of a boathouse for Station No. 3 of the Third District began in August. Keeper John H. Smith was appointed on September 3, to lead a crew of six surfmen to be deployed for ocean rescues. The nascent station was not yet fully equipped for a rescue on November 2, when Smith and his crew borrowed the Humane Society s boat to assist the schooner Belle and her four passengers safely into Scituate Harbor. 15 Smith was later succeeded as keeper 5 Deane, p. 21. 6 Deane, p.

7 Joseph Foster Merritt, Old Time Anecdotes of the North River and the South Shore (Rockland, Mass: Rockland Standard Publishing Co.), p. 71. 8 Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution, Chief Justice Cushing Chapter, Old Scituate (Boston, Mass: Farnshaw Press Corporation), p. 9 Trustees of the Humane Society of Massachusetts. History of the Humane Society of Massachusetts: with a Selected List of Premiums. (Boston: Samuel N. Dickinson, Printer), p. 21. 10 Trustees, p. 21. 11 Galluzzo, p. 40. 12 Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution, p. 13 Dennis Means, A Heavy Sea Running: The Formation of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, National Archives and Records Administration.

Accessed April 14 Life in Scituate, the Awakening of a Slumbering Town, Boston Evening Transcript, July 10, 15 Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service, (Government Printing Office, Washington p. 83. FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 5) by Frederick Stanley, who served from September 20, until retirement on March 22, It was during Stanley s tenure that the Portland Gale of struck the region. The culmination of two low-pressure systems, the storm hammered New England between November 26 and 27, killing at least 400 people. 16 The storm is named for the side-wheel paddle steamer Portland, one of at least 150 vessels wrecked in the storm.

In Scituate, three bodies washed up on the coastline following the storm, and the partially sunken hull of the Daniel I. Tenney, a 1690-ton, triple decked ship, was visible from the shore. 17 The storm created a new inlet for navigation that had been desired for years. Shipbuilders had sought to open the river mouth to the sea seeking to create a harbor, as the winding nature of the North River made passage time-consuming and tedious. The Massachusetts legislature denied the request for funding the improvement, fearing hardship on other industries and damage to the natural landscape.

The battering of the beach between Third Cliff and Fourth Cliff by heavy winds and powerful tides during the storm, created a new inlet for the North River and destroyed the walkable path that had existed between the two cliffs. A large sandbar deposited in the center of the inlet initially prevented navigation. 18 In the LSS merged with the United States Revenue Cutter Service to form the United States Coast Guard. The Fourth Cliff Lifesaving Station was integrated into the new organization as Coast Guard Station No. 28. Fire destroyed the station on May 26, leaving Keeper Matthew Hoar, 12 crew members, and three radio operators homeless; only the lifeboat Race Point was saved. 19 Hoar was reassigned to Provincetown, and the crew members were transferred to other posts.

The cleared site served as an auxiliary to Brant Rock Coast Guard Station No. 29 until abandoned in 20 Radio Compass Station In the Chief of Naval Operations, United States Navy, directed a planning committee to study the reduction of delays for weather reports transmitted to convoys at sea. The committee recommended the establishment of direction-finder stations at the approaches to Boston, New York, and Charleston harbors, and at the entrances to the Delaware River and the Chesapeake Bay. 21 Constructed in groups of three, two subordinate stations would telegraph their bearings to the master station.

The station at Fourth Cliff, one of 10 installed by the Navy along the New England coastline, was on a acre lot transferred from Walter 16 Kezia Bacon, The Storm That Changed the River s Flow, North and South Rivers Watershed Association, April 21, Accessed April 17 Storm s Ravages at Scituate, The Boston Globe, November 29, p. 7. 18 Bacon. 19 Life Savers Jumped from Burning Home, Boston Globe, May 26, p. 7. 20 Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard Stations, United States Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Accessed April 21 Linwood S. Howeth, History of Communications-Electronics in the United States Navy (U.S. Government Printing Office: Washington: p. FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 6) and Claire Tapley to the U.S.

government on December 16, for 22 It consisted of a radio compass house and a generator shed with antenna, with a barracks constructed on the property by for military personnel. 23 Once constructed, Naval Radio Direction Finder Station No. 5, call signal NAD, was staffed by a crew of four and operated at 800 megahertz. It triangulated radio frequencies with other stations including Deer Island Chatham and Surfside for improved navigation in poor conditions. 24 The station was utilized for the broadcast of weather reports, as well as monitoring for enemy vessels in the years between World War I and World War II. It worked in tandem with the nearby LSS and Coast Guard to identify, occasionally avert, and often provide aid to regional disasters.

Annual reports for the LSS and Coast Guard contain hundreds of shipwrecks for which their stations were called. In one such instance, an army plane piloted by a reserve officer with the Army Aviation Corps went down in dense fog in the sea over Scituate in the wreckage was found by the Coast Guard off Fourth Cliff. 25 Vacation Resort (1871-Present) Scituate began as a fishing and shipbuilding town in its early history. Expansion of the area as a summer resort is attributed to the construction of the Duxbury and Cohasset Railroad in between Boston and the South Shore, creating a seasonal resort economy that benefitted year-round inhabitants.

26 While most of the area vacation homes and establishments were located north and south of Fourth Cliff, the waterfront location drew the interest of developers. In May they erected and advertised several attractive Cape Cod cottages open for inspection with prices and terms to suit any budget. The resort community, designated Silver Sands, was sited on over a mile of ocean frontage with the finest sanded bathing beach in Massachusetts, including the famous Fourth Cliff. 27 William E. Schlusemeyer of Framingham, owner of the Silver Springs Realty Company, claimed completion of 50 cottages by July, along with improved roads and utilities to support the new community. 28 The popularity of this first building phase led to the purchase and planning of a second.

Coastal Defense The first system of coastal defense in America was authorized by Congress in and marked by the allocation of funds for the creation of a chain of open masonry fortifications at 22 Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Deed Book 1. Accessed online April 23 Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation. Commercial and Government Radio Stations of the United States (Washington Government Printing Office: Washington June p. 83. 24 Michael R. Morris. U.S. Naval High Frequency Direction Finding Sites during World War I and World War II. Accessed April 25 Army Plane Crashes into Sea off Scituate, Guards Search for Pilot, Fitchburg Sentinel, August 28, p. 2. 26 Massachusetts Historical Commission MHC Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Scituate Boston, MA), p. 2.

27 It s New, Different, Restricted and Delightful Silver Sands, Boston Globe Daily, May 30, p. 33. 28 Fred Freitas Humarock: Hummocks, Humming Rocks, and Silver Sands (Converpage: Scituate MA), p. FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 7) significant locations and potential targets along the Atlantic Coast. 29 Fort Independence in Boston Harbor was constructed in during this first defensive program. 30 As tensions with European powers increased in the early a second system of coastal defense was established; existing fortifications were upgraded and new forts were constructed at additional strategic locations. In Boston Harbor, Fort Warren was constructed on Georges Island, and Fort Independence was upgraded.

31 This pattern of new construction and improvement of existing fortifications in response to new threats continued with the third system of seacoast defense between the War of and the Civil War. 32 A report by the Secretary of War William Endicott in ushered in the Endicott Period between approximately and which saw an overhaul of the aging and outdated coastal defense system through utilization of standardized designs and armaments. Nine new concrete forts were constructed on the Harbor Islands and in the area surrounding Boston during this period. 33 In the War Department initiated a study of coastal defense requirements that resulted in the proposed abandonment of several bases and the construction of permanent installations at locations in New England and on Long Island Sound.

In the Army established the Harbor Defense Board to supervise construction of the proposed recommendations along the coasts, but little progress was made due to tensions with Japan in the Pacific. 34 As World War II approached, appropriations for fortification construction and modernization increased, including the design of new standardized batteries developed by the U.S. Army , known as the and series, that utilized new communication technology and improved long- range weaponry. In the planned Battery 208 at Fourth Cliff (identified as Location 114 within the Boston Harbor Defense System, code name "Silver Sands") was be constructed with two 6 guns, augmenting additional gun positions and military reservations at East Point, Nahant (No. Deer Island, Winthrop (No.

and Outer Brewster Island (No. 35 supplementing the firepower provided by larger 12 - and 16 - guns held at forts within the Boston Harbor defense system. Early batteries were well concealed from the sea but were clearly visible to aircraft. In the Army Corps of Engineers was instructed to conduct camouflage training for their staff. Thirty officers were sent to a three-month program held in Winthrop, Massachusetts; they returned in November with new knowledge of paints, creative landscaping, and netting for strategic subterfuge. The design of Fourth Cliff by the Boston District was a direct result of 29 Paul Grigorieff, A Brief History of Coastal Defense, Coast Defense, http://www.coastdefense.com/ CD_history.htm. Accessed April 30 Grigorieff.

31 Bolling Smith and William Gaines, Coastal Artillery Organization, A Brief Overview, (Coast Guard Defense Study Group: Maryland), p. 9. 32 Joe C. Freeman et al, Seacoast Fortifications Preservation Manual, Golden Gate National Recreation Area (National Park Service: Washington, p. 10. 33 Emanuel Lewis, Seacoast Fortifications of the United States, An Introductory History (Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington p. 34 Aubrey Parkman. Army Engineers in New England: The Military and Civil Work of the Corps of Engineers in New England, Waltham, Mass: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England Division, p. 35 Massachusetts Historical Commission SCI.902: Fourth Cliff Battery Massachusetts Historic Inventory Form.(Boston: Massachusetts Historical Commission), p. 3.

FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 8) the training. Casements were concealed with grasses and shrubs, and military structures were arranged to blend in with vacation cottages. 36 In March it was announced that any further expansion of the Silver Sands vacation community would be halted due to the acquisition of land for the new harbor defense base. United States Attorney Edmund Brandon announced that 150 summer cottages would be razed under orders of Secretary of War Henry Stimson. The action, permitted under eminent domain in support of the war effort, was effective immediately. Fair reimbursement was determined later. 37 Dozens of empty lots owned by Schlusemeyer were included in the transfer.

38 The Army received title to the Radio Compass House tract from the Navy in and purchased acres that comprised the Fourth Cliff military property between and 39 Fourth Cliff Battery Site was officially designated by the Department of the Army on July 20, Construction began in September and was completed by December New wood- frame structures were interspersed with the remaining Silver Sands vacation cottages to accommodate 177 soldiers and 6 officers; the site included barracks, a recreation PX, dispensary, officer s quarters, an officer s club, a mess hall, and storage space. 40 By the site encompassed 57 buildings.

41 While the use of camouflage was not uncommon for larger coastal defense sites and structures, the extent to which the installation at Fourth Cliff incorporated existing buildings into the overall design of the base in order to resemble a peaceful seaside town was unique to this site. 42 Defense of Boston harbor relied on the base-end system, which incorporated a series of interconnected observation points, known as fire control stations or base-end stations which were strategically placed along the coastline to provide a comprehensive view of the harbor and its approaches. 43 Stations were equipped with rangefinders, spotting scopes, and communication equipment to relay information back to the main battery positions.

At Fourth Cliff, the installation included the concrete, five-story Fire Control Observation Tower or north Base End Station at the north end of the cliff; a metal-frame and metal-sided cottage originally enclosed the base of the tower on the north, west, and south elevations to mitigate the verticality of the structure. A three-story tower, the Fire Control Observation Station, was built 900 south of the taller tower. The smaller tower served as the south Base End Station and was camouflaged at the ground level by a small concrete structure designed to resemble a wood-framed cottage. Battery 208 was at a high point on Fourth Cliff. The earth-covered battery was located between the two towers.

During operation readings from telescopes on the third and fourth levels of the Fire Control Observation Tower, and the depression position finder on the fifth level, were combined 36 Parkman, p. 37 150 Cottages at Scituate to Make Way for Defense, Boston Globe, March 25, p. 10. 38 Government Takes Fourth Cliff Land, The Boston Globe, March 26, p. 26. 39 SCI.902, p. 3. 40 War Department, Army Corps of Engineers, Theater of Operations, Buildings Relocation Diagram, Location Housing Layout. (United States Engineer Office, Boston), January 41 Gerald W. Butler, Plan of Fourth Cliff, Scituate, June 6, 42 SCI.902, p. 3. 43 Bolling Smith. Vertical and Horizontal-Base Position Finding Systems in Coastal Defense Study Group Journal, Volume 13, Issue 3. Maryland: p. 6.

FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 9) with those from the three in the Fire Control Observation Station to determine the coordinates of enemy vessels. The resulting location data was transmitted via telephone to the plotting room within Battery and from there to the soldiers staffing the emplacements north and south of the battery. Data was shared with other stations within the harbor system to accurately track and target enemy vessels. Decommissioning (1943-Present) After mid-1942, the workforce of the harbor defense system was reduced as funding shifted from construction of stateside bases to the production of military equipment for combat overseas. Units were disbanded and personnel were transferred to other roles.

44 By September completion of coastal defense modernization seemed unlikely. Between and modernization of the coastal defense system` had cost more than No threat to American shores seemed credible or imminent as the war began to turn in favor of the Allies. Staffing levels at coastal installations were reduced and eventually halted. By the end of the war, only a few coast artillery batteries remained. 45 Coast defense establishments were outmoded by and seacoast defense weapons were declared surplus as a result. Harbor defense by long-range artillery was made obsolete by the technology of amphibious invasion and air attacks, along with the heavy guns of ships naval armaments. The 6 guns at Fourth Cliff were removed at the end of WWII, and a caretaker was hired for maintenance of the site.

46 By the Army had dismantled all fixed gun harbor defenses. Coastal defense reservations were converted to alternate military uses or dismantled and decommissioned. On February the Department of the Air Force assumed ownership of the base, which was recategorized as an Air Force Field Station and was utilized by the Cambridge Research Laboratory for classified development of military radar equipment. In the Fourth Cliff Military Reservation became Fourth Cliff Electronics Research Annex under Air Research and Development Command; two large radio antennae were constructed at the site for experimentation with the transmission of low-frequency radio waves to submarines off the coast.

47 The radio towers were removed by the In the base was renamed Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex and converted into a recreational area annexed to Hanscom AFB for use as a vacation and resort facility for soldiers, their families, and military employees. 48 44 Joe Freeman, et al, Seacoast Fortifications Preservation Manual, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, California. (San Francisco: National Park Service and Kea Environmental), July p. 39. 45 Freeman, p. 39. 46 Hanscom Air Force Base (HAFB), Fourth Cliff Recreation Area History (USAF HAFB: Bedford, MA), 47 HAFB, p. 2. 48 U.S.

Department of the Air Force, Final Environmental Assessment: Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, Renovate Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex (United States Air Force, Hanscom Air Force Base, Bedford, MA), p. FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 10) PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement 1. Architectural character: The three concrete military buildings of Fourth Cliff were constructed based upon standardized designs developed by the Army Corps of Engineers as a means of coastal protection from amphibious or submarine attack prior to the start of WWII. The structures were arranged for optimal targeting of weaponry within the battery.

The reinforced concrete Fire Control Observation Tower stands five stories tall and lacks any ornamentation; as originally designed, a one-story cottage on the west elevation was intended to minimize the height of the building. Similarly, the three-story Fire Control Observation Station is well concealed by, and partially contained within, a small cottage. Battery a large rectangular mound in the center of the base, is sited between the two buildings and camouflaged beneath earth and tree cover; a one-story cottage that has since been removed was built to conceal the hill on the landscape. The site includes a perimeter road used to access the small cottages and military buildings.

Several cottages used as barracks and military storage have been removed, leaving a sense of isolation that is consistent with the remote location of the base at the north end of the cliff. 2. Condition of fabric: The Battery Complex at Fourth Cliff consists of three WWII-era buildings used to support the function of the base as a seacoast defense complex prior to and during wartime. The buildings are at the north end of the Humarock Peninsula and are exposed to extreme temperatures and harsh conditions including salts, high winds, and heavy rain. The buildings are well-maintained by on-site caretakers and are in a state of good repair.

Typical conditions include minor concrete deterioration on the surface of the Fire Observation Control Tower, corrosion and paint loss to metal surfaces within the battery, and deterioration of the painted finishes and the wooden clapboards on the Fire Control Observation Station. B. Site: Fourth Cliff on the Humarock Peninsula in Scituate rises approximately 20 feet above the glacial till that characterizes the coastline to the east, north, and west; the cliff is the southernmost topographical element of the four natural cliffs that partially ring Scituate Harbor. The North River, at the northern side of the cliff, opens to Massachusetts Bay; New Inlet marks this area, which was formed by the Portland Gale in A salt marsh borders the west side of Fourth Cliff beyond shore.

Within the complex, vegetation consists of mowed, maintained grasses within the recreation area and a narrow band of native shrubs along the edge at the north side of the cliff. The mound in which Battery 208 is constructed is obscured by similar native plants, grasses, and mature trees. 1. Circulation: The Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex is accessed through a chain link gate from Central Avenue, which is parallel to the west perimeter of Humarock Peninsula within the site. Erosion of the exposed east and north faces of the cliff has resulted in the collapse of the road at the northern end of the peninsula. Cliff Road runs parallel to Central Avenue along the east side of Fourth Cliff, curving inland to accommodate the contour of Battery FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No.

MA-1357 (Page 11) Short Road is a perpendicular connector between Cliff Road and Central Road approximately miles north of the main gate. 2. Viewshed: Fourth Cliff was selected for coastal defense area due to its open views to the sea, which are the dominant visual feature of the site. Massachusetts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean are visible to the northeast and east, and Cape Cod Bay and Provincetown are visible to the southeast. Dune grasses and native plants are visible within the North River to the west. PART III. SOURCES OF INFORMATION A. Original Architectural Drawings Architectural plans and drawings for the site dating from to the present are held in the Engineering Division Offices, Hanscom Air Force Base, Bedford, MA.

The collection includes drawings of the Fire Observation Control Tower, Fire Observation Control Station and Battery 208 which are referenced in the appropriate sections of this documentation. War Department, Army Corps of Engineers, Theater of Operations, Buildings Relocation Diagram, Location Housing Layout. United States Engineer Office, Boston. January B. Bibliography 1. Primary and Unpublished Sources Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service. Washington Government Printing Office, Daly, John and Virginia Adams. Hanscom Air Force Base National Register of Historic Places Eligibility Evaluations: Bedford, Concord, Lexington, and Lincoln, Massachusetts. Completed for U.S. Air Force, Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation.

Commercial and Government Radio Stations of the United States. Washington Washington Government Printing Office, June Freeman, Joe C. and Fay, Spofford & Thorndike, Inc. Engineers. Fourth Cliff Battery (Battery Architectural and Structural Assessments. Prepared for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District. February Hanscom Air Force Base (HAFB). Fourth Cliff Recreation Area History. Pamphlet. Bedford, MA: USAF HAFB., Massachusetts Historical Commission MHC Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Scituate. Boston: FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 12) --- SCI.A: Fourth Cliff Recreation Area, Massachusetts Historic Inventory Form. Boston: --- SCI.137: Fourth Cliff Fire Control Station, Massachusetts Historic Inventory Form.

Boston: --- SCI.902: Fourth Cliff Battery Massachusetts Historic Inventory Form. Boston: --- SCI.903: Fourth Cliff Fire Control Tower, Massachusetts Historic Inventory Form. Boston: Plymouth County Recorder of Deeds. Deed Book 1. Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Accessed April Minnis, Dale. Facilities Manager, Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex. Scituate, MA. Interviewed April 2, National Archives and Record Administration. Harbor Defense of Boston, Location of Elements, July 1 revised January 31, Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Army Communications Service, Record Group Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer - Harbor Defense of Boston, Location of Elements, July 1 revised January 31, Department of Defense, Department of the Army.

Held at Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex, Hanscom Air Force Base. Accessed April U.S. Department of the Air Force, Final Environmental Assessment: Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, Renovate Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex (Bedford, MA: United States Air Force, Hanscom Air Force Base, United States Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard Stations, Accessed April 2. Secondary and Published Sources Bacon, Kezia. The Storm That Changed the River s Flow. North and South Rivers Watershed Association, April 21, the-rivers-flow/. Accessed April Butler, Gerald W. Military Annals of Nahant, Massachusetts. Nahant, MA: Nahant Historical Society, Deane, Samuel.

A History of Scituate: Massachusetts From its First Settlement to Boston: James Loring, FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 13) Freeman, Joe C., Stephen A. Haller, David M. Hansen et al. Seacoast Fortifications Preservation Manual, Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Washington National Park Service, Freitas, Fred. Humarock: Hummocks, Humming Rocks, and Silver Sands. Scituate MA: Converpage. Grigorieff, Paul. A Brief History of Coastal Defense, Coast Defense, http://www.coastdefense.com/ CD_history.htm. Accessed April Galluzzo, John. The North River: Scenic Waterway of the South Shore. South Carolina: The History Press, Howeth, Linwood S., History of Communications-Electronics in the United States Navy. Washington U.S. Government Printing Office Lewis, Emanuel.

Seacoast Fortifications of the United States, An Introductory History. Washington Smithsonian Institution Press, Marr, John S. and John T. Cathey. New Hypothesis for Cause of Epidemic among Native Americans, New England, Emerging Infectious Diseases, 16. Accessed April Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution, Chief Justice Cushing Chapter. Old Scituate. Boston: Farnshaw Press Corporation, Means, Dennis. A Heavy Sea Running: The Formation of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, Washington National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed April Merrit, Joseph Foster. Old Time Anecdotes of the North River and the South Shore. Rockland, Mass: Rockland Standard Publishing Co., Miessner, Betty, Early Families of Scituate, Scituate Historical Society, Accessed April Morris, Michael R.

U.S. Naval High Frequency Direction Finding Sites during World War I and World War. Updated June 1, Accessed April Parkman, Aubrey. Army Engineers in New England: The Military and Civil Work of the Corps of Engineers in New England, Waltham, Mass: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England Division, Smith, Bolling. Vertical and Horizontal-Base Position Finding Systems in Coastal Defense Study Group Journal, Volume 13, Issue 3. Maryland: FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 14) Smith, Bolling and William Gaines. Coastal Artillery Organization, A Brief Overview. Coastal Defense Study Group Journal Quarterly: Publication of the Coast Defense. CACunits/CACorg2011.pdf. Coast Guard Defense Study Group: Maryland, Accessed April Trustees of the Humane Society of Massachusetts.

History of the Humane Society of Massachusetts: with a Selected List of Premiums. Boston: Samuel N. Dickinson, Printer, 3. Newspaper Articles 150 Cottages at Scituate to Make Way for Defense, Boston Globe, March 25, Army Plane Crashes into Sea off Scituate, Guards Search for Pilot, Fitchburg Sentinel, August 28, Government Takes Fourth Cliff Land, The Boston Globe, March 26, It s New, Different, Restricted and Delightful Silver Sands, Boston Globe Daily, May 30, Life in Scituate, the Awakening of a Slumbering Town, Boston Evening Transcript, July 10, Life Savers Jumped from Burning Home, Boston Globe, May 26, Storm s Ravages at Scituate, The Boston Globe, November 29, 4. Maps and Aerial Images Butler, Gerald W. Plan of Fourth Cliff, Scituate, June 6, ESRI ArcGIS Desktop.

Massachusetts Interactive Parcel Data. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute. Item created Nov 13, Accessed May Ford, John. Map of Marshfield, Mass. Scale: Boston: Thomas Moore s Lithography, Boston Public Library, Norman Leventhal Map & Education Center, Accessed April Google Maps. Scituate, Massachusetts. Accessed April National Environmental Title Research (NETR). Accessed April FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 15) Robbins, A. and S.A. Turner, A Map of Scituate, Mass. Scale: Boston: Pendleton s Lithography, Massachusetts Archives, Town Plans, Accessed April University of Massachusetts Amherst. Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Plymouth County: aerial photograph July 26, Accessed April U.S. Geological Survey. Scituate, Massachusetts.

ed. Scale 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic). Reston, Va.: USGS, Accessed May FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 16) Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex: Location Map 49 49 United States Geological Survey. Scituate, Massachusetts. (USGS: Reston, VA), FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 17) Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex: Site Plan 50 50 Google Maps. Scituate, Massachusetts. Accessed April FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX HABS No. MA-1357 (Page 18) Figure 1. map showing the coast of Scituate and First Cliff, Second Cliff, Third Cliff, and Fourth Cliff. 51 51 Robbins and Turner,