World's End is a 251-acre (1 km²) park and

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

located on a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,284. Hingham is known for its colonial history and location on B ...

. The peninsula is bordered by the Weir River to the North and East and Hingham Harbor (part of

Hingham Bay 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 ...

, and

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History Since ...

) to the West. The land is composed of four

drumlin A drumlin, from the Irish word ''droimnín'' ("littlest ridge"), first recorded in 1833, in the classical sense is an elongated hill in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated ...

s (Pine Hill, Planter's Hill, and the double drumlins of World's End proper) harboring tree groves interspersed with fields attractive to

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

and grassland-nesting birds, and offers 4.5 miles of walking paths with views of the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

skyline. The adjacent neighborhood, an upper-middle class residential subdivision with several waterfront homes, is also colloquially called ''World's End''.

History

In the mid to late 19th century, the

was purchased and turned into an extensive estate by John Brewer, who raised livestock there. In 1889, Brewer commissioned noted

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...

to design a residential subdivision. The design was made and the roads and trees set in place, but the homes were never built. The site was proposed in 1945 as a location for the nascent

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, but New York City was chosen instead. In the mid 1960s, Boston Edison considered building a nuclear power plant on World's End, but instead built the

Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS) is a decommissioned nuclear power plant in Massachusetts in the Manomet section of Plymouth on Cape Cod Bay, south of the tip of Rocky Point and north of Priscilla Beach. Like many similar plants, it was co ...

to the south. In 1967, through the generosity of

Wilmon Brewer Wilmon Brewer (1895–1998) was an American literary scholar, poet, writer and philanthropist. Early life Brewer was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, and lived there for most of his life on his family's estate, Great Hill. When he was a young man ...

, the northern two-thirds of the World's End peninsula was acquired by the

Trustees of Reservations The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit orga ...

and opened for public use. In 1996, it was made part of the

Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is a national recreation area situated among the islands of Boston Harbor of Boston, Massachusetts. The area is made up of a collection of islands, together with a former island and a peninsul ...

, but the Trustees continue to manage the site. The short story
World's End
by Clare Beams is inspired by Olmsted's dealings with the landscape, although the role of architect is played by a younger, unnamed person.

References

External links

World's End page from The Trustees

World's End page from the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership

U.S. Geological Survey Map
at the U.S. Geological Survey Map Website. Retrieved January 26, 2023. {{Islands and Peninsulas of Massachusetts The Trustees of Reservations Open space reserves of Massachusetts Boston Harbor peninsulas and former islands Hingham, Massachusetts Parks in Plymouth County, Massachusetts