July 17, 2024 By Geri Duff
Bethlehem Steel owned and operated the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy and was a major contractor for the US Navy. Just before the US entered the WWII all Bethlehem Steel shipyards were operating at full capacity, so land was acquired in Hingham with help from the US Navy. The land was cleared, and a steel mill was erected. The steel shipped from Pennsylvania by rail was cut into numbered pieces and welded together following a set pattern which enabled the yard to produce about six ships a month. The steel train followed Beal Street, crossed near Squirrel Hill Lane, veered left and went across Fottler Road to about where 350 Lincoln Street is now and went under the 3A overpass into the shipyard. This view is looking north into the shipyard with a locomotive just under the overpass. The overpass was taken down in the 1980s. This photograph is from the Hingham Historical Society.