Steamboat
Lane, located on the eastern side of the harbor at Hingham, Massachusetts,
began as a cart path to the early steamboat wharfs of the town. Although
the steamboats and their wooden wharfs on that side of the harbor
are gone now, Hersey's Wharf, built of granite in the early 19th century,
is a reminder of a time when heavy cargoes were transported to the
town by wind-driven coastal schooners. Wharf House, built right on
the edge of Hersey's Wharf in the early twentieth century, was just
the perfect setting for owner Rodman Swift to tie up his schooner,
the Tyche, and load up his daughters for a sail on Hingham
Bay.
After the Swift family moved out, a new family moved in and I spent
many hours in this house playing with the children of our new neighbors.
In the summer we skinny dipped from the porch at night. In the winter
we sledded down the lane and dried our mittens by hanging them over
the coal stove in the kitchen. We played poker, swore and smoked in
the basement. The house was then filled with paintings of old sailing
ships. Whaling harpoons and blubber cutting tools were wired to the
ceiling, and a dory hung from the ropes on the porch. I have often
wondered what happened to Mr. Swift and his little schooner.
