Uncovering secrets of the Harbor Islands

Even if you know something about the Boston Harbor Islands and their history, author Christopher Klein knows some stories you haven't heard.

"This topic is really cool," said organizer Paula Christie of Klein's talk on his book "Discovering the Boston Harbor Islands: A Guide to the City's Hidden Shores," which will launch this year's WaterWatch Lecture Series next week at the South Shore Natural Science Center in Norwell.

In fact, most regional residents will acknowledge having relatively little contact with the Harbor Islands park system that is on the South Shore's doorstep. Although it's "just a ferry ride away," said Christie, assistant director of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, "it's a great, inexpensive escape a lot of people don't know about."

Her organization sponsors the series, along with the Science Center and Mass Audubon.

Klein's book fills a need for information on the 34 Harbor Islands at a time when they have become much more accessible to the public than they used to be. While the harbor's "hidden shores" have a varied and intriguing history stretching back to Colonial and Revolutionary days, recent Greater Boston history has brought the islands closer to vacationers and day trippers.

Spectacle Island, long a dumping ground for the City of Boston, was transformed into a recreation area using landfill from the Big Dig. Ferry lines from various points, including Quincy, now run to Spectacle Island, which also serves as the park's gateway island with water connections to other islands. The island has a swimming beach with a lifeguard, kayak rentals, jazz weekends, 5 miles of walking trails, and great views of the city skyline. Along with Georges Island, Spectacle has become a prime tourist destination.

A second factor shining the image of the Harbor Islands is the Boston Harbor cleanup, which restored the pleasures of the harbor to an array of users. "You can swim in it, you can fish," Klein said last week. "The fish are biting." The return of the seals and dolphins to waters nearer to land also points to what he calls the harbor's "ecological recovery."

The islands are owned by Boston, with both the National Park Service and the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation playing an oversight role. Staff from those agencies serve as guides on a number of the islands.

Among those closest to the South Shore, Nut Island is actually a peninsula at the tip of Quincy's Houghs Neck, with a fishing pier, grassy trails, and great views of nearby Peddocks Island and the rest of the harbor. Four of the smaller harbor islands are in Hingham Harbor, an easy destination for regional kayakers.

The four Brewster islands, including Little Brewster, the site of famed Boston Light, chain off Hull. Ferries from Boston's Fan Pier go to Little Brewster, where visitors can climb the historic lighthouse that has for centuries lighted the way to one of the two main shipping channels to Boston Harbor.

Klein's book charts his own voyage of discovery of the natural and historical riches of the islands, since he had never visited any of them before he started working on it. "I try to impart that learning process" in the text, Klein said. "We want to get people more aware of them so they can go out to visit and be good stewards as well."

His book recounts stories such as the legend of the lady in black who haunts Georges Island's Fort Warren, where Confederate prisoners were housed during the Civil War. According to the story, an imprisoned soldier's wife dressed as a man and snuck into the fort at night to help him escape, but was discovered. Condemned as a traitor, she asked to be dressed in women's clothes when she was hanged and now haunts the fort in the black drapes she was forced to wear in the absence of any available women's dress. Union soldiers reported seeing ghosts in the 1860s, Klein said. "It is a spooky place when the sun goes down."

Another vivid tale is of the "Grape Island alarm," when South Shore patriots rallied to the threat of a reported redcoat invasion during the Revolutionary War. In fact, British soldiers were sailing to the island, off Hingham, to gather food and fodder from a loyalist's farm. When unfavorable tides allowed the British to escape, revenge-seeking Patriots surged to the farmer's home but were dissuaded - so legend has it - by a handsome spread of refreshments, including rum.

"Even if they know something" about the Harbor Islands, Klein said of next week's audience, "they'll find out things they don't know."

Klein, 36, lives in Waltham, with his wife and 8-month-old son. A freelance writer, he writes travel stories along with his book projects. The idea for the book came from his publisher, Union Park Press of Boston, which saw that existing books were outdated, given the important changes of recent years.

Klein's book is packed with 150 color photos, maps, and illustrations. He also has spoken about the book at the Quincy and Hingham libraries.

Christie said the WaterWatch lecture series, now in its eighth year, has become a tradition for many area residents. "They go out to eat first and then come 45 minutes early to get good seats."

The free talks are scheduled for every Wednesday night at the science center at 7 p.m. through March 18. The Rockland Federal Credit Union supports the series with a $1,000 grant.

Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com.