Bumpkin Island, also known as Round Island, Bomkin Island, Bumkin Island, or Ward's Island, is an island in the Hingham Bay area of the Boston Harbor. Bumpkin Island is part of Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park. The island has an area of 30acres, plus an intertidal zone of a further 31acres. It is composed of a central drumlin with an elevation of 70feet above sea level, surrounded by a rock-strewn shoreline. A sand spit, exposed at low tide, connects the eastern end of the island to Sunset Point in Hull.[1]
In 1902, Albert Burrage, a Boston philanthropist, had a summer hospital opened on the island for children with physical disabilities.[2] During World War I the island was used by the U.S. Navy. Starting around 1940, the island was used as a facility for polio patients. However, the hospital closed during World War II and burned down in 1945.[3]