Hingham, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
Hingham is a town in northern Plymouth County
on the South Shore of the U.S. state
of Massachusetts
and suburb in Greater Boston
. The United States Census Bureau
2008 estimated population was 22,561. Hingham is located southeast of Boston
.
For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place
Hingham, please see the article Hingham (CDP), Massachusetts
.
Hingham from its founding in 1643 until 1793; Norfolk County
from 1793 to 1803; and Plymouth County
from 1803 to the present. The eastern part of the town split off to become Cohasset, Massachusetts
in 1770. The town was named for Hingham
, a village in the English
county of Norfolk
, East Anglia, whence most of the first colonists came, including Abraham Lincoln
's ancestor Samuel Lincoln
(1622–90), his first American ancestor, who came to Massachusetts in 1637.
A statue of President Lincoln adorns the area adjacent to downtown Hingham Square.
Hingham was born of religious dissent. Many of the original founders were forced to flee their native village in Norfolk with both their vicars, Rev. Peter Hobart and Rev. Robert Peck, when they fell foul of the strict doctrines of Anglican England. Peck was known for what the eminent Norfolk historian Rev. Francis Blomefield called his "violent schismatical spirit." Peck lowered the chancel railing of the church, in accord with Puritan
sentiment that the Anglican church of the day was too removed from its parishioners. He also antagonized ecclesiastical authorities with other forbidden practices.
Hobart, born in Hingham, Norfolk, in 1604 and, like Peck, a graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge
, sought shelter from the prevailing discipline of the high church among his fellow Puritans. The cost to those who emigrated was steep. They "sold their possessions for half their value", noted a contemporary account, "and named the place of their settlement after their natal town." (The cost to the place they left behind was also high: Hingham was forced to petition Parliament for aid, claiming that the departure of its most well-to-do citizens had left it hamstrung.)
While most of the early Hingham settlers came from Hingham and other nearby villages in East Anglia, a few Hingham settlers like Anthony Eames came from the West Country
of England. The early settlers of Dorchester, Massachusetts
, for instance, had come under the guidance of Rev. John White of Dorchester in Dorset, and some of them (like Eames) later moved to Hingham. Accounts from Hingham's earliest years indicate some friction between the disparate groups, culminating in an 1645 episode involving the town's 'Trainband
', when some Hingham settlers supported Eames, and others supported Bozoan Allen, a prominent early Hingham settler and Hobart ally who came from King's Lynn
in Norfolk, East Anglia
. Prominent East Anglian Puritans like the Hobarts and the Cushings, for instance, were used to holding sway in matters of governance. Eventually the controversy became so heated that John Winthrop
and Thomas Dudley
were drawn into the fray; minister Hobart threatened to excommunicate Eames.
The bitter trainband controversy dragged on for several years, culminating in stiff fines. Eventually a weary Eames, who was in his mid-fifties when the controversy began and who had served Hingham as first militia captain, a selectman, and Deputy in the General Court, threw in the towel and moved to nearby Marshfield
where he again served as Deputy and emerged as a leading citizen, despite his brush with the Hingham powers-that-be.
Although the town was incorporated in 1635, the colonists didn't get around to negotiating purchase from the Wampanoag, the Native American tribe in the region, until three decades later. On July 4, 1665, the tribe's chief sachem, Josiah Wompatuck, sold the township to Capt. Joshua Hobart (brother of Rev. Peter Hobart) and Ensign John Thaxter, representatives of Hingham's colonial residents. Having occupied the land for 30 years, the Englishmen presumably felt entitled to a steep discount. The sum promised Josiah Wompatuck for the land encompassing Hingham was to be paid by two Hingham landowners: Lieut. John Smith and Deacon John Leavitt
, who had been granted 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) on Hingham's Turkey Hill earlier that year. Now the two men were instructed to deliver payment for their 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) grant to Josiah the chief Sachem. The grant to Smith and Leavitt – who together bought other large tracts from the Native Americans for themselves and their partners – was "on condition that they satisfy all the charge about the purchase of the town's land of Josiah–Indian sagamore, both the principal purchase and all the other charge that hath been about it." With that payment the matter was considered settled.
The third town clerk of Hingham was Daniel Cushing, who emigrated to Hingham from Hingham, Norfolk
, with his father Matthew in 1638. Cushing's meticulous records of early Hingham enabled subsequent town historians to reconstruct much of early Hingham history as well as that of the early families. Cushing was rather unusual in that he included the town's gossip along with the more conventional formal record-keeping. Cushing's early manuscript was published in 1865, with photographs of his contemporaneous notes on Hingham and its inhabitants entitled "Extracts of the Minutes of Daniel Cushing of Hingham."
The first history of Hingham was written in 1827 by Hingham attorney Solomon Lincoln. In it Lincoln delineated the history of many of the town's landmarks and early families. In subsequent years Solomon Lincoln corresponded with Abraham Lincoln
about the future president's Hingham ancestry, of which Abe professed to be ignorant. When Solomon Lincoln suggested that Abe might have forebears in Hingham, Abe responded with dry Lincoln wit that if the town's name were 'Hang'-em' then he probably did have relatives there.
For many years Hingham was the site of the Fall Blast which was the New England Optimist Fall Championship.
Hingham is home to the United States' oldest continuously used house of worship, the Old Ship Church
, built in 1681, which currently serves members of the Unitarian Universalist faith. Old Ship Church is the only remaining 17th-century Puritan meeting house in New England. The meeting house derives its name from the roof and ceiling rafters, which resemble an upside-down ship's hull. Many of the builders were ship carpenters, and the form was common throughout East Anglia
, the home of many of the town's earliest settlers. The town boasts a wide assortment of eighteenth-century and nineteenth-century homes. Many of these may be found in the six historic districts set aside by the town of Hingham.
Hingham was originally part of Suffolk County
, and when the southern part of the county was set off as Norfolk County
in 1793, it included the towns of Hingham and Hull
. In 1803 those towns opted out of Norfolk County and became part of Plymouth County
.
In 1889, a wealthy Hingham resident, John Brewer, commissioned Frederick Law Olmsted
to design a residential subdivision on a peninsula Brewer owned adjacent to Hingham Harbor
. While Olmsted's tree-lined horse-cart paths were made, the residential buildings were never constructed. After World War II
, Hingham was unsuccessful in its bid to have Brewer's peninsula used as the site of the planned United Nations
Secretariat building. In later years the site was also considered for a nuclear power plant. In the 1960s, to prevent eventual development, townspeople organized an effort to preserve the peninsula as open space. Today this natural conservation land is called World's End and is maintained by The Trustees of Reservations
.
Wilmon Brewer
was a life-long Hingham resident, a literary scholar, and a generous benefactor to Hingham. He gave "The Old Ordinary" (a historic, 17th-century tavern) to the Hingham Historical Society, and Brewer and his wife, Katharine More Brewer, donated 300 acres of their Great Hill estate to the town, which is now More-Brewer Park. The gift made possible the purchase of World's End for use as a public park. Wilmon Brewer served as a trustee of the Hingham Public Library from 1938 until 1985.
(originally called the Hingham Naval Reserve) was a major supplier of U.S. munitions, occupying 990 acres (4 km²) on the Weymouth Back River
(in the section once known as The Hockley). Most of the munitions used in the European front in World War II were created at the depot. At peak capacity in 1945, over 2,400 civilians and military personnel worked there. In the mid 1950s, the site contained over 90 buildings, its own telephone exchange, and 15 cranes. The base was decommissioned in 1961, though the Navy held on to the property until 1971, when it was turned over to the town of Hingham. Today much of the site is now occupied by the town's Bare Cove Park.
Hingham was also the location of the 97 acres (392,545.4 m²) Hingham Shipyard (also known as the Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard). Set up as an adjunct to the Fore River Shipyard
in nearby Quincy
, it was built in just four months in the Winter of 1941-42. It operated for some 39 months during the Second World War. The facility employed approximately 23,500 workers and produced some 75 destroyer escort
s (DEs), 17 high speed transport
s (APDs), 95 tank landing ship
s (LSTs), 40 landing craft
(LCIs), for a total of 227 vessels. These smaller, relatively simple ships played a vital role in the Allied victory, and were built in record time. One DE was launched just 23 days after keel-laying, and in one 50-hour span a total of 5 LSTs were delivered. The steel mill erected on the site (used later as a General Services Administration
warehouse) was the largest single-story building in New England, at 1000 feet (304.8 m). (A twin building was demolished in the 1980s, and the Mill Building was demolished in 2006). After the war, the complex became an industrial park. By the 1970s, the complex had fallen into disuse. Through the late 1980s and 1990s, the area primarily used as an MBTA commuter boat terminal and parking area, with some Marine businesses, the Hingham Bay Club Restaurant, and the offices of the Building 19 Salvage Store Chain being the only businesses remaining (in fact, the Building 19 chain began in the park, in what was Building 19 of the old shipyard. Building 19 headquarters is still located in the Southwest corner of the park on Route 3A, one of only two of the original buildings of the Shipyard that remain standing). The area is now enjoying a renaissance as a new multi-use marina, condominium, and retail complex which maintains the "Hingham Shipyard" name. Throughout the complex are plaques and displays that pay tribute to the Shipyard, as well as a "Main Gate" building which is a copy of the Guard House that once stood at the entrance of the complex. The smokestack of the original Power Plant also remains standing.
, Eleanor Roosevelt
authored a book entitled This is America, which used Hingham as an embodiment of the typical American town in wartime. As part of her visit researching the book she toured Hingham's Main Street, with its stately eighteenth- and nineteenth-century houses and, at the time, a canopy of elm
trees. Mrs. Roosevelt later concluded in the book "[t]his is the most beautiful Main Street in America." Main Street looks today much as it did then, though the elm canopy has mostly fallen victim to the ravages of Dutch Elm disease
.
In January 2007, the town carried out a long-discussed plan to put up the first set of traffic lights along Main Street, intended to improve safety at the intersection with Free and High Streets. Those street lights ended up being put up on Free and High Streets, making it easier for cars to cross, but causing traffic to back up along Main Street. Since then, there have been no car accidents at the intersection.
bus, commuter ferry
near the Hingham Shipyard, and commuter rail
.
Recent development includes the Conservatory Park residential subdivision and the Black Rock residential subdivision (a gated community, golf course, and private club). Another gated community for senior citizens, Linden Ponds, has been constructed in the southern part of Hingham. A second private golf club and residential community is nearing completion. Both golf clubs were developed on Hingham's western border with neighboring Weymouth
, in areas that had previously been woodland or quarry
. Brandon Woods, an exclusive neighborhood of large homes starting at around $1,000,000, was also built off Charles Street in the early 2000s.
The old shipyard is being converted into an upscale condo
community including a movie theatre and stores with starting prices around $1,000,000. Next to the current Beal's Cove condo community is the new Backriver townhomes community, with buildings including three units per building, which sell starting in the $700,000s. Baker's Hill is now home to the Christina Estates. There is another 55+ community called Ridgewood Crossing off French Street, which includes upscale free-standing condos for "active adults." A street is also being built off Fresh River Ave on the Weymouth border called Steven's Way. Another street off Gardner Street is being built with large houses around $1,500,000.
Hingham's recent and future projected growth have led its school board to conclude that additional educational resources must be constructed for the town's expanding student population. The state has approved the construction of a fourth elementary school on the site of the former East School. The town has recently voted to spend approx. $7 million for renovations and repairs to the Foster and Plymouth River elementary schools.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 25.0 square miles (64.9 km²), of which, 22.5 square miles (58.2 km²) of it is land and 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²) of it (10.26%) is water. Hingham is bordered on the east by Cohasset
, and Scituate
, on the south by Norwell
and Rockland
, on the west by Weymouth
, and on the north by Hingham Bay
and Hull
. Cohasset and Weymouth are in Norfolk County
; the other towns, like Hingham itself, are in Plymouth County
. Hingham is fourteen miles (21 km) southeast of downtown Boston.
Hingham lies along the southwest corner of Boston Harbor
, at the portion known as Hingham Bay. The bay leads to a harbor, which cuts a U-shaped indentation into the northern shore of the town. The town is separated from Hull by the Weir River
and its tributary, which leads to the Straits Pond. The northern third of the town's border with Weymouth consists of the Weymouth Back River
, which empties out into Hingham Bay. There are several other small ponds and brooks throughout town. The town also has several forests and parks, the largest of which, Wompatuck State Park
, spreads into the neighboring towns of Cohasset, Scituate and Norwell. There are also several conservation areas throughout town; the portion of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
in Hingham includes Bumpkin Island
, Button Island
, Langlee Island
, Ragged Island
, Sarah Island
and the World's End Reservation
, which juts out into the bay. There is a marina
along the mouth of the Weymouth Back River, and a public beach along the harbor.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 19,882 people, 7,189 households, and 5,478 families residing in the town. The population density
was 884.8 people per square mile (341.6/km²). There were 7,368 housing units at an average density of 327.9 per square mile (126.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.5% White, 0.40% Black or African American
, 0.04% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races
, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.
There were 7,189 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.7% were married couples
living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the town the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $83,018, and the median income for a family was $98,598 (these figures had risen to $100,444 and $134,259 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $66,802 versus $41,370 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $41,703. About 2.4% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.
On the national level, Hingham is a part of Massachusetts's 10th congressional district
, and is currently represented by William R. Keating
. The state's senior (Class II) member of the United States Senate
, re-elected in 2008, is John Kerry
. The junior (Class I) senator, elected in 2010, is Scott Brown
.
On the state level, Hingham is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
as a part of the Third Plymouth district, by Garrett Bradley. The district also includes Cohasset, Hull and North Scituate. The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate
as a part of the Plymouth and Norfolk district, by Robert Hedlund. The district also includes the towns of Cohasset, Duxbury, Hull, Marshfield, Norwell, Scituate and Weymouth. The town is patrolled on a secondary basis by the First (Norwell) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police
.
Hingham is governed on the local level by the open town meeting
form of government, and is led by a town administrator and a three-member board of selectmen
. The town hall is located in the former Central Junior High School building, which it moved into in 1995. The town has its own police and fire departments, with a central police station next to the town hall and fire houses located near the town common, in West Hingham, and in South Hingham. The town's nearest hospital is South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, where all emergency calls are sent. There are two post offices in town, one in downtown Hingham on North Street and another in South Hingham right on Route 53. The town's public library is located on Leavitt Street in Center Hingham, and is part of the Old Colony Library Network.
Hingham operates its own school system
for the town's approximately 3,800 students. There are four elementary schools (Plymouth River, South, East and William L. Foster) which serve students from kindergarten through fifth grade (the East Elementary School also has 3 pre-kindergarten classes). There is an independent private preschool located at the South Shore Conservatory, as well as Wilder Memorial Nursery School on Main Street. The Hingham Middle School is located in South Hingham, and serves students from sixth through eighth grades. Prior to 1989, this building was the South Junior High; however, it merged with Central Junior High to make a single, centralized school. The Central Junior High School building is no longer used for classes and was renovated to house all the town's offices and the police department.
Hingham High School
is located near Hingham Center, and serves students from ninth to twelfth grades. The school's teams are known as the Harbormen, and their colors are red and white. The teams compete in the Patriot League, and their chief rivals are nearby Weymouth High
, Scituate High
, and Duxbury High
. The school was recently recognized as one of two Blue Ribbon Schools in the state, by the United States Department of Education. "The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement to high levels"
In addition to the town's public schools, Hingham is home to four private schools. Saint Paul's School is a Catholic school, and Derby Academy
is an independent private school. Both serve elementary and middle school aged students. St. Paul's School received attention in 2010 when it rescinded the admission of an 8-year-old boy because his parents are lesbians. The town is also home to Notre Dame Academy
, a Roman Catholic high school for girls. Hingham is also home to Old Colony Montessori
School, a private school serving children ages 2.9 through Grade Three. Private schools in Weymouth, Milton, Braintree, and other towns also serve students from Hingham.
A small portion of Route 3 passes through the southwest corner of town, with one exit in town and another at Route 228
just south of the town line. Routes 3A
and 53 also cross through the town, the latter mirroring the path of Route 3. Route 228 passes from north to south in town; the rest all pass from west to east.
Public transportation is currently served by the commuter boat
service at the Hingham Shipyard, and the MBTA's
Bus Route 220, with Route 222 also passing through a small section of town. Commuter rail
has been restored along the Greenbush Line
through Hingham. Trains stop at two stations in town; West Hingham
and Nantasket Junction
. As part of the MBTA's agreement to restore train service, a tunnel has been built to carry the commuter trains under historic Hingham Square. There were disputes in Hingham about whether to allow the train to pass through the town. Some people felt that Hingham is becoming less like a town and more like a small city. Others felt that the line will benefit the town. There is no air service in the town; the nearest airport is Logan International Airport
in Boston.
Hingham's most famous line of citizens came from two unrelated families named Lincoln who emigrated to Massachusetts from the English
county of Norfolk
in the seventeenth century, from Hingham
and Swanton Morley
respectively. A bridge in Hingham over Route 3
, the Southeast Expressway, is named after Revolutionary War hero General Benjamin Lincoln
of the Swanton branch. General Lincoln is best remembered for accepting Cornwallis's sword of surrender at the Siege of Yorktown
. But the most famous Hingham Lincoln never lived in the town: United States President and Civil War
Commander-in-Chief Abraham Lincoln
, descended from one of several Lincoln families who settled in Hingham—and unrelated to General Benjamin. A bronze statue, a replica of the famous sitting Lincoln Memorial
in Washington D.C. sits at the foot of Lincoln Street at North Street. Issachar Bates
, a prominent Shaker
composer and church leader, was born in Hingham in 1758. Native son Isaac Sprague
was the best-known American botanical illustrator in the 1800s. John F. Andrew
was a United States Congressman in the 19th century.
Bobby Allen
, Providence Bruins
AHL
player
Tony Amonte
, National Hockey League (NHL) player
Kelly Amonte-Hiller, Northwestern University
women's lacrosse
coach, 5 time NCAA champions
Bill Belichick
, head coach of the New England Patriots
professional football team
Brian Boyle
, New York Rangers
National Hockey League (NHL) player
Andy Brickley
, former National Hockey League (NHL) player
Marc Brown
, children's author known primarily for the Arthur
series of picture books (and related TV show), moved to Martha's Vineyard
in 2005
Prescott Bush Jr., brother of 41st President George H.W. Bush and Uncle of 43rd President George W. Bush
Trevor Byrne (hockey), 1999 National Hockey League (NHL) draft pick of the St Louis Blues
Ken Casey
, bassist
and co-lead vocalist of the Irish
punk rock
group Dropkick Murphys
Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Plymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2010, the population was 494,919. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton...
on the South Shore of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and suburb in Greater Boston
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...
. The United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
2008 estimated population was 22,561. Hingham is located southeast of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
Hingham, please see the article Hingham (CDP), Massachusetts
Hingham (CDP), Massachusetts
Hingham is a census-designated place in the town of Hingham in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,352 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hingham is located at ....
.
History
The town of Hingham was dubbed "Bare Cove" by the first colonizing English in 1633, but two years later was incorporated as a town under the name "Hingham". The town was within Suffolk CountySuffolk County, Massachusetts
Suffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.-National protected areas:*Boston African American National Historic Site...
Hingham from its founding in 1643 until 1793; Norfolk County
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Adams National Historical Park* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area * Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site* John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site-Demographics:...
from 1793 to 1803; and Plymouth County
Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Plymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2010, the population was 494,919. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton...
from 1803 to the present. The eastern part of the town split off to become Cohasset, Massachusetts
Cohasset, Massachusetts
Cohasset is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, though it is not contiguous with the main body of the county. The population was 7,542 at the 2010 census.- History :...
in 1770. The town was named for Hingham
Hingham, Norfolk
Hingham is a market town and civil parish in the Forehoe district in the heart of rural Norfolk, in England. The civil parish covers an area of and had a population of 2,078 in 944 households as of the 2001 census. Grand architecture surrounds the market place and village green...
, a village in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, East Anglia, whence most of the first colonists came, including Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's ancestor Samuel Lincoln
Samuel Lincoln
Samuel Lincoln , was progenitor of many notable United States political figures, including his great-great-great-great-grandson, President Abraham Lincoln, Maine governor Enoch Lincoln, and Levi Lincoln, Sr...
(1622–90), his first American ancestor, who came to Massachusetts in 1637.
A statue of President Lincoln adorns the area adjacent to downtown Hingham Square.
Hingham was born of religious dissent. Many of the original founders were forced to flee their native village in Norfolk with both their vicars, Rev. Peter Hobart and Rev. Robert Peck, when they fell foul of the strict doctrines of Anglican England. Peck was known for what the eminent Norfolk historian Rev. Francis Blomefield called his "violent schismatical spirit." Peck lowered the chancel railing of the church, in accord with Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
sentiment that the Anglican church of the day was too removed from its parishioners. He also antagonized ecclesiastical authorities with other forbidden practices.
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
, sought shelter from the prevailing discipline of the high church among his fellow Puritans. The cost to those who emigrated was steep. They "sold their possessions for half their value", noted a contemporary account, "and named the place of their settlement after their natal town." (The cost to the place they left behind was also high: Hingham was forced to petition Parliament for aid, claiming that the departure of its most well-to-do citizens had left it hamstrung.)
While most of the early Hingham settlers came from Hingham and other nearby villages in East Anglia, a few Hingham settlers like Anthony Eames came from the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
of England. The early settlers of Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
, for instance, had come under the guidance of Rev. John White of Dorchester in Dorset, and some of them (like Eames) later moved to Hingham. Accounts from Hingham's earliest years indicate some friction between the disparate groups, culminating in an 1645 episode involving the town's 'Trainband
Trainband
Trainbands were companies of militia in England or the Americas, first organized in the 16th century and dissolved in the 18th. The term was used after this time to describe the London militia. In the early American colonies the trainband was the most basic tactical unit. However, no standard...
', when some Hingham settlers supported Eames, and others supported Bozoan Allen, a prominent early Hingham settler and Hobart ally who came from King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
in Norfolk, East Anglia
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. Prominent East Anglian Puritans like the Hobarts and the Cushings, for instance, were used to holding sway in matters of governance. Eventually the controversy became so heated that John Winthrop
John Winthrop
John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...
and Thomas Dudley
Thomas Dudley
Thomas Dudley was a colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the town's first home...
were drawn into the fray; minister Hobart threatened to excommunicate Eames.
The bitter trainband controversy dragged on for several years, culminating in stiff fines. Eventually a weary Eames, who was in his mid-fifties when the controversy began and who had served Hingham as first militia captain, a selectman, and Deputy in the General Court, threw in the towel and moved to nearby Marshfield
Marshfield, Massachusetts
Marshfield is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on Massachusetts's South Shore. The population was 25,132 at the 2010 census.See also: Green Harbor, Marshfield , Rexhame, Marshfield Hills, and Ocean Bluff and Brant Rock....
where he again served as Deputy and emerged as a leading citizen, despite his brush with the Hingham powers-that-be.
Although the town was incorporated in 1635, the colonists didn't get around to negotiating purchase from the Wampanoag, the Native American tribe in the region, until three decades later. On July 4, 1665, the tribe's chief sachem, Josiah Wompatuck, sold the township to Capt. Joshua Hobart (brother of Rev. Peter Hobart) and Ensign John Thaxter, representatives of Hingham's colonial residents. Having occupied the land for 30 years, the Englishmen presumably felt entitled to a steep discount. The sum promised Josiah Wompatuck for the land encompassing Hingham was to be paid by two Hingham landowners: Lieut. John Smith and Deacon John Leavitt
John Leavitt
Deacon John Leavitt was a tailor, public officeholder, and founding deacon of Old Ship Church in Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, the only remaining 17th-century Puritan meeting house in America and the oldest church in continuous ecclesiastical use in the United States...
, who had been granted 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) on Hingham's Turkey Hill earlier that year. Now the two men were instructed to deliver payment for their 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) grant to Josiah the chief Sachem. The grant to Smith and Leavitt – who together bought other large tracts from the Native Americans for themselves and their partners – was "on condition that they satisfy all the charge about the purchase of the town's land of Josiah–Indian sagamore, both the principal purchase and all the other charge that hath been about it." With that payment the matter was considered settled.
The third town clerk of Hingham was Daniel Cushing, who emigrated to Hingham from Hingham, Norfolk
Hingham, Norfolk
Hingham is a market town and civil parish in the Forehoe district in the heart of rural Norfolk, in England. The civil parish covers an area of and had a population of 2,078 in 944 households as of the 2001 census. Grand architecture surrounds the market place and village green...
, with his father Matthew in 1638. Cushing's meticulous records of early Hingham enabled subsequent town historians to reconstruct much of early Hingham history as well as that of the early families. Cushing was rather unusual in that he included the town's gossip along with the more conventional formal record-keeping. Cushing's early manuscript was published in 1865, with photographs of his contemporaneous notes on Hingham and its inhabitants entitled "Extracts of the Minutes of Daniel Cushing of Hingham."
The first history of Hingham was written in 1827 by Hingham attorney Solomon Lincoln. In it Lincoln delineated the history of many of the town's landmarks and early families. In subsequent years Solomon Lincoln corresponded with Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
about the future president's Hingham ancestry, of which Abe professed to be ignorant. When Solomon Lincoln suggested that Abe might have forebears in Hingham, Abe responded with dry Lincoln wit that if the town's name were 'Hang'-em' then he probably did have relatives there.
For many years Hingham was the site of the Fall Blast which was the New England Optimist Fall Championship.
Hingham is home to the United States' oldest continuously used house of worship, the Old Ship Church
Old Ship Church
The Old Ship Church was built in 1681 in Hingham, Massachusetts in the United States. It is the oldest church in continuous ecclesiastical use in the United States. It is the only remaining 17th century Puritan meetinghouse in America...
, built in 1681, which currently serves members of the Unitarian Universalist faith. Old Ship Church is the only remaining 17th-century Puritan meeting house in New England. The meeting house derives its name from the roof and ceiling rafters, which resemble an upside-down ship's hull. Many of the builders were ship carpenters, and the form was common throughout East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, the home of many of the town's earliest settlers. The town boasts a wide assortment of eighteenth-century and nineteenth-century homes. Many of these may be found in the six historic districts set aside by the town of Hingham.
Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Suffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.-National protected areas:*Boston African American National Historic Site...
, and when the southern part of the county was set off as Norfolk County
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Adams National Historical Park* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area * Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site* John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site-Demographics:...
in 1793, it included the towns of Hingham and Hull
Hull, Massachusetts
Hull is a peninsula town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,293 at the 2010 census. Hull is the smallest town by land area in Plymouth County and the fourth smallest in the state...
. In 1803 those towns opted out of Norfolk County and became part of Plymouth County
Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Plymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2010, the population was 494,919. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton...
.
In 1889, a wealthy Hingham resident, John Brewer, commissioned Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
to design a residential subdivision on a peninsula Brewer owned adjacent to Hingham Harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
. While Olmsted's tree-lined horse-cart paths were made, the residential buildings were never constructed. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Hingham was unsuccessful in its bid to have Brewer's peninsula used as the site of the planned United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Secretariat building. In later years the site was also considered for a nuclear power plant. In the 1960s, to prevent eventual development, townspeople organized an effort to preserve the peninsula as open space. Today this natural conservation land is called World's End and is maintained by The Trustees of Reservations
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 regional land trust in the world and has 100,000 dues-paying members...
.
Wilmon Brewer
Wilmon Brewer
-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 family of his future wife, Katharine Hay More, purchased the property from Brewer's parents. During this time period, he and More fell in love...
was a life-long Hingham resident, a literary scholar, and a generous benefactor to Hingham. He gave "The Old Ordinary" (a historic, 17th-century tavern) to the Hingham Historical Society, and Brewer and his wife, Katharine More Brewer, donated 300 acres of their Great Hill estate to the town, which is now More-Brewer Park. The gift made possible the purchase of World's End for use as a public park. Wilmon Brewer served as a trustee of the Hingham Public Library from 1938 until 1985.
Hingham's contribution in the World Wars
From 1903 until 1961, The Hingham Naval Ammunition DepotHingham Naval Ammunition Depot Annex
The Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot Annex, sometimes called the “Cohasset Annex” or "Hingham Annex" by local residents, covered sections of the towns of Hingham, Cohasset,Norwell, and Scituate Massachusetts.-Beginnings:...
(originally called the Hingham Naval Reserve) was a major supplier of U.S. munitions, occupying 990 acres (4 km²) on the Weymouth Back River
Weymouth Back River
The Weymouth Back River, sometimes called Back River, is a short, primarily tidal river in Hingham and Weymouth, Massachusetts, about south of Boston...
(in the section once known as The Hockley). Most of the munitions used in the European front in World War II were created at the depot. At peak capacity in 1945, over 2,400 civilians and military personnel worked there. In the mid 1950s, the site contained over 90 buildings, its own telephone exchange, and 15 cranes. The base was decommissioned in 1961, though the Navy held on to the property until 1971, when it was turned over to the town of Hingham. Today much of the site is now occupied by the town's Bare Cove Park.
Hingham was also the location of the 97 acres (392,545.4 m²) Hingham Shipyard (also known as the Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard). Set up as an adjunct to the Fore River Shipyard
Fore River Shipyard
The Fore River Shipyard of Quincy, Massachusetts, more formally known as the Fore River Ship and Engine Building Company, was a shipyard in the United States from 1883 until 1986. Located on the Weymouth Fore River, the yard began operations in 1883 in Braintree, Massachusetts before being moved...
in nearby Quincy
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
, it was built in just four months in the Winter of 1941-42. It operated for some 39 months during the Second World War. The facility employed approximately 23,500 workers and produced some 75 destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
s (DEs), 17 high speed transport
High speed transport
High Speed Transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used to support amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer....
s (APDs), 95 tank landing ship
Tank landing ship
Landing Ship, Tank was the military designation for naval vessels created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore....
s (LSTs), 40 landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
(LCIs), for a total of 227 vessels. These smaller, relatively simple ships played a vital role in the Allied victory, and were built in record time. One DE was launched just 23 days after keel-laying, and in one 50-hour span a total of 5 LSTs were delivered. The steel mill erected on the site (used later as a General Services Administration
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...
warehouse) was the largest single-story building in New England, at 1000 feet (304.8 m). (A twin building was demolished in the 1980s, and the Mill Building was demolished in 2006). After the war, the complex became an industrial park. By the 1970s, the complex had fallen into disuse. Through the late 1980s and 1990s, the area primarily used as an MBTA commuter boat terminal and parking area, with some Marine businesses, the Hingham Bay Club Restaurant, and the offices of the Building 19 Salvage Store Chain being the only businesses remaining (in fact, the Building 19 chain began in the park, in what was Building 19 of the old shipyard. Building 19 headquarters is still located in the Southwest corner of the park on Route 3A, one of only two of the original buildings of the Shipyard that remain standing). The area is now enjoying a renaissance as a new multi-use marina, condominium, and retail complex which maintains the "Hingham Shipyard" name. Throughout the complex are plaques and displays that pay tribute to the Shipyard, as well as a "Main Gate" building which is a copy of the Guard House that once stood at the entrance of the complex. The smokestack of the original Power Plant also remains standing.
"The Main Street of America"
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
authored a book entitled This is America, which used Hingham as an embodiment of the typical American town in wartime. As part of her visit researching the book she toured Hingham's Main Street, with its stately eighteenth- and nineteenth-century houses and, at the time, a canopy of elm
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
trees. Mrs. Roosevelt later concluded in the book "[t]his is the most beautiful Main Street in America." Main Street looks today much as it did then, though the elm canopy has mostly fallen victim to the ravages of Dutch Elm disease
Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease is a disease caused by a member of the sac fungi category, affecting elm trees which is spread by the elm bark beetle. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease has been accidentally introduced into America and Europe, where it has devastated native...
.
In January 2007, the town carried out a long-discussed plan to put up the first set of traffic lights along Main Street, intended to improve safety at the intersection with Free and High Streets. Those street lights ended up being put up on Free and High Streets, making it easier for cars to cross, but causing traffic to back up along Main Street. Since then, there have been no car accidents at the intersection.
Current development
While strongly rooted in America's colonial past, Hingham has seen a wave of development in the past ten years. Real-estate development pressure in Hingham is likely spurred by several factors: the town's close proximity to Boston; its high-quality public education; its relatively unspoiled historic character, and expanding availability of public transportation to Boston, by MBTAMassachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...
bus, commuter ferry
MBTA boat
The MBTA Boat system is a public boat service providing water transport in the Greater Boston area via Boston Harbor. Both inner harbor and longer distance commuter ferries are operated...
near the Hingham Shipyard, and commuter rail
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail serves as the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, in the United States. It is operated under contract by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company a joint partnership of Veolia Transportation, Bombardier Transportation and Alternate...
.
Recent development includes the Conservatory Park residential subdivision and the Black Rock residential subdivision (a gated community, golf course, and private club). Another gated community for senior citizens, Linden Ponds, has been constructed in the southern part of Hingham. A second private golf club and residential community is nearing completion. Both golf clubs were developed on Hingham's western border with neighboring Weymouth
Weymouth, Massachusetts
The Town of Weymouth is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, Weymouth had a total population of 53,743. Despite its city status, it is formally known as the Town of Weymouth...
, in areas that had previously been woodland or quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
. Brandon Woods, an exclusive neighborhood of large homes starting at around $1,000,000, was also built off Charles Street in the early 2000s.
The old shipyard is being converted into an upscale condo
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
community including a movie theatre and stores with starting prices around $1,000,000. Next to the current Beal's Cove condo community is the new Backriver townhomes community, with buildings including three units per building, which sell starting in the $700,000s. Baker's Hill is now home to the Christina Estates. There is another 55+ community called Ridgewood Crossing off French Street, which includes upscale free-standing condos for "active adults." A street is also being built off Fresh River Ave on the Weymouth border called Steven's Way. Another street off Gardner Street is being built with large houses around $1,500,000.
Hingham's recent and future projected growth have led its school board to conclude that additional educational resources must be constructed for the town's expanding student population. The state has approved the construction of a fourth elementary school on the site of the former East School. The town has recently voted to spend approx. $7 million for renovations and repairs to the Foster and Plymouth River elementary schools.
Geography
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 25.0 square miles (64.9 km²), of which, 22.5 square miles (58.2 km²) of it is land and 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²) of it (10.26%) is water. Hingham is bordered on the east by Cohasset
Cohasset, Massachusetts
Cohasset is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, though it is not contiguous with the main body of the county. The population was 7,542 at the 2010 census.- History :...
, and Scituate
Scituate, Massachusetts
Scituate is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 18,133 at the 2010 census....
, on the south by Norwell
Norwell, Massachusetts
Norwell is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population is currently 10,506 at the 2010 Census.Norwell was first settled in 1634 as a part of the settlement of Satuit , which encompasses present day Scituate and Norwell. It was officially created, in 1849 and soon became...
and Rockland
Rockland, Massachusetts
Rockland is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The 2010 census records its population at 17,489. As of December 31, 2009, there are 11,809 registered voters in the community.-History:...
, on the west by Weymouth
Weymouth, Massachusetts
The Town of Weymouth is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, Weymouth had a total population of 53,743. Despite its city status, it is formally known as the Town of Weymouth...
, and on the north by Hingham Bay
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 lies east of Quincy Bay and is met at the southwest by...
and Hull
Hull, Massachusetts
Hull is a peninsula town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,293 at the 2010 census. Hull is the smallest town by land area in Plymouth County and the fourth smallest in the state...
. Cohasset and Weymouth are in Norfolk County
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Adams National Historical Park* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area * Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site* John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site-Demographics:...
; the other towns, like Hingham itself, are in Plymouth County
Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Plymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2010, the population was 494,919. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton...
. Hingham is fourteen miles (21 km) southeast of downtown Boston.
Hingham lies along the southwest corner of Boston Harbor
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 northeast.-History:...
, at the portion known as Hingham Bay. The bay leads to a harbor, which cuts a U-shaped indentation into the northern shore of the town. The town is separated from Hull by the Weir River
Weir River (Massachusetts)
Weir River is a short stream and estuary that empties into Hingham Bay, part of Boston Harbor in Massachusetts, United States. The name is attributed to the location of a fishing weir in the stream...
and its tributary, which leads to the Straits Pond. The northern third of the town's border with Weymouth consists of the Weymouth Back River
Weymouth Back River
The Weymouth Back River, sometimes called Back River, is a short, primarily tidal river in Hingham and Weymouth, Massachusetts, about south of Boston...
, which empties out into Hingham Bay. There are several other small ponds and brooks throughout town. The town also has several forests and parks, the largest of which, Wompatuck State Park
Wompatuck State Park
Wompatuck State Park is a recreational area of about 4000 acres in size located primarily in Hingham, Massachusetts, in the United States. Portions of the park extend into the neighboring towns of Cohasset, Norwell, and Scituate...
, spreads into the neighboring towns of Cohasset, Scituate and Norwell. There are also several conservation areas throughout town; the portion of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
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 peninsula, many of which are open for public recreation and some...
in Hingham includes Bumpkin Island
Bumpkin Island
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. Since 1996 it is part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The island has an area of , plus an intertidal zone of a further...
, Button Island
Button Island (Massachusetts)
Button Island is a small island in the Hingham Bay area of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The island has a permanent size of under , plus an intertidal zone of a further . It is composed of a massing of glacial till which rises to a height of above sea level...
, Langlee Island
Langlee Island
Langlee Island or Langley Island is an island in the Hingham Bay area of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The island has a permanent size of , plus an intertidal zone of a further , and is composed of a massing of roxbury puddingstone which rises to a height of above sea level...
, Ragged Island
Ragged Island (Massachusetts)
Ragged Island is an island in the Hingham Bay area of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The island has a permanent size of , and it is composed of a massing of roxbury puddingstone which rises to a height of above sea level...
, Sarah Island
Sarah Island (Massachusetts)
Sarah Island is an island in the Hingham Bay area of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The island has a permanent size of just under , and is composed large outcroppings and ledges of roxbury puddingstone together with glacial till which rises to a height of above sea level...
and the World's End Reservation
World's End (Hingham)
World's End is a 251 acre park and conservation area located on a peninsula in Hingham, Massachusetts. The peninsula is bordered by the Weir River to the North and East and Hingham Harbor to the West...
, which juts out into the bay. There is a marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
along the mouth of the Weymouth Back River, and a public beach along the harbor.
Demographics
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 19,882 people, 7,189 households, and 5,478 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 884.8 people per square mile (341.6/km²). There were 7,368 housing units at an average density of 327.9 per square mile (126.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.5% White, 0.40% Black or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.04% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.
There were 7,189 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the town the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $83,018, and the median income for a family was $98,598 (these figures had risen to $100,444 and $134,259 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $66,802 versus $41,370 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $41,703. About 2.4% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.
Top employers
According to the Town's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:| # | Employer | # of employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Cross Blue Shield Association The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a federation of 39 separate health insurance organizations and companies in the United States. Combined, they directly or indirectly provide health insurance to over 100 million Americans. The history of Blue Cross dates back to 1929, while the history of... of Massachusetts |
1,400 |
| 2 | Talbots Talbots Talbots is a specialty retailer and direct marketer of women’s classic clothing, shoes and accessories. Established in 1947, the company sells items such as the blazer, trench, white shirt, ballet flats and pearls.... |
1,200 |
| 3 | Town of Hingham | 1,019 |
| 4 | EMD Serono Merck Serono Merck Serono is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. In September 2006, Merck KGaA announced its intent to purchase the majority of Serono shares from Ernesto Bertarelli and the Bertarelli family. The Merck-Serono merger was announced on September 21, 2006... |
601 |
| 5 | Linden Ponds Erickson Living Erickson Retirement Communities, now known as Erickson Living, is the largest developer and operator of campus-style, continuing care retirement communities in the United States... |
450 |
| 6 | Russelectric | 239 |
| 7 | Harbor House | 227 |
| 8 | Stop & Shop Stop & Shop The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company is a chain of supermarkets located mostly in the northeastern United States. Its main rivals are Shaw's Star Market and Hannaford in New England, while ShopRite and the A&P family of supermarkets are its main competition in New York and New Jersey.- History :Stop... |
190 |
| 9 | Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S... |
169 |
| 10 | Eat Well | 148 |
Government
Massachusetts's 10th congressional district
Massachusetts's 10th congressional district is a political constituency that includes parts of the South Shore of Massachusetts, and all of Cape Cod and the islands. With a population of 635,901 and a land area of , it is the most populous of Massachusetts's ten congressional districts and the...
, and is currently represented by William R. Keating
William R. Keating
William Richard "Bill" Keating is the U.S. Representative for . From 1999 to 2011 he was District Attorney of Norfolk County. He is a member of the Democratic Party and a former Massachusetts state representative and state senator....
. The state's senior (Class II) member of the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, re-elected in 2008, is John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
. The junior (Class I) senator, elected in 2010, is Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...
.
On the state level, Hingham is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
as a part of the Third Plymouth district, by Garrett Bradley. The district also includes Cohasset, Hull and North Scituate. The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...
as a part of the Plymouth and Norfolk district, by Robert Hedlund. The district also includes the towns of Cohasset, Duxbury, Hull, Marshfield, Norwell, Scituate and Weymouth. The town is patrolled on a secondary basis by the First (Norwell) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police
Massachusetts State Police
The Massachusetts State Police is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state...
.
Hingham is governed on the local level by the open town meeting
Open town meeting
An open town meeting is a form of town meeting in which all registered voters of a town may vote . This form of government is typical of smaller municipalities in the New England region of the United States....
form of government, and is led by a town administrator and a three-member board of selectmen
Board of selectmen
The board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms.-History:...
. The town hall is located in the former Central Junior High School building, which it moved into in 1995. The town has its own police and fire departments, with a central police station next to the town hall and fire houses located near the town common, in West Hingham, and in South Hingham. The town's nearest hospital is South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, where all emergency calls are sent. There are two post offices in town, one in downtown Hingham on North Street and another in South Hingham right on Route 53. The town's public library is located on Leavitt Street in Center Hingham, and is part of the Old Colony Library Network.
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 15, 2008 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Number of Voters | Percentage |
Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous... |
4,101 | 25.63% |
Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S... |
2,976 | 18.60% |
Unaffiliated | 8,870 | 55.43% |
Minor Parties | 56 | 0.35% | |
| Total | 16,003 | 100% | |||||||||||||
Education
Hingham School District
Hingham School District is a school district that serves Hingham, Massachusetts, USA.-Schools:*Plymouth River Elementary School*South Elementary School*Foster Elementary School*East Elementary School...
for the town's approximately 3,800 students. There are four elementary schools (Plymouth River, South, East and William L. Foster) which serve students from kindergarten through fifth grade (the East Elementary School also has 3 pre-kindergarten classes). There is an independent private preschool located at the South Shore Conservatory, as well as Wilder Memorial Nursery School on Main Street. The Hingham Middle School is located in South Hingham, and serves students from sixth through eighth grades. Prior to 1989, this building was the South Junior High; however, it merged with Central Junior High to make a single, centralized school. The Central Junior High School building is no longer used for classes and was renovated to house all the town's offices and the police department.
Hingham High School
Hingham High School
Hingham High School is a co-educational, public high school serving grades 9 through 12 for the town of Hingham, Massachusetts. It is located on Union Street near Hingham Center. This school was ranked number 985 on Newsweek 's 2005 list of the Best High Schools in America.The school's teams...
is located near Hingham Center, and serves students from ninth to twelfth grades. The school's teams are known as the Harbormen, and their colors are red and white. The teams compete in the Patriot League, and their chief rivals are nearby Weymouth High
Weymouth High School
Weymouth High School is a comprehensive public high school located in Weymouth, Massachusetts that serves students in grades nine through twelve...
, Scituate High
Scituate High School (Massachusetts)
Scituate High School is the only public secondary school of Scituate, Massachusetts. It has an enrollment of roughly 722 students, servicing grades 9–12 for the entire town. The school was originally located at Central Field in Scituate and then moved to what is now the Gates Intermediate...
, and Duxbury High
Duxbury High School
Duxbury High School is a public high school in New England, located in Duxbury, Massachusetts a small sea-side town. The superintendent of the district is Dr. Benedict Tantillo, III...
. The school was recently recognized as one of two Blue Ribbon Schools in the state, by the United States Department of Education. "The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement to high levels"
In addition to the town's public schools, Hingham is home to four private schools. Saint Paul's School is a Catholic school, and Derby Academy
Derby Academy
Derby Academy is an elementary and middle school that offers a coeducational curriculum to Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade. It is located near Route 3A and Broad Cove in Hingham, Massachusetts...
is an independent private school. Both serve elementary and middle school aged students. St. Paul's School received attention in 2010 when it rescinded the admission of an 8-year-old boy because his parents are lesbians. The town is also home to Notre Dame Academy
Notre Dame Academy (Hingham, Massachusetts)
Notre Dame Academy is a private, all-girls Roman Catholic high school in Hingham, Massachusetts. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.-History:...
, a Roman Catholic high school for girls. Hingham is also home to Old Colony Montessori
Montessori method
Montessori education is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori. Montessori education is practiced in an estimated 20,000 schools worldwide, serving children from birth to eighteen years old.-Overview:...
School, a private school serving children ages 2.9 through Grade Three. Private schools in Weymouth, Milton, Braintree, and other towns also serve students from Hingham.
Transportation
Massachusetts Route 228
Route 228 is a rather short south–north highway in southeastern Massachusetts.-Route description:Route 228 runs from Route 3 in Rockland, goes through Hingham, and ends at the intersection of George Washington Boulevard in Hull....
just south of the town line. Routes 3A
Massachusetts Route 3A
Route 3A is a state highway in eastern Massachusetts, which parallels Route 3 and U.S. Route 3 from Cedarville in southern Plymouth to Tyngsborough at the New Hampshire state line....
and 53 also cross through the town, the latter mirroring the path of Route 3. Route 228 passes from north to south in town; the rest all pass from west to east.
Public transportation is currently served by the commuter boat
MBTA boat
The MBTA Boat system is a public boat service providing water transport in the Greater Boston area via Boston Harbor. Both inner harbor and longer distance commuter ferries are operated...
service at the Hingham Shipyard, and the MBTA's
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...
Bus Route 220, with Route 222 also passing through a small section of town. Commuter rail
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail serves as the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, in the United States. It is operated under contract by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company a joint partnership of Veolia Transportation, Bombardier Transportation and Alternate...
has been restored along the Greenbush Line
Greenbush Line
The Greenbush Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. The line restores service along the New Haven Railroad's Greenbush Branch, from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through the towns of Braintree, Weymouth, Hingham, Cohasset, and Scituate on the South Shore of Boston...
through Hingham. Trains stop at two stations in town; West Hingham
West Hingham (MBTA station)
West Hingham Station is a rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail system in Hingham, Massachusetts. The station, located at 20 Fort Hill Street, is the sixth of ten along the MBTA's Greenbush Line, which provides service between Scituate and Boston. The line, which reopened on October 31,...
and Nantasket Junction
Nantasket Junction (MBTA station)
Nantasket Junction Station is a rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail system in Hingham, Massachusetts. The station, located at 190 Summer Street, is the seventh of ten along the MBTA's Greenbush Line, which provides service between Scituate and Boston. The line, which reopened on...
. As part of the MBTA's agreement to restore train service, a tunnel has been built to carry the commuter trains under historic Hingham Square. There were disputes in Hingham about whether to allow the train to pass through the town. Some people felt that Hingham is becoming less like a town and more like a small city. Others felt that the line will benefit the town. There is no air service in the town; the nearest airport is Logan International Airport
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
in Boston.
Notable residents
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
in the seventeenth century, from Hingham
Hingham, Norfolk
Hingham is a market town and civil parish in the Forehoe district in the heart of rural Norfolk, in England. The civil parish covers an area of and had a population of 2,078 in 944 households as of the 2001 census. Grand architecture surrounds the market place and village green...
and Swanton Morley
Swanton Morley
Swanton Morley is a picturesque village situated in the heart of Norfolk. It is a village steeped in history documented back to the Domesday Book...
respectively. A bridge in Hingham over Route 3
Route 3 (Massachusetts)
Route 3 is a southward continuation of U.S. Route 3, connecting Cambridge, Massachusetts with Cape Cod. All of it, except for the northernmost end in downtown Boston and Cambridge, is a freeway....
, the Southeast Expressway, is named after Revolutionary War hero General Benjamin Lincoln
Benjamin Lincoln
Benjamin Lincoln was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War...
of the Swanton branch. General Lincoln is best remembered for accepting Cornwallis's sword of surrender at the Siege of Yorktown
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...
. But the most famous Hingham Lincoln never lived in the town: United States President and Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
Commander-in-Chief Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, descended from one of several Lincoln families who settled in Hingham—and unrelated to General Benjamin. A bronze statue, a replica of the famous sitting Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
in Washington D.C. sits at the foot of Lincoln Street at North Street. Issachar Bates
Issachar Bates
Issachar Bates was the most prominent composer of music for the Shakers, best known for "Come Life, Shaker Life", which he wrote in 1835....
, a prominent Shaker
Shakers
The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a religious sect originally thought to be a development of the Religious Society of Friends...
composer and church leader, was born in Hingham in 1758. Native son Isaac Sprague
Isaac Sprague
Isaac Sprague was a self-taught landscape, botanical, and ornithological painter. He was America's best known botanical illustrator of his day....
was the best-known American botanical illustrator in the 1800s. John F. Andrew
John F. Andrew
John Forrester Andrew was a United States Representative from Massachusetts. He was born to John Albion Andrew and Eliza Jane Andrew in Hingham on November 26, 1850. He attended private schools, including Phillips School and Brooks School. He graduated from Harvard University in 1872 and from...
was a United States Congressman in the 19th century.
Bobby Allen
Bobby Allen
Robert Paul Allen is an American professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League for the Edmonton Oilers and the Boston Bruins.-Playing career:...
, Providence Bruins
Providence Bruins
The Providence Bruins are an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the primary development team for the NHL's Boston Bruins. They play in Providence, Rhode Island at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.-History:...
AHL
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
player
Tony Amonte
Tony Amonte
Anthony Lewis Amonte is a retired American professional ice hockey player. He played right wing for the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers and the Calgary Flames, all of the National Hockey League...
, National Hockey League (NHL) player
Kelly Amonte-Hiller, Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
women's lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
coach, 5 time NCAA champions
Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick
William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...
, head coach of the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
professional football team
Brian Boyle
Brian Boyle (ice hockey)
Brian Paul Boyle is a professional ice hockey forward for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. He attended St. Sebastian's School in Needham, Massachusetts for high school before moving on to Boston College....
, New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
National Hockey League (NHL) player
Andy Brickley
Andy Brickley
Andrew Brickley is a former professional hockey player, who spent 14 seasons playing in the National Hockey League, American Hockey League, and the International Hockey League...
, former National Hockey League (NHL) player
Marc Brown
Marc Brown (author)
Marc Tolon Brown is an American writer of children's books. He writes as well as illustrates his Arthur books, and is best known for that series and its spin-offs. He currently lives in Hingham, Massachusetts. The names of his two sons, Tolon Adam and Tucker Eliot, have been hidden in all of the...
, children's author known primarily for the Arthur
Arthur
Arthur is a common masculine given name. Its etymology is disputed, but its popularity derives from its being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur....
series of picture books (and related TV show), moved to Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
in 2005
Prescott Bush Jr., brother of 41st President George H.W. Bush and Uncle of 43rd President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
Trevor Byrne (hockey), 1999 National Hockey League (NHL) draft pick of the St Louis Blues
Ken Casey
Ken Casey
Ken Casey is the bass guitarist and a vocalist of the Boston Celtic punk group Dropkick Murphys. Casey was one of the original members, starting it in 1996 with Rick Barton and Mike McColgan. He is the only original member of the Dropkick Murphys left in the band, though drummer Matt Kelly joined...
, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and co-lead vocalist of the Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
group Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys are an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and making a name for themselves locally through constant playing and yearly St....
- Cindy Fitzgibbon, FOX25 television meteorologist
- Herbert L. FossHerbert L. FossHerbert Louis Foss was a United States Navy Seaman received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Spanish-American War.-Spanish American War:...
, recipient of the Medal of HonorMedal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
in the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
. - Bob GrahamBob GrahamDaniel Robert "Bob" Graham is an American politician. He was the 38th Governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senator from that state from 1987 to 2005...
, former U.S. senator from FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. - Capt. Joshua Hobart, Hingham representative to the Massachusetts General CourtMassachusetts General CourtThe Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
and Deputy for 25 years, Speaker of the House, member, Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company - Rev. Peter Hobart, founding minister, Hingham's First Parish Church, later Old Ship ChurchOld Ship ChurchThe Old Ship Church was built in 1681 in Hingham, Massachusetts in the United States. It is the oldest church in continuous ecclesiastical use in the United States. It is the only remaining 17th century Puritan meetinghouse in America...
Two sons of Rev. Peter Hobart moved to Long Island, New York, in the seventeenth century, where both were prominent. Rev. Joshua Hobart, who married the daughter of William Vassall, an early Massachusetts merchant named in the 1629 charter for the Massachusetts Bay ColonyMassachusetts Bay ColonyThe Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
, graduated from Harvard CollegeHarvard CollegeHarvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, and after some time in BarbadosBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
and LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, returned to America. He settled in the ministry at SoutholdSouthold, New YorkSouthold is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located in the northeastern tip of the county, on the North Fork of Long Island. The population was 20,599 at the 2000 census...
, Long Island, where he served the town for nearly a half-century. Rev. Hobart's brother, Capt. Josiah Hobart, settled at East Hampton, Long IslandEast Hampton (town), New YorkThe Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
, where he was named in the town's first deed, known as the Dongan Patent, as one of the town's initial trustees. Capt. Hobart also served as High Sheriff of Suffolk County, and built one of East Hampton's oldest surviving homes.Google Books Search - Elisha LeavittElisha LeavittElisha Leavitt was a Hingham, Massachusetts, Loyalist landowner who owned several islands in Boston Harbor. During the Siege of Boston in 1775, Leavitt encouraged British forces to use one of his islands to gather hay for their horses, triggering a waterborne raid by Continental militiamen and...
, ToryToryToryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
whose invitation to British forces to use his Grape Island sparked early American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
skirmish - John LeavittJohn LeavittDeacon John Leavitt was a tailor, public officeholder, and founding deacon of Old Ship Church in Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, the only remaining 17th-century Puritan meeting house in America and the oldest church in continuous ecclesiastical use in the United States...
, early Hingham settler, deacon, Old Ship ChurchOld Ship ChurchThe Old Ship Church was built in 1681 in Hingham, Massachusetts in the United States. It is the oldest church in continuous ecclesiastical use in the United States. It is the only remaining 17th century Puritan meetinghouse in America...
, namesake of Hingham's Leavitt Street - General Benjamin LincolnBenjamin LincolnBenjamin Lincoln was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War...
, Revolutionary War general, Lieutenant Governor of MassachusettsLieutenant Governor of MassachusettsThe Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts... - Samuel LincolnSamuel LincolnSamuel Lincoln , was progenitor of many notable United States political figures, including his great-great-great-great-grandson, President Abraham Lincoln, Maine governor Enoch Lincoln, and Levi Lincoln, Sr...
, weaver's apprentice, ancestor of President Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and... - Sean McDonoughSean McDonoughSean McDonough is an American sportscaster, currently employed by ESPN.-Early life and career:The son of Boston Globe sportswriter Will McDonough, Sean graduated from Syracuse University in 1984. It was in Syracuse where McDonough began his broadcasting career in 1982 as the play-by-play announcer...
, TV sportscaster - Marty McInnisMarty McInnisMartin Edward McInnis is a retired American ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for the New York Islanders, Calgary Flames, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Boston Bruins....
, National Hockey League (NHL) player - Rev. Robert Peck, was born at BecclesBecclesBeccles is a market town and civil parish in the Waveney District of the English county of Suffolk. The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 Blythburgh and A12 road, northeast of London as the crow flies, southeast of Norwich, and north northeast of the county town of...
, SuffolkSuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in 1580. He graduated from Magdalene College, CambridgeMagdalene College, CambridgeMagdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
, with an A.B. degree in 1599, and received his A. M. in 1603. He was a talented and influential clergyman, and was a founder of the town of Hingham, Massachusetts. He served as teacher and a minister at Hingham's First Parish Church. Although Peck returned to England, his daughter Anne married Major John Mason, a soldier who was a major figure in the Pequot WarPequot WarThe Pequot War was an armed conflict between 1634–1638 between the Pequot tribe against an alliance of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies who were aided by their Native American allies . Hundreds were killed; hundreds more were captured and sold into slavery to the West Indies. ...
and served as a Deputy Governor of the Connecticut ColonyConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. Rev. Peck's brother, Joseph Peck, founded the town of Rehoboth, MassachusettsRehoboth, MassachusettsRehoboth is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,172 at the 2000 census.-History:It was incorporated in 1643 making it one of the earliest Massachusetts towns to be incorporated. The Rehoboth Carpenter Family is among the founding families...
. - Judson PrattJudson PrattJudson Pratt was an American actor whose longest continuing work was in thirteen episodes of ABC's Walt Disney Presents and NBC's Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. A native of Hingham in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Pratt appeared in numerous television westerns and drama series from...
(1916–2002), actor - Bob RyanBob RyanBob Ryan is an American sportswriter for The Boston Globe. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston...
, Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
sports writer and editor - Frank SpazianiFrank Spaziani-External links:*...
, head coachHead coachA head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
of the Boston College Eagles footballBoston College Eagles footballThe Boston College Eagles football team is the collegiate football program of Boston College. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a Division I Bowl Subdivision league governed by the NCAA. Within the ACC, the Eagles are one of six teams in the Atlantic Division...
team. - The Unseen, punk rockPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
group - Tim WakefieldTim WakefieldTimothy Stephen Wakefield is an American professional baseball pitcher. Wakefield began pitching with the Red Sox in 1995, making him the longest-serving player currently on the team. Wakefield is also the oldest current active player in the majors, and one of two active knuckleballers, the other...
, knuckleballer pitcher for the Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
professional baseball team
External links
- Official Town Site
- Massachusetts.gov Information on Hingham
- Hingham High School
- Hingham High School Alumni website
- Hingham Public Library
- Hingham (Norfolk, England) website
- History of Hingham, Town website
- A History of Shipbuilding at Fore River
- Early Settlers of Hingham, History of Hingham, 1893
- New North Church website
- Greenbush Line Construction Project and Links
- History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts, Vol. I, Thomas Tracy Bouvé and others, Published by the Town, 1893
- Music of the Shakers
- Plymouth County, Massachusetts
- Answer Book/Hingham: Everything you need to know