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Hingham, Massachusetts

Hingham (/ˈhɪŋəm/ HING-əm) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,284.[5] Hingham is known for its colonial history and location on Boston Harbor. The town was named after Hingham, Norfolk, England,[6] and was first settled by English colonists in 1633.

Hingham
The Old Ship Church, Hingham
(Seventeenth-century English Colonial architecture)
Nickname: 
"Bucket Town"[1][2][3]
Motto(s): 
"History and Pride"[4]
Location in Plymouth County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°14′N 70°53′W / 42.233°N 70.883°W / 42.233; -70.883
CountryUnited States
StateMassachusetts
CountyPlymouth
Settled1633 (as Bare Cove)
IncorporatedSeptember 2, 1635
Government
 • TypeOpen town meeting
Area
 • Total26.3 sq mi (68.1 km2)
 • Land22.2 sq mi (57.5 km2)
 • Water4.1 sq mi (10.6 km2)
Elevation
60 ft (18 m)
Population
 (2020)[5]
 • Total24,284
 • Density920/sq mi (360/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP Code
02043
Area code339/781
FIPS code25-30210
GNIS feature ID0618342
WebsiteHingham, Massachusetts

History edit

 
Perez Lincoln House, c. 1640, North Street, Hingham
 
Grave of colonist Josiah Leavitt, Old Ship Burying Ground, Hingham
 
A deed signed by Col. Samuel Thaxter of Hingham
 
The Old Ordinary is an early Hingham tavern that was donated to the Hingham Historical Society by Hingham philanthropist Wilmon Brewer.

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."[4][7] The land on which Hingham was settled was deeded to the English by the Wampanoag sachem Wompatuck in 1655.[8] The town was within Suffolk County from its founding in 1643 until 1803, and Plymouth County from 1803 to the present. The eastern part of the town split off to become Cohasset in 1770. The town was named for Hingham, a market town in the English county of Norfolk, whence most of the first colonists came, including Abraham Lincoln's ancestor Samuel Lincoln (1622–1690), his first American ancestor,[9] 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 town in Norfolk with both their vicars, Rev. Peter Hobart and Rev. Robert Peck, when they fell afoul of the strict doctrines of the Church of 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.[10][11]

Hobart, born in Hingham, Norfolk, in 1604 and, like Peck, a graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge,[12] sought shelter from the prevailing discipline of the high church among his fellow Puritans.[13] 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.)[citation needed]

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.[14] 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 a 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.[15][16] Prominent East Anglian Puritans like the Hobarts and the Cushings, for instance, were used to holding sway in matters of governance.[17] Eventually the controversy became so heated that John Winthrop and Thomas Dudley were drawn into the fray; minister Hobart threatened to excommunicate Eames.[18]

The bitter trainband controversy dragged on for several years, culminating in stiff fines.[19] 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.[citation needed]

Although the town was incorporated in 1635, the colonists did not 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 (father of Col. Samuel 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 (49,000 m2) on Hingham's Turkey Hill earlier that year. Now the two men were instructed to deliver payment for their 12-acre (49,000 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".[20] With that payment the matter was considered settled.

The third town clerk of Hingham was Daniel Cushing,[21] who emigrated to Hingham from Hingham, Norfolk, with his father Matthew in 1638.[22] 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.[23] Cushing was rather unusual in that he included the town's gossip along with the more conventional formal record-keeping.[24]

Geography edit

 
Hingham distance marker

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 26.3 square miles (68.1 km2), of which 22.2 square miles (57.5 km2) is land and 4.1 square miles (10.6 km2), or 15.58%, is water.[25] 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 14 miles (23 km) southeast of downtown Boston.

Hingham lies along the southwest corner of Boston Harbor. 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.

Demographics edit

Historical population
YearPop.±%
18503,980—    
18604,351+9.3%
18704,422+1.6%
18804,485+1.4%
18904,564+1.8%
19005,059+10.8%
19104,965−1.9%
19205,604+12.9%
19306,657+18.8%
19408,003+20.2%
195010,665+33.3%
196015,378+44.2%
197018,845+22.5%
198020,339+7.9%
199019,821−2.5%
200019,882+0.3%
201022,157+11.4%
202024,284+9.6%
2022*24,130−0.6%
* = population estimate. Source: United States Census records and Population Estimates Program data.[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]
 
New North Church

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates, there are 24,284 people and 8,873 households in the town.[34] The population density was 884.8 inhabitants 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.[35]

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 household income in the town was $142,435 (mean household income was $206,876), and the median family income was $198,900 (mean family income was $265,292) in 2019.[36] Males had a median income of $66,802 versus $41,370 for females. The per capita income in 2019 for the town was $78,301. 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.

Economy edit

Top employers edit

According to the Town's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[37] the top employers in the town are:

# Employer # of employees
1 Blue Cross/Blue Shield 1,456
2 Town of Hingham 985
3 Linden Ponds 802
4 Talbots 461
5 Serono Laboratories 437
6 Harbor House 247
7 Whole Foods 212
8 Stop & Shop 196
9 Russ Electric 191
10 Eat Well 170

Government edit

 
Loring Hall, Main Street

On the national level, Hingham is a part of Massachusetts's 8th congressional district, and is currently represented by Stephen F. Lynch. The state's senior member of the United States Senate is Elizabeth Warren. The state's junior Senator is Ed Markey, who was elected in a special election in 2013 to fill the seat vacated by John Kerry being appointed as United States Secretary of State.

On the state level, Hingham is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Third Plymouth district, by Joan Meschino.[38] 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 Patrick O'Connor. The district also includes the towns of Cohasset, Duxbury, Hull, Marshfield, Norwell, Scituate and Weymouth.[39] The town is patrolled on a secondary basis by the First (Norwell) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police.[40]

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 select board. The members of the board of selectmen are William Ramsey, Liz Klein, and Joe Fisher. 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[41]
Party Number of Voters Percentage
Democratic 4,101 25.63%
Republican 2,976 18.60%
Unaffiliated 8,870 55.43%
Libertarian 56 0.35%
Total 16,003 100%

Infrastructure edit

Education edit

Hingham is home to seven public schools:

Hingham is home to five private schools:

Transportation edit

 
South Street, 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 ferry service from the Hingham Shipyard to Rowes Wharf in downtown Boston, the MBTA's Bus Route 220, with Route 222 also passing through a small section of town, and the MBTA Commuter Rail to Boston South Station. 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 would benefit the town. Ferries also run from Hingham Shipyard to several islands in Boston Harbor during the summer as well as to Pemberton Point, Hull. There is no air service in the town; the nearest airport is Logan International Airport in Boston as well as smaller public airports in Norwood and Marshfield.

Notable people edit

 
Historical marker, Samuel Lincoln House
 
Old Burying Ground

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[51] and Swanton Morley, respectively.[52] A bridge in Hingham over Route 3, the Southeast Expressway, is named after American Revolutionary War 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.

References edit

  1. ^ "What is a Hingham Bucket?".
  2. ^ . Archived from the original on July 17, 2010. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  3. ^ (Mass.), Hingham; Bouvé, Thomas Tracy; Bouvé, Edward Tracy; Long, John Davis; Bouvé, Walter Lincoln; Lincoln, Francis Henry; Lincoln, George; Hersey, Edmund; Burr, Fearing (1893). "History of the town of Hingham, Massachusetts". town: 185. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ a b "Hingham, Massachusetts". Hingham, Massachusetts. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Census - Geography Profile: Hingham town, Plymouth County, Massachusetts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  6. ^ . ePodunk. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  7. ^ Barber, John Warner (January 1, 1844). Historical Collections: Being a General Collection of Interesting Facts, Traditions, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, &c., Relating to the History and Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts, with Geographical Descriptions. W. Lazell – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ "History of Wompatuck". Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  9. ^ Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2007.
  10. ^ Reynolds, Matthew (January 1, 2005). Godly Reformers and Their Opponents in Early Modern England: Religion in Norwich, C.1560-1643. Boydell Press. ISBN 9781843831495 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "Rootsweb details for Robert Peck (c. 1580–1658)". Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  12. ^ "Peter HUBBERD Alias: Peter HOBART (HBRT621P)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  13. ^ History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts. Town of Hingham. January 1, 1893 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ^ (Mass.), Hingham; Bouvé, Thomas Tracy; Bouvé, Edward Tracy; Long, John Davis; Bouvé, Walter Lincoln; Lincoln, Francis Henry; Lincoln, George; Hersey, Edmund; Burr, Fearing; Seymour, Charles Winfield Scott (January 1, 1893). "History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts". town – via Google Books.
  15. ^ Palfrey, John Gorham (January 1, 1860). "History of New England - Volume II" – via Google Books.
  16. ^ "Samuel Ward (circa 1593-1682) - England; Hingham, Plymouth, co., MA; Hull, Plymouth co., MA; Charlestown, Suffolk co., MA".
  17. ^ Waters, John J. (January 1, 1968). "Hingham, Massachusetts, 1631-1661: An East Anglian Oligarchy in the New World". Journal of Social History. 1 (4): 351–370. doi:10.1353/jsh/1.4.351. JSTOR 3786629.
  18. ^ Bremer, Francis J. (June 16, 2003). John Winthrop: America's Forgotten Founding Father. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-514913-5 – via Internet Archive.
  19. ^ Winthrop, John (January 1, 1853). The history of New England from 1630 to 1649. Little, Brown and Co. – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^ Bigelow, Edwin Victor (January 1, 1898). A Narrative History of the Town of Cohasset, Massachusetts. Press of S. Usher – via Internet Archive.
  21. ^ Hingham's early settlers intermarried extensively. Town clerk Daniel Cushing, for instance, was brother-in-law to John Leavitt, founding deacon of Old Ship Church, for whom today's Leavitt Street is named. (They married daughters of Edward Gilman Sr., who settled in Hingham before moving to Exeter, New Hampshire. The immigrant Edward Gilman's sister Bridget married Edward Lincoln, father of Samuel Lincoln, ancestor of Abraham Lincoln.) Later the Cushing and Leavitt families themselves intermarried — resulting in descendants named both Leavitt Cushing and Cushing Leavitt.
  22. ^ Cushing, Lemuel (January 1, 1877). The Genealogy of the Cushing Family. Lovell printing and publishing Company – via Internet Archive.
  23. ^ Tarbell, Ida Minerva (January 1, 1924). Abraham Lincoln and His Ancestors. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803294301 – via Google Books.
  24. ^ Cutter, William Richard (January 1, 1908). "Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts". Lewis historical publishing Company – via Google Books.
  25. ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Hingham town, Plymouth County, Massachusetts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  26. ^ "TOTAL POPULATION (P1), 2010 Census Summary File 1, All County Subdivisions within Massachusetts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  27. ^ . United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  28. ^ (PDF). US Census Bureau. December 1990. Table 76: General Characteristics of Persons, Households, and Families: 1990. 1990 CP-1-23. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 7, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  29. ^ "1980 Census of the Population, Number of Inhabitants: Massachusetts" (PDF). US Census Bureau. December 1981. Table 4. Populations of County Subdivisions: 1960 to 1980. PC80-1-A23. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  30. ^ "1950 Census of Population" (PDF). 1: Number of Inhabitants. Bureau of the Census. 1952. Section 6, Pages 21-10 and 21-11, Massachusetts Table 6. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1930 to 1950. Retrieved July 12, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  31. ^ "1920 Census of Population" (PDF). Bureau of the Census. Number of Inhabitants, by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions. Pages 21-5 through 21-7. Massachusetts Table 2. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1920, 1910, and 1920. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  32. ^ "1890 Census of the Population" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. Pages 179 through 182. Massachusetts Table 5. Population of States and Territories by Minor Civil Divisions: 1880 and 1890. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  33. ^ "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2022". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  34. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau "QuickFacts"". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  35. ^ "factfinder.census.gov for Hingham, MA, 2000 census". Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2008.
  36. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  37. ^ "Town of Hingham CAFR". Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  38. ^ "Representative Joan Meschino". malegislature.gov. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  39. ^ . Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2007.
  40. ^ "Mass.gov". www.mass.gov. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  41. ^ "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 15, 2008" (PDF). Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  42. ^ "South Shore Educational Collaborative".
  43. ^ "Hingham Middle School".
  44. ^ "East Elementary School - Welcome to East!".
  45. ^ "Foster Elementary School".
  46. ^ "Plymouth River Elementary School".
  47. ^ "South Elementary School".
  48. ^ "Saint Paul School".
  49. ^ "Old Colony Montessori School".
  50. ^ "Su Escuela Language Academy - Creative. Confident. Bi-lingual".
  51. ^ . FamilySearch. September 26, 2007. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  52. ^ . FamilySearch. September 26, 2007. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  53. ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896. Marquis Who's Who. 1967.
  54. ^ O'Connor, Anahad (June 24, 2010). "Prescott Bush Jr., Scion of a Political Family, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  55. ^ "Bostonherald.com". Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  56. ^ Gordon, Joe (November 18, 1993). "McGuire makes name for himself". The Boston Globe.
  57. ^ "Higham Boy Awarded Drama Scholarship". The Boston Globe. May 1, 1935. p. 5. Retrieved January 6, 2024.

External links edit

  • Official website
  • Hingham Historical Society
  • Hingham Public Library
  • Early Settlers of Hingham, History of Hingham, 1893
  • History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts, Vol. I, Thomas Tracy Bouvé and others, Published by the Town, 1893
  • Hingham's Civil War monuments at Massachusetts Civil War Monuments Project

hingham, massachusetts, census, designated, place, hingham, hing, town, metropolitan, greater, boston, south, shore, state, massachusetts, northern, plymouth, county, 2020, census, population, hingham, known, colonial, history, location, boston, harbor, town, . For the census designated place see Hingham Massachusetts CDP Hingham ˈ h ɪ ŋ e m HING em is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore of the U S state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County At the 2020 census the population was 24 284 5 Hingham is known for its colonial history and location on Boston Harbor The town was named after Hingham Norfolk England 6 and was first settled by English colonists in 1633 HinghamTownThe Old Ship Church Hingham Seventeenth century English Colonial architecture SealNickname Bucket Town 1 2 3 Motto s History and Pride 4 Location in Plymouth County in MassachusettsCoordinates 42 14 N 70 53 W 42 233 N 70 883 W 42 233 70 883CountryUnited StatesStateMassachusettsCountyPlymouthSettled1633 as Bare Cove IncorporatedSeptember 2 1635Government TypeOpen town meetingArea Total26 3 sq mi 68 1 km2 Land22 2 sq mi 57 5 km2 Water4 1 sq mi 10 6 km2 Elevation60 ft 18 m Population 2020 5 Total24 284 Density920 sq mi 360 km2 Time zoneUTC 5 Eastern Summer DST UTC 4 Eastern ZIP Code02043Area code339 781FIPS code25 30210GNIS feature ID0618342WebsiteHingham Massachusetts Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 Economy 4 1 Top employers 5 Government 6 Infrastructure 6 1 Education 6 2 Transportation 7 Notable people 8 References 9 External linksHistory edit nbsp Perez Lincoln House c 1640 North Street Hingham nbsp Grave of colonist Josiah Leavitt Old Ship Burying Ground Hingham nbsp A deed signed by Col Samuel Thaxter of Hingham nbsp The Old Ordinary is an early Hingham tavern that was donated to the Hingham Historical Society by Hingham philanthropist Wilmon Brewer 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 4 7 The land on which Hingham was settled was deeded to the English by the Wampanoag sachem Wompatuck in 1655 8 The town was within Suffolk County from its founding in 1643 until 1803 and Plymouth County from 1803 to the present The eastern part of the town split off to become Cohasset in 1770 The town was named for Hingham a market town in the English county of Norfolk whence most of the first colonists came including Abraham Lincoln s ancestor Samuel Lincoln 1622 1690 his first American ancestor 9 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 town in Norfolk with both their vicars Rev Peter Hobart and Rev Robert Peck when they fell afoul of the strict doctrines of the Church of 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 10 11 Hobart born in Hingham Norfolk in 1604 and like Peck a graduate of Magdalene College Cambridge 12 sought shelter from the prevailing discipline of the high church among his fellow Puritans 13 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 citation needed 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 14 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 a 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 15 16 Prominent East Anglian Puritans like the Hobarts and the Cushings for instance were used to holding sway in matters of governance 17 Eventually the controversy became so heated that John Winthrop and Thomas Dudley were drawn into the fray minister Hobart threatened to excommunicate Eames 18 The bitter trainband controversy dragged on for several years culminating in stiff fines 19 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 citation needed Although the town was incorporated in 1635 the colonists did not 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 father of Col Samuel 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 49 000 m2 on Hingham s Turkey Hill earlier that year Now the two men were instructed to deliver payment for their 12 acre 49 000 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 20 With that payment the matter was considered settled The third town clerk of Hingham was Daniel Cushing 21 who emigrated to Hingham from Hingham Norfolk with his father Matthew in 1638 22 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 23 Cushing was rather unusual in that he included the town s gossip along with the more conventional formal record keeping 24 Geography editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed December 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message nbsp Hingham distance markerAccording to the United States Census Bureau the town has a total area of 26 3 square miles 68 1 km2 of which 22 2 square miles 57 5 km2 is land and 4 1 square miles 10 6 km2 or 15 58 is water 25 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 14 miles 23 km southeast of downtown Boston Hingham lies along the southwest corner of Boston Harbor 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 Demographics editSee also List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income Historical populationYearPop 18503 980 18604 351 9 3 18704 422 1 6 18804 485 1 4 18904 564 1 8 19005 059 10 8 19104 965 1 9 19205 604 12 9 19306 657 18 8 19408 003 20 2 195010 665 33 3 196015 378 44 2 197018 845 22 5 198020 339 7 9 199019 821 2 5 200019 882 0 3 201022 157 11 4 202024 284 9 6 2022 24 130 0 6 population estimate Source United States Census records and Population Estimates Program data 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 nbsp New North ChurchThe U S Census Bureau estimates there are 24 284 people and 8 873 households in the town 34 The population density was 884 8 inhabitants 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 35 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 household income in the town was 142 435 mean household income was 206 876 and the median family income was 198 900 mean family income was 265 292 in 2019 36 Males had a median income of 66 802 versus 41 370 for females The per capita income in 2019 for the town was 78 301 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 Economy editTop employers edit According to the Town s 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 37 the top employers in the town are Employer of employees1 Blue Cross Blue Shield 1 4562 Town of Hingham 9853 Linden Ponds 8024 Talbots 4615 Serono Laboratories 4376 Harbor House 2477 Whole Foods 2128 Stop amp Shop 1969 Russ Electric 19110 Eat Well 170Government edit nbsp Loring Hall Main StreetOn the national level Hingham is a part of Massachusetts s 8th congressional district and is currently represented by Stephen F Lynch The state s senior member of the United States Senate is Elizabeth Warren The state s junior Senator is Ed Markey who was elected in a special election in 2013 to fill the seat vacated by John Kerry being appointed as United States Secretary of State On the state level Hingham is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Third Plymouth district by Joan Meschino 38 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 Patrick O Connor The district also includes the towns of Cohasset Duxbury Hull Marshfield Norwell Scituate and Weymouth 39 The town is patrolled on a secondary basis by the First Norwell Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police 40 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 select board The members of the board of selectmen are William Ramsey Liz Klein and Joe Fisher 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 41 Party Number of Voters PercentageDemocratic 4 101 25 63 Republican 2 976 18 60 Unaffiliated 8 870 55 43 Libertarian 56 0 35 Total 16 003 100 Infrastructure editEducation edit Hingham is home to seven public schools Hingham High School South Shore Educational Collaborative 42 Hingham Middle School 43 East Elementary School 44 Foster Elementary School 45 Plymouth River Elementary School 46 South Elementary School 47 Hingham is home to five private schools Derby Academy Notre Dame Academy St Paul School 48 Old Colony Montessori School 49 Su Escuela Language Academy 50 Transportation edit nbsp South Street HinghamA 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 ferry service from the Hingham Shipyard to Rowes Wharf in downtown Boston the MBTA s Bus Route 220 with Route 222 also passing through a small section of town and the MBTA Commuter Rail to Boston South Station 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 would benefit the town Ferries also run from Hingham Shipyard to several islands in Boston Harbor during the summer as well as to Pemberton Point Hull There is no air service in the town the nearest airport is Logan International Airport in Boston as well as smaller public airports in Norwood and Marshfield Notable people edit nbsp Historical marker Samuel Lincoln House nbsp Old Burying GroundHingham 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 51 and Swanton Morley respectively 52 A bridge in Hingham over Route 3 the Southeast Expressway is named after American Revolutionary War 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 Tony Amonte retired hockey player in the NHL John F Andrew 19th century United States Congressman 53 Joanna Barnes actress Bill Belichick owns a house in Hingham in the Black Rock Country Club residential community Brian Boyle current ice hockey player in the NHL Wilmon Brewer lifelong Hingham author and philanthropist Marc Brown author illustrator and creator of the children s television show Arthur Prescott Bush Jr 54 brother of 41st President George H W Bush and Uncle of 43rd President George W Bush Herbert L Foss recipient of the Medal of Honor in the Spanish American War 55 Bob Graham former governor and senator from Florida and a 2004 presidential candidate currently resides part time in Hingham Harold Hackett four time U S Open tennis doubles champion Lloyd P Jones Bethlehem Steel executive and son of Willard F Jones resided with his family in Hingham while working at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation King Kelly 19th Century Baseball Hall of Fame Given a home on Main Street Hingham by loving fans of Boston Slide Kelly Slide Scarecrow Press 1996 Bruce H Mann Harvard Law School professor and husband of presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren David McCullough author and historian resided part time in Hingham Pierre McGuire ice hockey analyst and former NHL coach and scout 56 Marty McInnis retired hockey player in the NHL Alice Merryweather Olympic alpine skier Jay O Brien ice hockey player Judson Pratt stage film and television actor 57 Dallas Lore Sharp assistant librarian 1899 1902 assistant professor of English 1902 1909 and thereafter professor at Boston University settled with his family including Waitstill Sharp in Hingham As a writer he became known through his charming magazine articles on native birds and small mammals and for his books Much of his writing celebrated Hingham s natural beauty Matty Beniers current ice hockey player in the NHL The first ever draft pick by the Seattle KrakenReferences edit What is a Hingham Bucket Town of Hingham Massachusetts Incorporated 1635 History Archived from the original on July 17 2010 Retrieved July 10 2010 Mass Hingham Bouve Thomas Tracy Bouve Edward Tracy Long John Davis Bouve Walter Lincoln Lincoln Francis Henry Lincoln George Hersey Edmund Burr Fearing 1893 History of the town of Hingham Massachusetts town 185 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help a b Hingham Massachusetts Hingham Massachusetts Retrieved August 25 2012 a b Census Geography Profile Hingham town Plymouth County Massachusetts United States Census Bureau Retrieved November 4 2021 Profile for Hingham Massachusetts MA ePodunk Archived from the original on February 4 2012 Retrieved August 25 2012 Barber John Warner January 1 1844 Historical Collections Being a General Collection of Interesting Facts Traditions Biographical Sketches Anecdotes amp c Relating to the History and Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts with Geographical Descriptions W Lazell via Internet Archive History of Wompatuck Retrieved April 12 2012 Hingham Norfolk s undiscovered Georgian gem Archived from the original on October 8 2007 Retrieved October 21 2007 Reynolds Matthew January 1 2005 Godly Reformers and Their Opponents in Early Modern England Religion in Norwich C 1560 1643 Boydell Press ISBN 9781843831495 via Google Books Rootsweb details for Robert Peck c 1580 1658 Retrieved October 28 2020 Peter HUBBERD Alias Peter HOBART HBRT621P A Cambridge Alumni Database University of Cambridge History of the Town of Hingham Massachusetts Town of Hingham January 1 1893 via Internet Archive Mass Hingham Bouve Thomas Tracy Bouve Edward Tracy Long John Davis Bouve Walter Lincoln Lincoln Francis Henry Lincoln George Hersey Edmund Burr Fearing Seymour Charles Winfield Scott January 1 1893 History of the Town of Hingham Massachusetts town via Google Books Palfrey John Gorham January 1 1860 History of New England Volume II via Google Books Samuel Ward circa 1593 1682 England Hingham Plymouth co MA Hull Plymouth co MA Charlestown Suffolk co MA Waters John J January 1 1968 Hingham Massachusetts 1631 1661 An East Anglian Oligarchy in the New World Journal of Social History 1 4 351 370 doi 10 1353 jsh 1 4 351 JSTOR 3786629 Bremer Francis J June 16 2003 John Winthrop America s Forgotten Founding Father Oxford University Press USA ISBN 978 0 19 514913 5 via Internet Archive Winthrop John January 1 1853 The history of New England from 1630 to 1649 Little Brown and Co via Internet Archive Bigelow Edwin Victor January 1 1898 A Narrative History of the Town of Cohasset Massachusetts Press of S Usher via Internet Archive Hingham s early settlers intermarried extensively Town clerk Daniel Cushing for instance was brother in law to John Leavitt founding deacon of Old Ship Church for whom today s Leavitt Street is named They married daughters of Edward Gilman Sr who settled in Hingham before moving to Exeter New Hampshire The immigrant Edward Gilman s sister Bridget married Edward Lincoln father of Samuel Lincoln ancestor of Abraham Lincoln Later the Cushing and Leavitt families themselves intermarried resulting in descendants named both Leavitt Cushing and Cushing Leavitt Cushing Lemuel January 1 1877 The Genealogy of the Cushing Family Lovell printing and publishing Company via Internet Archive Tarbell Ida Minerva January 1 1924 Abraham Lincoln and His Ancestors University of Nebraska Press ISBN 0803294301 via Google Books Cutter William Richard January 1 1908 Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County Massachusetts Lewis historical publishing Company via Google Books Geographic Identifiers 2010 Demographic Profile Data G001 Hingham town Plymouth County Massachusetts United States Census Bureau Retrieved March 19 2012 TOTAL POPULATION P1 2010 Census Summary File 1 All County Subdivisions within Massachusetts United States Census Bureau Archived from the original on February 12 2020 Retrieved September 13 2011 Massachusetts by Place and County Subdivision GCT T1 Population Estimates United States Census Bureau Archived from the original on November 3 2011 Retrieved July 12 2011 1990 Census of Population General Population Characteristics Massachusetts PDF US Census Bureau December 1990 Table 76 General Characteristics of Persons Households and Families 1990 1990 CP 1 23 Archived from the original PDF on December 7 2013 Retrieved July 12 2011 1980 Census of the Population Number of Inhabitants Massachusetts PDF US Census Bureau December 1981 Table 4 Populations of County Subdivisions 1960 to 1980 PC80 1 A23 Retrieved July 12 2011 1950 Census of Population PDF 1 Number of Inhabitants Bureau of the Census 1952 Section 6 Pages 21 10 and 21 11 Massachusetts Table 6 Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions 1930 to 1950 Retrieved July 12 2011 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help 1920 Census of Population PDF Bureau of the Census Number of Inhabitants by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions Pages 21 5 through 21 7 Massachusetts Table 2 Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions 1920 1910 and 1920 Retrieved July 12 2011 1890 Census of the Population PDF Department of the Interior Census Office Pages 179 through 182 Massachusetts Table 5 Population of States and Territories by Minor Civil Divisions 1880 and 1890 Retrieved July 12 2011 City and Town Population Totals 2020 2022 United States Census Bureau Retrieved November 23 2023 U S Census Bureau QuickFacts U S Census Bureau Retrieved September 14 2021 factfinder census gov for Hingham MA 2000 census Archived from the original on February 12 2020 Retrieved November 5 2008 Explore Census Data data census gov Retrieved September 14 2021 Town of Hingham CAFR Retrieved October 28 2020 Representative Joan Meschino malegislature gov Retrieved March 27 2018 We ve Moved Archived from the original on September 29 2007 Retrieved March 8 2007 Mass gov www mass gov Retrieved October 28 2020 Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 15 2008 PDF Massachusetts Elections Division Retrieved May 8 2010 South Shore Educational Collaborative Hingham Middle School East Elementary School Welcome to East Foster Elementary School Plymouth River Elementary School South Elementary School Saint Paul School Old Colony Montessori School Su Escuela Language Academy Creative Confident Bi lingual AF Pedigree View Page FamilySearch September 26 2007 Archived from the original on September 26 2007 Retrieved October 28 2020 AF Pedigree View Page FamilySearch September 26 2007 Archived from the original on September 26 2007 Retrieved October 28 2020 Who Was Who in America Historical Volume 1607 1896 Marquis Who s Who 1967 O Connor Anahad June 24 2010 Prescott Bush Jr Scion of a Political Family Dies at 87 The New York Times Retrieved June 25 2010 Bostonherald com Retrieved October 28 2020 Gordon Joe November 18 1993 McGuire makes name for himself The Boston Globe Higham Boy Awarded Drama Scholarship The Boston Globe May 1 1935 p 5 Retrieved January 6 2024 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hingham Massachusetts nbsp Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Hingham Official website Hingham Historical Society Hingham Public Library Early Settlers of Hingham History of Hingham 1893 History of the Town of Hingham Massachusetts Vol I Thomas Tracy Bouve and others Published by the Town 1893 Hingham s Civil War monuments at Massachusetts Civil War Monuments Project Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hingham Massachusetts amp oldid 1200745434, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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