Hingham Commuter boat	"The most beautiful Main Street in America" - Eleanor Roosevelt, on Hingham's Main Street The Perfect New England Village – The New York Times	Get forecast Hingham map

Hingham photos Commuter boat Hingham distinctions Videos Greenbush
Links:  Civic History Education Nautical Shipyard Restaurants Misc South Shore town websites

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Hingham, Massachusetts, where I live, is a coastal community 15 miles southeast of Boston. Incorporated in 1635, Hingham was founded by settlers from Hingham, England, including Samuel Lincoln, an ancestor of Abraham Lincoln. The town was originally named Bare Cove because of the "exposure of almost its entire harbor at low tide," 1 and Bare Cove is still a frequently used name in town. The town website has a very nice history page. The image on the right is a link to an aerial view map of Hingham Square at maps.live.com where you can scroll around the town from the sky.

Bird's eye view

"Hingham is a peaceful, beautifully preserved town that has invested the time and capital necessary to protect its heritage, its natural resources and, ultimately, the investments of its homeowners." -- Courtney Ronan, Realty Times Hingham is mostly residential, with many of the houses built in the 1800s and some even dating back to the 1600s. There are several National Historic districts here, and development is well regulated. Many houses in these districts have a plaque on the front stating their year of origin. Many of these older homes are Georgian and Federal styles (see pictures), and there are also many houses from the last two centuries including Victorians, Greek Revivals, Italianates, Capes, and contemporary-style residences. There is a beautiful park and bathing beach at the harbor, and the town also has several large wooded areas, including World's End (see pictures), which is located on a peninsula jutting into the harbor, Wompatuck State Park, which has bike paths and hiking trails, camping areas, and flowing spring water, and More-Brewer Park, a 106 acre conservation area. I frequently walk the dog through the Hingham Cemetery, location of the burials of many of the town's early settlers. The oldest original gravestone is for Thomas Barnes (1602-1672). Here are some photos I have taken on these walks. Hingham has a population of approximately 20,000 and covers an area of 22.5 square miles. The town has one high school, one middle school, and three elementary schools. The town government is administered by a board of selectmen and we have open town meetings where residents can speak publicly on issues before they are voted on.

 Hingham photos

	... Some scenic postcards ...			An old cape	Historical photos	Main Street	Hingham Photos at PBase.com	Boston skyline from Hingham
	July 4th parade	July 4th photos	World's End	Our Santa	Bob Beal & James Earl Jones	The Bathing Beach	Hingham Square	Liberty Grille

Town of Hingham: Image Gallery – several albums
Town of Hingham: Historic Postcard Gallery
Hingham High Alumni Photo Gallery
Hingham Real Estate Center – take the tour on this site for some great photos
     July 4th, 2002, parade movie
Webshots Community - Hingham – many winter shots
WATD 411 – radio station website has nice Hingham photos and lots of town info


 Commuter boat

One of the things that makes Hingham an especially appealing suburban-Boston location to live in is the commuter boat service. Like many Hingham residents, I work in the city and I have a pleasant (and sometimes thrilling!) half-hour boat ride to work every day. As Boston commutes go, this is one of the best, especially in the summer. The Boston Globe did a comparison of commuting from the South Shore by car, boat, train, and Red Line, and not surpisingly, the boat came out on top. Whenever I am asked what it is like taking the boat in the winter, I reply that the boats are heated in winter and air-conditioned in summer, and of course, if you prefer you can ride outside year-round. There was a nice article about riding the commuter boat in the Boston Globe, "Commuters flock down to the sea" 2. There is also boat access to the Boston Harbor Islands from the Hingham shipyard on Route 3A.

Pulling into Rowes Wharf

My commuter boat photos
I uploaded a CNN iReport about taking the boat after reading an article about how high gas prices are affecting people's commutes.
Boston Harbor Cruises – commuter boat service, harbor cruises, whale watches
     The commuter boat schedule
     A virtual tour of one of the commuter boats
This trip's a breeze 2

Now the MBTA wants to stop subsidizing the boats, which would kill the service. This would be a bad move.

T's notion to dock boats leaves commuters queasy 2 – "The Greenbush line loses nearly $30,000 a day, while at peak times the boats support themselves."
Commuter boats’ future still uncertain 2 – I was interviewed for this Globe article

 Hingham distinctions

   These are some of the town's claims to fame. See the History page on the town website for more.

• Hingham was incorporated in 1635 as the 12th town in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• The Old Ship Church (more photos), built in 1681, is the oldest meetinghouse in the country in continuous use as a place of worship.
  - the Old Ship Parish House was used in the 1987 movie "The Witches of Eastwick"
• In 1781 General Benjamin Lincoln of Hingham accepted the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, the last battle of the American Revolution.
• Derby Academy was established in 1784 as the first coeducational school in the nation.
• John D. Long of Hingham became governor of Massachusetts in 1880 and Secretary of the Navy in 1897.
• Boy Scouts of America Troup One, formed in Hingham in 1911, is the oldest scout troup in the country.
• In 1945 World's End was proposed as the site of the United Nations Headquarters (fortunately it was not selected!).
• In 2007 a national magazine (unfortunately I forget which one) rated Hingham as having the best commute in the entire U.S.!

July 4, 2002 parade movie

Hingham videos Select to view... Vintage scenes, Edith Piaf vocal Lincoln Day 2009 Fall Foliage in Hingham Hingham Lobster Pound on Chronicle Kayak sailing in Hingham Bay

Real estate videos Select to view... Our Town Summer Street house French Street house World's End house World's End house Conservatory Park house Avalon apartments at the Shipyard Crow Point house

Click to play

The neighbors' garage burned down one night destroying 4 cars. Jim the owner made this video ("...in your own backyard! Holy smokes!") with appropriate music and I uploaded it to YouTube (this is the original video, YouTube disabled the audio on the uploaded version for copyright reasons). They are talking to an architect about rebuilding it.

Before fire

Bud and Patricia Kenny and their mule Della are touring America on foot. They spent a year in Hingham, camped out on Peter Hersey's farm on Hersey Street. If you are from around here you may have seen Bud walking Della on the streets. They have moved on, including a visit to Manhattan. Bud has written a book about their travels and is looking for a publisher.

Hingham Journal article
USonFoot.com – their website (may be down)
Whistlewood Farm – they are wintering there in 2007-2008

Frequently in New England a street name will change along its route. This happens in several places in Hingham. At this intersection on Hobart Street the street you intersect with changes from Cross Street in one direction to New Bridge Street in the other. The town put up this sign to lessen the confusion.

The Greenbush branch of the Old Colony  Railroad has been restored to the South Shore and goes right through Hingham. For several years I had a big anti-train section on this page, based mostly on safety, health, and environmental concerns, but rather than come across with sour grapes after the battle to keep the train from being built was lost, I decided to remove that section from the page. A tunnel was constructed to take the train under Hingham Square (the CBB Greenbush site has some photos during construction), but where there is not in a tunnel they have grade-level crossings at intersections with lights and gates. The Patriot Ledger provided a video tour of the train route prior to the actual start of train service. Since I drive on a street that goes over the tunnel on my way to the boat each day I don't have to deal with the crossing-gates regularly, but on weekends and evenings I frequently cross these tracks, and I will admit I find waiting at the crossings that didn't exist my first 25 years of living in Hingham annoying. The boat will continue to be my method of commuting but I have taken the train a few times so I know how it works and admit it is definitely a better way to get into Boston than driving in rush hour.

Town of Hingham – the town website
     About the Town
     4th of July page – includes a slideshow of the parade
Hingham Police Department
     EMAS System – get email alerts of events occurring in the town
Hingham Recreation Commission
Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant
Hingham Symphony Orchestra
Bare Cove Fire Museum
Hingham 4th of July picture – we always have a nice parade
Commonwealth Communities - Town of Hingham – extensive statistics from Mass.Gov
Boston.com / Your Town / Hingham – from The Boston Globe Online
Hingham Community Center
Hingham Downtown Association – shows business locations on walking map
     Walking Guide of Downtown Hingham

Hingham's Rich History – from the town website
History of Hingham
     EARLY SETTLERS
Hingham Historical Society
     Old Ordinary
UsGenWeb: Hingham, MA
Old Ship Church
Hingham Cemetery – behind the Old Ship
Hingham Norfolk Home Page – our founders were from Hingham, England

Hingham Public Schools
South Shore Educational Collaborative – educational programs and services
Hingham Public Library
Old Colony Library Network
Derby Academy
South Shore Conservatory
Children's Creativity Workshops – Lynn Titleman Rizzotto, a Hingham illustrator/artist
Authors 4 Kids – Connecting Students with Book People

Hingham to Boston commuter boat – the best way to commute!
Boston Harbor Cruises – commuter boat service, harbor cruises, whale watches
     The commuter boat schedule
     A virtual tour of one of the commuter boats
     Commuter boats collide! – on July 10, 2007, there was a head-on collision in heavy fog between 2 commuter boats
Massachusetts Bay Lines – harbor cruises, whale watches
Harbor Express – commute by boat from Quincy to Boston and Logan airport
Hingham Shipyard Marinas &ndash at Hewitts Cove
Lincoln Maritime Center
Hingham Yacht Club
Hingham Bay Racing
Massachusetts Tide Charts
Boston Harbor Islands – accessible by ferry from the Hingham Shipyard

The Launch at Hingham Shipyard – this is the new development at the shipyard
     Master plan
Samuels & Associates – the developers
     Project overview
Hingham Shipyard – get construction updates
Avalon at the Hingham Shipyard – they are building apartments there
Hingham Shipyard Marinas – they manage the commuter boat parking lot I use
Sea Chain, LLC – owners of Hewitts Cove Marina at the shipyard

Alma Nove – Paul Wahlberg's restaurant in the Hingham Shipyard
Tosca
Stars
Caffe Tosca
Square Cafe
Bertucci's
Chili's Bar & Grill
The Snug – Home of the Perfect Pint! (listed in USA Today as one of 10 great places to raise a toast to St. Patrick)
The Ocean Club – on the beach in Hull; check out the oceancam
Saporito's – in Hull; one of the best restaurants on the South Shore

Google Maps: Hingham
Mapquest Maps: Hingham
Yahoo! Maps: Hingham
HinghamWeather.com
Hingham Broadcast News – many nice videos
Hingham on Wikipedia
The Hingham Journal – at  wickedlocal.com
     Hingham resident’s photos enliven Blizzard of ‘78 Book – an article on me!
The Patriot Ledger
SouthofBoston.com
Welcome to "Paco" – my friend Paco provides school transportation and after school activities
Webcam from The Ocean Club restaurant, Nantasket Beach
Webcam from the Red Parrot Restaurant, Nantasket Beach
South Shore Baseball Club
Whitney Wharf
Hull Lifesaving Museum
Nantasket Beach – pictures of Hull and Nantasket
New England Wildlife Center
Wellspring – a private, non-profit, multi-service organization
The Weymouth Club – where I play tennis
Patriot Cinemas
     Loring Hall Cinema – the old site
Northeastsurfing.com – a surfing site with a video and webcam
Hingham1956.com – 50th Reunion WEB SITE
Hingham Farmers Market
Hingham entries in Urban Dictionary – a user-maintained slang dictionary not to be taken seriously
The Perfect New England Village – an article in The New York Times
Nantasket Beach - aerial view
Paragon Carousel
Around Hingham Web Site & Blog
HinghamPatch – News, Sports, Events, Businesses & Deals

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