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"The most beautiful Main Street in America" - Eleanor Roosevelt, on Hingham's Main Street The Perfect New England Village – The New York Times |
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Commuter boat
Hingham distinctions
Videos
Greenbush
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. (On the UK site a link to the Hingham, MA website it buried very deeply under Hingham >> history of Hingham >> The Lincolns—hopefully this will improve.) 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 |
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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. |
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| ... Some scenic postcards ... | An old cape | Historical photos | Main Street | Hingham Photos at PBase.com |
Boston skyline from Hingham |
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| 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.
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Pulling intoRowes 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 watchesThe commuter boat scheduleA virtual tour of one of the commuter boats| 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| Many of these are videos I captured from YouTube that feature Hingham. Some are real estate videos showing houses for sale, but they generally have nice views from around town so I included them. |
July 4, 2002parade movie |
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 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 |
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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 articleUSonFoot.com – their website (may be down)Whistlewood Farm – they are wintering there in 2007-2008
 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, and they have built this ridiculous fence bordering the tracks as they wind through town. The
Patriot Ledger provided a video tour of the train route prior to the actual
start of train service. I can drive on a street that goes over the tunnel on my way to the boat each day
(which will continue to be my method of commuting), I don't have to deal with the crossing-gates regularly, but on weekends and eveinings I
frequently cross these tracks, and believe me, I don't like the safety concern I have to deal with now—i.e. putting my life in the hands of
lights that flash and gates that lower automatically when a train appoaches in our whistle-free zone (all five towns Greenbush runs through
— Braintree, Weymouth, Hingham, Cohasset, and Scituate—insisted on it being whistle-free). As soon as we have an accident (and there
were several incidents in the first week of service) these trains will probably start blowing their horns regularly. So much for living in a
quiet suburb.
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Town of Hingham – the town websiteAbout the Town4th of July page – includes a slideshow of the paradeHingham Police DepartmentEMAS System – get email alerts of events occurring in the townHingham Recreation CommissionHingham Municipal Lighting PlantHingham Symphony OrchestraBare Cove Fire MuseumHingham 4th of July picture – we always have a nice paradeCommonwealth Communities - Town of Hingham – extensive statistics from Mass.GovBoston.com / Your Town / Hingham – from The Boston Globe OnlineHingham Community CenterHingham Downtown Association – shows business locations on walking mapWalking Guide of Downtown Hingham| History |
Hingham's Rich History – from the town website
History of HinghamEARLY SETTLERSHingham Historical SocietyOld OrdinaryUsGenWeb: Hingham, MAOld Ship ChurchHingham Cemetery – behind the Old ShipHingham Norfolk Home Page – our founders were from Hingham, EnglandEducation & learning |
Hingham Public SchoolsSouth Shore Educational Collaborative – educational programs and servicesHingham Public Library
Old Colony Library NetworkDerby Academy
South Shore ConservatoryChildren's Creativity Workshops – Lynn Titleman Rizzotto, a Hingham illustrator/artist
Authors 4 Kids – Connecting Students with Book PeopleNautical |
Hingham to Boston commuter boat – the best way to commute!Boston Harbor Cruises – commuter boat service, harbor cruises, whale watchesThe commuter boat scheduleA virtual tour of one of the commuter boatsCommuter boats collide! – on July 10, 2007, there was a head-on collision in heavy fog between 2 commuter boatsMassachusetts Bay Lines – harbor cruises, whale watchesHarbor Express – commute by boat from Quincy to Boston and Logan airportHingham Shipyard Marinas &ndash at Hewitts CoveLincoln Maritime CenterHingham Yacht ClubHingham Bay RacingMassachusetts Tide ChartsBoston Harbor Islands – accessible by ferry from the Hingham ShipyardHingham shipyard – I see the construction every day when I catch the boat to Boston |
The Launch at Hingham Shipyard – this is the new development at the shipyardMaster planSamuels & Associates – the developersProject overviewHingham Shipyard – get construction updatesAvalon at the Hingham Shipyard – they are building apartments thereHingham Shipyard Marinas – they manage the commuter boat parking lot I useSea Chain, LLC – owners of Hewitts Cove Marina at the shipyardRestaurants & dining (see the town website for more) |
Alma Nove – Paul Wahlberg's restaurant in the Hingham ShipyardEat Well, Inc.ToscaStarsCaffe ToscaSquare Cafe
Bertucci'sChili's Bar & GrillThe 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 oceancamSaporito's – in Hull; one of the best restaurants on the South ShoreMiscellaneous |
Google Maps: Hingham
Mapquest Maps: Hingham
Yahoo! Maps: Hingham
HinghamWeather.comHingham Broadcast News – many nice videos
Hingham on WikipediaThe Hingham Journal – at wickedlocal.comHingham resident’s photos enliven Blizzard of ‘78 Book – an article on me!The Patriot LedgerSouthofBoston.comWelcome to "Paco" – my friend Paco provides school transportation and after school activitiesWebcam from The Ocean Club restaurant, Nantasket BeachWebcam from the Red Parrot Restaurant, Nantasket BeachSouth Shore Baseball ClubWhitney WharfHull Lifesaving MuseumNantasket Beach – pictures of Hull and NantasketNew England Wildlife CenterWellspring – a private, non-profit, multi-service organizationThe Weymouth Club – where I play tennisPatriot CinemasLoring Hall Cinema – the old siteNortheastsurfing.com – a surfing site with a video and webcamHingham1956.com – 50th Reunion WEB SITEHingham 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 viewParagon CarouselAround Hingham Web Site & Blog
