Hingham

Town in Plymouth County, eastern Massachusetts, located on Hingham Bay, 31 km/19 mi southeast of Boston; population (1998 est) 20,400. First settled, as Bare Cove, in 1635, Hingham was a thriving centre of fishing, boatbuilding, and manufacturing until after the Civil War. It retains some light industry, but is now primarily a residential suburb, with a high proportion of parkland. To the north, between the town and the Atlantic, lies the suburb of Hull.

Old Ship Church (1681), also called Old Ship Meeting House, is regarded as the only authentic church in Massachusetts to remain intact from the Puritan period. It has a wooden frame and walls from 1681 with pulpit, pews, and galleries from 1755. Hingham is the site of Derby Academy (1784), the oldest co-educational school in the USA. Wampatuk State Park is nearby.