Hingham Historical Society

The Hingham Historical Society is a member-supported nonprofit founded in 1914 to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret the history of Hingham. It runs museum tours, an annual tour of historic homes, exhibits, lectures and special events for families, students and anyone curious about the town and the nation’s past. Its properties include the 1686 Old Ordinary, a house museum, and the Heritage Museum in the 1818 Old Derby Academy building.

The Old Ordinary served stagecoach travelers on the main road from Boston for over 150 years, and its campus now includes the Olmsted Garden, the Old Fort and an Arts and Crafts Annex. The Society also offers tours of the Major General Benjamin Lincoln House, a National Historic Landmark. Founded by nine people during the Colonial Revival movement, it elected former Massachusetts governor John Davis Long as its first president.

What to Know

• Members receive free museum admission, early event ticketing and a Museum Shop discount.
• The Heritage Museum was renovated and reopened in 2017.
• Volunteer roles are open to everyone from high school students to seniors.
• The Society gives annual awards to high school students and preservation leaders.
• The Old Derby building once housed the country’s oldest co-educational school.