Historical Commission

Annual Historical Essay Contest for High School Students

The Hingham Historical Commission is pleased to announce the 2026 annual high school essay contest on the history of Hingham.  The winner of the Hingham Historical Essay Award will receive a $2,000 cash prize, funded by the Commission, and a certificate memorializing the award.

Eligibility

The contest is open to any student who lives in Hingham and attends any public or private high school at any grade level.

Subject Matter

Essays may be devoted to any aspect of Hingham’s history occurring in or before 1945.  By way of example only, the subject matter of an essay could include the lives, accomplishments, or activities of individual Hingham men, women, children, families, or groups; daily life and conditions in all or any part of Hingham at a given time; the history of one or more of its buildings, neighborhoods, streets, professions, schools, businesses, farms, or trades; the native Americans who lived here; the social, governmental, architectural, or economic history of the Town or any part of it; slavery in Hingham; movements in the Town for or against independence, abolition, temperance, women’s suffrage, or any other social or political issues; Hingham’s military, religious, or civic organizations; or any other topic concerning the history of the Town or its people.

Specifications

All submitted essays must be at least 1,500 words long and should not be much longer than 2,000 words, not including footnotes and bibliography, if any.  All facts and quotations and all opinions or analyses that are not the student’s own must be properly cited to a source.  The Chicago Manual of Style will govern the essays’ form.

Submission

All essays must be received no later than Monday, April 13, 2026. Place essay in an envelope addressed to the Hingham Historical Commission and deposit it in the Town Hall Mailbox at the end of the circular drive in front of Hingham Town Hall, 210 Central Street, Hingham, Massachusetts 02043.  Essays may also be submitted by U.S. mail to the aforementioned address, or as an attachment to an email sent to: gaulh@hingham-ma.gov.  

Judges and Criteria

Each year, the Hingham Historical Commission will review all essays and will select a winner.  The winning entry will be announced and published on the Hingham Historical Commission’s web page on or about June 2, 2026, and submitted for publication in the Hingham Anchor.

As opposed to a mere collection of facts and figures, each essay should have a purpose.  By way of example only, an essay might be written to determine what caused the split of the First Parish in Hingham in the eighteenth century; the extent to which racial discrimination was prevalent in Hingham during the Civil War; or why Hingham Harbor ceased to be involved in maritime commerce.  Essays will be judged by the depth and quality of the research, including the extent to which primary sources have been found and used; the quality of the writing, including grammar, spelling, and style; the quality of the analysis; and the extent to which the essay makes a significant, original contribution to the history of Hingham.  

Use and Preservation of Essays

All submitted essays will be indexed and made available to the public at the Hingham Historical Commission and the Hingham Public Library.

Please contact Heidi Gaul at the Hingham Historical Commission at (781) 741-1492 or via email at gaulh@hingham-ma.gov for further information.