Hingham, Wisconsin
Encyclopedia
Hingham is an unincorporated
census-designated place
located in the town of Lima
, in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin
, United States
. Hingham is northeast of Adell
and southeast of Waldo
. Hingham has a post office
with ZIP code
53031. As of the 2010 census
, its population was 886.
Hingham has a mill pond
which has carp
in it. There is an American Legion
Hall near the mill pond at the intersection of County Highway I and County Highway F.
Hingham has a Memorial Day
parade
every year. There are usually goat
s in the parade and the Oostburg High School
Band often marches in the parade.
The Onion River flows through the village, and was originally dammed to provide power for the Giddings mill. Eventually, Hingham became a fairly sizeable community with a variety of businesses in the vicinity. In 1873, the Sheboygan Times listed the following census of businesses:
1 post office,
1 printing office,
1 hotel,
2 general stores,
1 drug, book & grocery store,
1 tailor shop,
1 barber shop,
1 milliner and dressmaker,
1 blacksmith shop,
1 tin shop,
3 shoe shops,
1 harness shop,
2 wagon shops,
2 paint shops,
1 cooper,
1 pump factory,
1 churn factory,
1 cheese factory,
2 grist mills,
1 sawmill,
1 boardinghouse,
1 school house,
1 Methodist church,
Occupations listed included 1 minister, 1 physician, 1 millwright, 4 carpenters & joiners, 1 stonemason, 2 justices of the peace, 3 sewing machine agencies, and 1 rag gatherer & peddler.
The first post office was established at Hingham on Oct. 31, 1857, with Lemuel Tibbitts as postmaster.
By 1875, Hingham had its first newspaper--the Ready Pay Trader, published by F. A. Balch. There was also a later weekly paper called the Village News.
One distinction Buchen noted about the importance of the early days of Hingham was that there was an egg depot there, owned by S.D. Hyde, where eggs were picked in large vats and shipped to eastern markets. He says, "More eggs, it is said, were collected and shipped from Hingham in those days than any other place in the state, there being as many as ten carloads at one time."
The community of Hingham, however, lost its place in the sun when the Milwaukee & Northern railroad bypassed the village and located two miles west of the town. Within the next 125 years, small businesses mostly left the community, and residents became dependent for those services in nearby villages.
Today, Hingham has been reinvented as a bedroom community with good access to communities to the north and south via State Highway 57. New subdivisions have been developed, and the population has been growing. It still has its own post office, but the school population has been absorbed into the Oostburg School District. The Methodist Church has united with the Waldo Methodist congregation, but there is a large congregation affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, and there are both Lutheran and independent Bible Churches nearby.
As a community, Hingham retains the closeness of a rural small town, combined with the convenience of easy access to larger, more urban communities.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
located in the town of Lima
Lima, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin
Lima is a town in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,948 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Hingham is northeast of Adell
Adell, Wisconsin
Adell is a village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 517 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Adell is located at ....
and southeast of Waldo
Waldo, Wisconsin
Waldo is a village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Onion River. The population was 450 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. Hingham has a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
with ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
53031. As of the 2010 census
United States Census, 2010
The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...
, its population was 886.
Hingham has a mill pond
Mill pond
A mill pond is any body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam across a waterway. In many places, the common proper name Mill Pond name has remained even though the mill has long since gone...
which has carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
in it. There is an American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
Hall near the mill pond at the intersection of County Highway I and County Highway F.
Hingham has a Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
every year. There are usually goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s in the parade and the Oostburg High School
Oostburg High School
Oostburg High School is a public high school located in Oostburg, Wisconsin, United States. It serves grades 9-12 and is part of the Oostburg School District. Oostburg High School has 310 students.-Athletics:...
Band often marches in the parade.
History
According to Gustav W. Buchen in "Historic Sheboygan County", the community of Hingham was platted on Sept. 5, 1850, by Edward Hobart. The land was acquired from Mrs. David Giddings, who had bought it from the U S Government in 1846. A Hingham resident, Lemuel Tibbitts, who was a deputy county surveyor, did the platting. Streets on the original plat included Water, Center, Spring, South and Main Streets. The name "Hingham" was chosen after the city in Massachusetts.The Onion River flows through the village, and was originally dammed to provide power for the Giddings mill. Eventually, Hingham became a fairly sizeable community with a variety of businesses in the vicinity. In 1873, the Sheboygan Times listed the following census of businesses:
1 post office,
1 printing office,
1 hotel,
2 general stores,
1 drug, book & grocery store,
1 tailor shop,
1 barber shop,
1 milliner and dressmaker,
1 blacksmith shop,
1 tin shop,
3 shoe shops,
1 harness shop,
2 wagon shops,
2 paint shops,
1 cooper,
1 pump factory,
1 churn factory,
1 cheese factory,
2 grist mills,
1 sawmill,
1 boardinghouse,
1 school house,
1 Methodist church,
Occupations listed included 1 minister, 1 physician, 1 millwright, 4 carpenters & joiners, 1 stonemason, 2 justices of the peace, 3 sewing machine agencies, and 1 rag gatherer & peddler.
The first post office was established at Hingham on Oct. 31, 1857, with Lemuel Tibbitts as postmaster.
By 1875, Hingham had its first newspaper--the Ready Pay Trader, published by F. A. Balch. There was also a later weekly paper called the Village News.
One distinction Buchen noted about the importance of the early days of Hingham was that there was an egg depot there, owned by S.D. Hyde, where eggs were picked in large vats and shipped to eastern markets. He says, "More eggs, it is said, were collected and shipped from Hingham in those days than any other place in the state, there being as many as ten carloads at one time."
The community of Hingham, however, lost its place in the sun when the Milwaukee & Northern railroad bypassed the village and located two miles west of the town. Within the next 125 years, small businesses mostly left the community, and residents became dependent for those services in nearby villages.
Today, Hingham has been reinvented as a bedroom community with good access to communities to the north and south via State Highway 57. New subdivisions have been developed, and the population has been growing. It still has its own post office, but the school population has been absorbed into the Oostburg School District. The Methodist Church has united with the Waldo Methodist congregation, but there is a large congregation affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, and there are both Lutheran and independent Bible Churches nearby.
As a community, Hingham retains the closeness of a rural small town, combined with the convenience of easy access to larger, more urban communities.