July 9, 2026 – Story and photos by Joshua Ross
A few hundred people gathered outside the Hingham’s Memorial Bell Tower and Old Ship Meetinghouse on Wednesday night to hear 13 Hingham leaders and future leaders recite the Declaration of Independence. The event put on by the Town of Hingham, in conjunction with Hingham Historical Society, MA 250, and Revolution 250, was one of thousands just like in taking place at the same time, not only all over the state and country, but on every continent around the world.
Co-chairs of Hingham’s Rev 250 committee Art Robert, Assistant Town Moderator, and Deirdre Anderson, President of Hingham’s Historical Society, emcee’d the ceremony. Before the 13 participants began reading, Anderson gave the audience some history and perspective on the occasion.
“Tonight, we gather on this sacred historic ground—beneath Hingham’s Memorial Bell Tower and beside Old Ship Meetinghouse—to commemorate a remarkable anniversary. 250 years ago last week, the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In Massachusetts, the words of the declaration were typeset and printed by two men in Salem, MA and by order of the Massachusetts Assembly – a copy of their work was sent to each community in the Massachusetts colony requiring local ministers to read the Declaration to their congregations on the first Sunday after receiving it. For Hingham, that Minister was Reverend Ebenezer Gay and that congregation was those who gathered in this Old Ship Meetinghouse. The Declaration of Independence from the newly declared United States would forever change the course of history. This evening, hundreds of communities across America are participating in synchronized public readings of the Declaration, and we are proud that Hingham is among them.”
Anderson continued with a bit of context around the Declaration of Independence.
“The Declaration of Independence is only 1,337 words long and has five distinct parts.
The introduction— explaining that this document is necessary for the colonies to separate from the British Empire.
The preamble which sets forth the extraordinary general philosophy of government including that all people are created equal, that they possess inherent rights, and that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.
The third—and longest—lists the grievances against King George III. As you will hear, these were not abstract complaints. They were real indignities experienced by people living throughout the colonies, in Massachusetts and right here in Hingham between 1765 and 1776.
The fourth section criticizes British citizens for ignoring the pleas of their colonial brethren.
And finally, the conclusion is the formal declaration of independence and an extraordinary mutual pledge that we will ask all of you in attendance to read together at the end of the reading – the words are in your program.
Tonight, we will read the Declaration as it was written in 1776.
We also recognize that America in 1776 was not America in 2026. The lived experiences of Hingham’s residents were profoundly different depending on whether one was a property owner, man or woman, free or enslaved, Indigenous or newly arrived.
Our nation has spent the past 250 years striving—often imperfectly—to realize the promises expressed in the words of the Declaration to the lives of all its people.
Reading this document today invites us to consider how each generation has been called to more fully realize the ideals first articulated in these remarkable 1,337 words. Tonight, as we listen, may we hear not only the voices of those who first proclaimed these ideas 250 years ago, but also the enduring challenge they continue to place before us.”
The 13 community members who recited the document were Carol Falvey, Janine Suchecki, Julie Strehle, Reverend Dr. Geoffrey Hicks, Jen Benham, Joe Fisher, Annie Daly, Paul Healey, Dawn Massa Stancavish, Stephen Leary, Grey Sullivan, Dax Sullivan, and Mitch Paine.
The ceremony concluded with amazing renditions of The Star Spangled Banner and America performed by HHS alum Nick Capodilupo, who is currently getting his advanced degree in Opera at McGill University.
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