The Hingham Historical Society invites History Camp Boston participants to experience a unique and immersive exploration of Revolutionary-era Hingham inspired by the forthcoming book Hingham in the American Revolution: Not the Gift of Kings by award-winning author, historian, and History Camp speaker James B. Conroy.

Located just a short and scenic ferry ride from Boston, Historic Hingham offers one of the most intact Revolutionary-era streetscapes in New England. This specially curated day trip will bring participants directly into the landscapes, buildings, and stories that inspired Conroy’s new book and shaped the American Revolution.

The experience will begin with a beautiful roundtrip ferry journey between Boston and Hingham Harbor. Upon arrival, guests will be offered a rare behind-the-scenes archival experience at the Hingham Historical Society. (accessible and air conditioned!) Participants will work directly with Historical Society Archivist Bob Malme and Collections Manager Mikayla Martin to examine original source materials including journals, records and artifacts that Conroy used in writing the book and connected to Revolutionary-era Hingham. This hands-on session will provide an extraordinary opportunity to engage with source materials. Participants will also enjoy access to the Society’s major exhibition, Witness: Hingham in the Age of Revolution 1760–1781.

After lunch, participants will enjoy a guided walking tour, tracing the people, places, and events featured in Hingham in the American Revolution: Not the Gift of Kings. Participants will visit the National Historic Landmark Benjamin Lincoln House, the Old Ordinary Tavern, the grounds of loyalist Ebenezer Gay’s house and the shoreline of Hingham Harbor where militia patrolled during the Siege of Boston.  

For guests that have mobility needs, the Hingham Historical Society History Cart (an electric low-speed, street legal, six-seater, golf cart) is available for transport between sites.

The program includes:

• Roundtrip ferry transportation between Boston and Hingham
• Guided Revolutionary-era walking tour
• Admission to all program sites and exhibitions
• Archival workshop and collections access
• Boxed lunch
• A copy of Conroy’s Hingham in the American Revolution: Not the Gift of Kings
• Free time to enjoy Historic Downtown Hingham

Schedule

This is an all-day tour, from approximately 8:45 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Times are subject to change with the ferry schedule.

A detailed schedule will be sent to participants in the weeks leading up to the event.

Cost

$160

A Bank Heist, a Donnybrook, and Waves of Molasses

Please join Mike Manning of the Friends of the Boston Harborwalk (FBHW) for a walking tour of the North End and the Charlestown Navy Yard.

Schedule

This tour is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. at Mirabella Pool and will end around 10:30 a.m. at the USS Constitution Museum.

Cost

$35 per participant

Good Morning, Newbury Street!

Before the crowds and cars arrive, come walk fashionable Newbury Street!

It’s rich in history, architecture, and stories of transformation! Newbury Street was once part of a tidal swamp. With vision and landfill, it was created to welcome single-family homes and to become the hub of Boston culture and worship. Now boasting luxury and bohemian boutiques, art galleries, cozy cafes, and world-class restaurants, Newbury Street has a vital, vibrant, and historic story to tell. This tour ends as the shops open for the day, so it is perfect for those interested in shopping and dining.

Tour Guides

Janine Mudge is a longtime Back Bay resident and engaging storyteller who brings Boston’s iconic Back Bay neighborhood to life. As a seasoned guide, she leads small group walking tours that focus on the rich history, striking architecture, and fascinating stories behind Commonwealth Avenue and Newbury Street. With an insider’s perspective and a passion for place, Janine connects guests to the people – past and present – who have shaped this vibrant community. Learn more at www.jmwalkingtours.com.

Schedule

9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Tour Meeting Place

We’ll be sending specific tour information to paid participants about 2 weeks before History Camp.

Cost

$35 per participant

Ink & Cobblestones: A Walk Through Boston’s Literary Past

See the sites. Read the work. Experience literary history.

Have you ever stood somewhere and realized: “This is where an author from the past stood — someone who wrote something that’s impacted me today?”

That’s the experience of the Ink & Cobblestones tour. As we walk the streets of Boston where writers from the past lived, gathered, and wrote, you’ll see that the past and present really do carry on in parallel…

On this tour, you’ll learn about the writers who lived on Beacon Hill, the oldest library in Boston, the hub of 19th-century publishing, the site of the first bookstore in Boston, and some literary inspiration from a graveyard.

Along the way, we’ll read work by the authors we encounter, including Phillis Wheatley, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sylvia Plath, Robert Frost, and more.

You’ll walk away with a greater understanding of Boston’s literary history, as well as the experience of being in the same place where some of America’s greatest authors once stood.

Tour Guides

Jessica is the founder and director of Literary Boston, which she started in 2012 as a website where people could find everything there was to know about the Boston literary community. But you could say that Literary Boston may have truly started on a trip to Walden Pond in 1999. She fell in love with the literary history of Boston then and is still fascinated with it today, so much so that she has made it a pillar of her work on Literary Boston. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson and a Master’s in Literature from Harvard.

Schedule

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 

Tour Meeting Place

You’ll meet your guide at the Old State House. The exact meeting point will be sent by email a couple of weeks before History Camp.

Cost

$35

FAQ

How much walking is involved?

We’ll walk about a mile, at a comfortable pace, with frequent stops. The route includes hills and uneven brick sidewalks typical of historic Boston, so comfortable shoes are a must!

Is the tour accessible?

Boston’s historic sidewalks can be uneven and narrow in places, particularly in Beacon Hill, where approximately half of the tour takes place. Because of the walking involved and the nature of the terrain, this tour may not be suitable for those with mobility challenges. Participants who are comfortable walking but may benefit from occasional opportunities to sit are welcome to bring a lightweight portable stool.

Exploring Castle Island

Please join Mike Manning of the Friends of the Boston Harborwalk (FBHW) for a walking tour of Fort Independence at Castle Island.

This tour will focus on the history of Castle Island from the first fort (1634) to the present-day fort (1830s). We’ll walk the perimeter of the fort and discuss Edgar Allen Poe, the Quasi War, the Spanish-American War, and the fort’s present-day recreational use. In addition, we’ll talk about the inner harbor islands, the massive Boston harbor clean-up, Logan International Airport, and MassPort’s Conley container terminal. Then we’ll venture inside the fort and make our way up to the ramparts for a spectacular view of the city.

Please wear comfortable walking shoes and bring your own water bottle

Schedule

1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Tour Meeting Place

You’ll meet your guide near Sullivan’s. The exact meeting point will be sent by email a couple of weeks before History Camp.

Cost

$35

Amazing Commonwealth Avenue: An Insider Look at History, Architecture & Art

Come walk beautiful and historic Commonwealth Avenue and discover the stories that bring this Back Bay street to life.

On this engaging 90-minute walk, led by a local guide, you’ll explore a rich mix of history, architecture and art. Hear the transformative stories about Back Bay’s beginning as a tidal swamp to its growth and change to become Boston’s premiere neighborhood to live, work and play. Marvel at the stunning brownstones and learn about the families who lived there. Discover the stories of the historic men and women remembered with statues that line the Mall. Gain insider insights into the vibrant neighborhood that thrives today. The tour covers about one mile and follows a wide, paved, tree-lined path.

Tour Guides

Janine Mudge is a longtime Back Bay resident and engaging storyteller who brings Boston’s iconic Back Bay neighborhood to life. As a seasoned guide, she leads small group walking tours that focus on the rich history, striking architecture, and fascinating stories behind Commonwealth Avenue and Newbury Street. With an insider’s perspective and a passion for place, Janine connects guests to the people – past and present – who have shaped this vibrant community. Learn more at www.jmwalkingtours.com.

Schedule

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Tour Meeting Place

This tour meets at the Alexander Hamilton statue, across from 5 Commonwealth Ave. near Arlington St.

Cost

$35 per participant

Revolutionary Words: A Literary Walk Through the Writings That Inspired Independence

See the sites. Read the work. Experience literary history.

Before the battles, before the Declaration, before the nation, there were words: speeches, pamphlets, poems, essays, broadsides, and public arguments that helped shape how ordinary people understood liberty, power, rights, resistance, and revolution.

That’s the experience of the Revolutionary Words tour. As we walk through downtown Boston, we’ll explore the places where revolutionary ideas were printed, spoken, debated, read aloud, and carried into the streets.

On this tour, you’ll learn about Boston’s role in the American Revolution through the literary voices who helped create the language of independence. We’ll visit sites connected to the Liberty Tree, Benjamin Franklin, Old South Meeting House, the Old State House, Phillis Wheatley, Isaiah Thomas, Paul Revere’s Boston, and more.

Along the way, we’ll read revolutionary-era words in the places connected to them: poems, speeches, newspaper writings, and other texts by Sam Adams, Phillis Wheatley, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, and others that reveal how language helped move Boston from protest to revolution.

You’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of Boston’s Revolutionary history — not only as a story of battles and politics, but as a story of language, print, persuasion, poetry, and public imagination.

Tour Guides

Jessica is the founder and director of Literary Boston, which she started in 2012 as a website where people could find everything there was to know about the Boston literary community. But you could say that Literary Boston may have truly started on a trip to Walden Pond in 1999. She fell in love with the literary history of Boston then and is still fascinated with it today, so much so that she has made it a pillar of her work on Literary Boston. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson and a Master’s in Literature from Harvard.

Schedule

2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m

Tour Meeting Place

The exact meeting point will be sent by email a couple of weeks before History Camp.

Cost

$35

FAQ

How much walking is involved?

We’ll walk about a mile, at a comfortable pace, with frequent stops. The route includes hills and uneven brick sidewalks typical of historic Cambridge, so comfortable shoes are a must!

Is the tour accessible?

Cambridge’s historic sidewalks can be uneven and narrow in places. Participants who can comfortably walk the route but may need occasional breaks are welcome to bring a portable stool.