Old Ordinary, 1686

21 Lincoln Street
Old Ordinary, 1686

A 1656 Massachusetts law required towns on major roads and ferry stops to have an ordinary, often in a private home, where travelers could get an ordinary meal at a fixed price. Thomas Andrews built this home in 1686 for his son, Thomas. The original house had two rooms, one above the other, and a shed kitchen and a garret above. A 1702-liquor license permitted Andrews to sell “strong waters” provided his clients left at a reasonable hour and “were able to keep their legs.” Tours focus on four owners: Thomas and Abigail (Lincoln) Andrews, Francis and Hannah (Thaxter) Barker, Ephraim and Lucy (Lane) Andrews, and Abiel and Deborah (Humphrey) Wilder. About 1754 the Barkers expanded the house toward Lincoln Street. In the early 1800s Ephraim Andrews raised the roof on the north side of the house to create a full second floor and modernized the original “hall” downstairs, now the dining room. Andrews opened an inn and introduced a stagecoach line. In 1817, the Wilders succeeded the Andrews family as owners and managers of the inn and stagecoach. Over the years, rooms likely served various purposes; the taproom is a reproduction of what might have been. During the 1800s when both Andrews and Wilder advertised their inns and stagecoaches, overnight guests were clearly accommodated. There was an additional building with a large kitchen and a second floor dance hall that likely served as the tavern. Deborah Humphrey was known for her mulled cider, a favorite of Daniel Webster, a frequent visitor. Following Abiel’s death in 1838, the family apparently phased out the public aspect of their private home but a livery service continued until about the Civil War. Arts & Crafts furniture designer, J. Vaughan Dennett, added the Annex in the early 1900s as his workshop. Reverend Cornish, the Old Ship minister, who lived here from 1906 to 1920, made the Annex his study. Cornish married Frances Foote in 1906; the garden is said to have been a wedding gift and is maintained by the Garden Club of Hingham. The Cornishes expanded the third floor of the house. In 1920 Wilmon Brewer bought this home and offered it to the Hingham Historical Society, which prudently leased it for two years to ensure they could afford to maintain it. The Old Ordinary became the first property owned by the Society. Reservations for Old Ordinary Tours can be made on this website, hinghamhistorical.org.