HINGHAM /Liberty Pole
Neighborhood has ‘nice sense of community’

By MAUREEN McCARTHY
For The Patriot Ledger Area: 22.59 sq. mi.

POPULATION
2000: 19,882
2007: 21,202

Density: 943 res./sq. mi.
Median age: 43
Median household income: $94,693

FINANCES
Tax rate: $9
Town budget: $71.8 million
Avg. annual sewer bill, North Hingham Sewer District: $525

HOUSING
Median home price (number of sales)
2007: $624,900 (281)
2008: $722,500 (5 through Jan.)
Median condo price
2007: $353,500 (46)
2008: $897,980 (3)

SCHOOLS
Number of students: 3,797
Number of teachers: 263
H.S. grads to 4-yr. college: 90%
H.S. grads to 2-yr. college: 2%
Median SAT score (2006): 1,668

Angie Hilsabeck and her husband, Jon, were living in North Carolina when a job brought them to Boston. They had no children when they bought a Back Bay condo in 1999, but they outgrew the space and lifestyle when they had two babies.

“I had my two older girls in the city and just had to move,” Angie Hilsabeck recalled. “Jon heard about Hingham through friends and they said, ‘move to Hingham, Liberty Pole,’ and that’s the only place we looked.”

Younger children in the Liberty Pole neighborhood go to South Elementary School. It is known as a family-friendly neighborhood – one rich with youngsters, friendship and camaraderie.

“We have lots of friends, we carpool, watch each others kids, have play dates and play dates for the moms, too,” Angie Hilsabeck said. “It is a great place to raise children, there is just a lot of life here.”

Most heartwarming, she said, is the strong network of support and the kindness of neighbors.

“If someone moves in, has a baby, or has an event, there is a dinner train, volunteers who make dinner on certain nights, a welcoming coffee hour or evening social,” she said.

The Liberty Pole neighborhood is accessible via Main Street, Route 228 or from Cushing Street and includes about two dozen, tree-lined streets.

The area is appealing to many potential home buyers because of its proximity to Route 3, the Hingham-to-Boston commuter boats and shopping on Derby Street.

It’s about a three-mile walk downtown.

The sought-after neighborhood is home to a few hundred families.

“I think the perception in town is that it is a wonderful family neighborhood and a great to raise a family,” said Tara Coveney of Coldwell Banker in Hingham.

With the addition of their third daughter three years ago, the Hilsabeck family needed more space but they stayed in Liberty Pole . “We didn’t even have a discussion about moving. We put on an addition with another bedroom and family room in 2007,” Angie Hilsabeck said.

Home styles range from split-levels, to ranches to cape and colonials. Sale prices over the past few years have ranged from about $500,000 to more than $1 million, Coveney said.

A 1,900-square-foot house on Flintlock Circle is listed at $599,000. A short distance away, a 2,200-square-foot colonial is priced at $629,000.

Liberty Pole offers a sense of community, Angie Hilsabeck said, a place where lifelong friends are made. “You can walk around the neighborhood and end up at someone’s house for pizza,” she said. “There is such a nice sense of community here and everyone watches out for everybody.”

See more Neighborhood stories at http://tinyurl.com/patriotledger-neighborhoods.