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Weymouth mayor satirically declares Hingham Bay to be renamed as ‘Gulf of Weymouth’
Weymouth Mayor Bob Hedlund said he’s instructed North Weymouth “border guards” to allow tariff-free passage to the Hingham commuter ferry “in an act of magnanimity and friendship.”
Taking a page from the Trump administration’s playbook, Weymouth’s mayor has issued a tongue-in-cheek decree to correct a supposed geographical oversight.
“I am pleased to announce that today via Executive Order I have renamed Hingham Bay the Gulf of Weymouth,” Mayor Bob Hedlund wrote on Facebook Tuesday, sharing a totally legit Google Maps screenshot reflecting the change.
As justification for the renaming, Hedlund pointed out three harbor islands are territorially part of Weymouth, which was settled a whole 11 years earlier than Hingham. He further accused the neighboring community of culturally appropriating “facts surrounding the revolutionary war skirmish known as The Battle of Grape Island (territorially located in Weymouth).”
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“Hingham has since been colonized itself by New Yorkers employed in financial services in Boston with no long standing history of the body of water formerly known as Hingham Bay,” Hedlund wrote, though he said he’s instructed North Weymouth “border guards” to allow safe and tariff-free passage to the Hingham commuter ferry “in an act of magnanimity and friendship.”
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Still, Hedlund also said the “North Weymouth Navy” is ready to defend the newly renamed body of water “should Hingham attempt to reverse this action militarily.”
Hingham, for its part, fired back Friday morning as Select Board Chair Joe Fisher planted a town flag at the Bathing Beach to reaffirm Hingham’s claim to the bay. Photos from local news outlet the Hingham Anchor show Fisher flanked by members of the Hingham Militia.
“The Town of Hingham was prepared to fight tyranny and aggression in 1775, and we are prepared today to continue that fight,” Fisher said in a statement. “As the Chair of the Hingham Select Board, I am reactivating the Hingham Militia Company and directing them to secure Hingham Bay and Hingham Harbor against all adversaries, foreign or domestic, who threaten Hingham’s sovereign rights.”
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He also renamed the Weymouth Back River after Hingham, “as it runs through the Town of Hingham and empties into Hingham Bay. Huzzah!”
Hedlund’s post quickly racked up thousands of likes, and the jokes and parodies kept rolling in the comments section.
“Senior Citizen Mary of the North Weymouth Binocular Brigade reporting in Sir,” one commenter wrote. “All quiet on the Bay of Hingham Usual seagulls patrolling and 4 ducks a little after dawn.”
“North Weymouth’s flagship Chubby is ready to defend our Gulf of Weymouth from any and all interlopers,” the North Weymouth Civic Association chimed in.
Hedlund also shared a Gulf of Weymouth-themed video montage set to the Pat Benatar power ballad “Invincible.”
He’s among a handful of politicians who have recently poked fun at President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” In a post on X Thursday, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont jokingly suggested renaming Long Island Sound “Connecticut Sound.”
“Here’s another idea…” Vermont Gov. Phil Scott replied, sharing a map with the Connecticut River renamed for Vermont.
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“Don’t make us come over there,” shot back Drew Cline, president of New Hampshire’s Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy. In Cline’s version of the map, Vermont was dubbed “West New Hampshire.”
What body of water in Massachusetts would you rename?
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