Hanover Turns 300 in 2027, and Most of the Party Is Already on the Calendar

On the evening of Friday, December 4, luminaries will line Washington Street, Church Street and Broadway at Four Corners. The shops will stay open, carolers will sing, and the Hanover Historical Society will set out its carriages and other pieces from its collections at the flagpole across from Marylou's Coffee. That's the Four Corners Winter Festival as Hanover already knows it. A year later, on December 3, 2027, the same festival appears on the planning calendar for Hanover's 300th anniversary.

Hanover's tercentennial is mostly the town's usual year, given a 300th theme: Tavern Night, the cemetery tour, Hanover Day and Winterfest. Only a few pieces are being made just for this anniversary: a short film, a restored plow at Town Hall, and two time capsules, one being opened and one being filled.

Where the 300 Years Start Counting

According to the town's historical account, Hanover was incorporated on June 14, 1727, by an act of the Massachusetts General Court. It was formed from the western part of Scituate and the eastern part of Abington because residents there lived far from a place of public worship. At incorporation the new town covered about 11,000 acres.

That date is the anchor for next year. The town's Hanover 300 Anniversary Committee page says the celebration will run through the anniversary year, with events, historical programs and commemorations. The page lists Christopher Haraden as chair. St. Andrew's Church also marks its own 300th in June 2027. That fits a town that was founded so its residents could worship closer to home.

The Film Comes First, on November 17

The first public moment comes on Tuesday, November 17. From 7 to 9 p.m., the Hanover Historical Society holds its 98th Annual Meeting at the Laura Center for the Arts, 97 Mill Street. The Society bills the evening as a kickoff for Hanover 300. According to the Society's event listing, the evening starts with a short business session. Then comes the premiere of a short documentary called "Hanover 300," followed by a reception.

The committee's September planning notes describe the film as a 15 to 20 minute video about Hanover, made for release in November. The Society sums up the evening in one line: "Three hundred years of history. Countless stories. One community."

Two Objects Only the Anniversary Is Making

The September 16 notes name two projects that "need to get underway" right away. Neither one is part of the regular calendar.

1. The Hanover plow at Town Hall. Doug Thomson and Dan Mantell are co-leading the restoration. The plan was to seek money from the Hanover Cultural Council, whose deadline was October 15, and from the Community Preservation Committee, whose deadline fell before October 31.
2. The time capsules. Mike Cianciola and Dan Mantell co-chair a subcommittee with two jobs. The first is to open the capsule buried in 1977, tentatively on June 14, 2027, the incorporation date. The second is to work with groups around town to build and fill a new 300th capsule. The notes estimate it will be installed in December 2027, after its contents have been on display.

The two capsules cover two points on the same timeline. The 1977 capsule was buried 250 years after incorporation, and the new one will be sealed at the end of its 300th. Between those two dates is a single summer of public display.

The Rest of the Year Runs on Dates Hanover Already Keeps

Most of the 2027 calendar in the committee's notes is made up of events residents will recognize. Some are getting a 300th theme. Others simply happen in the same year.

The busiest stretch is mid to late June. In about two weeks, the town marks its incorporation date, opens a capsule from 1977, celebrates a 300-year-old church and holds Hanover Day. The notes say the committee is scheduling around other town activities, and they also mention concern about traffic from construction projects planned for 2027.

The Money Follows the Same Calendar

The funding is organized the same way as the events. At the May 2026 Annual Town Meeting, voters unanimously approved Article 15, which authorized $75,000 from free cash for the town's costs of running three events: Winterfest, Hanover Day and Hanover 300. The town's 2026 articles status page says the money became available July 1. The anniversary was budgeted together with the two events it relies on most.

The committee's notes list $25,000 for anniversary activities, including police and fire details. They also point to grants and sponsorships as other sources of money. Members have reached out to the Chamber of Commerce and looked at using the Community Green at Hanover Crossing for events. Possible partners include the Cardinal Cushing Center, the Historical Society, houses of worship and the library.

What the Committee Is Still Shaping

The committee agreed that a parade will be a key part of the year. Its timing was still open in September. After talking with about 25 town committees, Bonnie Clarke reported that adding the anniversary to the Memorial Day parade would not be appropriate. The notes say a parade subcommittee needs to be formed soon.

The notes also list ideas for further discussion. Several of them would bring the anniversary into local shops and onto local trails:

• "Hanover 300 Rocks," a Hanover Women's Club project: painted rocks carry a Facebook page link, and people post photos of where the rocks turn up
• Themed restaurant menus and a scavenger hunt or passport system to bring people into small businesses
• A "Shop Local" scavenger hunt for November featuring Hanover Hawk mascots
• Geolocation activities on trails, plus trail walks on the Rail Trail
• A town-wide tea party with historical programming, and a gala or ball
• A "gateway" on Route 139 with Hanover 300 flags
• Merchandise with a 300th logo, a quilt or art project, and a community read-a-thon
• A book about Hanover, with Les Molyneaux's new book on L. Vernon Briggs mentioned

This December, Before the Anniversary Year Opens

The 2026 holiday season gives a preview of the setting for the 300th. The Four Corners Winter Festival starts at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, December 4. The shopping list on the town's festival page includes Hawk's Nest Hanover Gear at Salmond School, a Cardinal Cushing Pop-Up Marketplace on Church Street, holiday candles at Renovisions, the annual cookie sale at Saint Andrew's Church, holiday gifts at By The Sea, floral gifts at Ivy and Olive's, and Ann Marie's Botanicals and Rarities. The page also asks visitors to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the ambulance at the corner of Broadway and Washington Street. The Historical Society's carriage display will be set up by the flagpole.

On Washington Street, Hanover Crossing will host the kind of community events the committee may use next year:

• Free Santa visits and photos in the Ryan's Family Amusements lobby at 1775 Washington St., Suite 400. Visits run Wednesday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon on December 2, 9, 16 and 23, and Thursday afternoons from 3 to 5 p.m. on December 3, 10 and 17.
• Stuff the Bus for the South Shore Food Bank on the Central Green, December 12, 11 a.m. to noon.

On December 3, the John Curtis Free Library at 534 Hanover Street hosts holiday mug-arrangement sessions with the Hanover Garden Club. The library is the same institution that closes out the 2027 calendar with its own anniversary on December 11.

If you've lived in Hanover for decades and have photos, stories or keepsakes from Four Corners, Hanover Day or 1977 that belong in next year's displays, the anniversary committee and the Historical Society are the people to contact. If anyone in your household is curious how Hanover homes and streets have changed since the last time capsule was buried, the Doran Hall Team is glad to talk it through over coffee, and we can also prepare a home valuation whenever you'd like to see where your property stands today.