Hawkes belonged to family and local history organizations and served the Saugus community in several capacities.

[1] On April 30, 1861, Hawkes was chosen to serve on a finance committee in the first town meeting related to the Civil War.

[6] Hawkes spoke at many Farmers' Institutes in the United States and served "many years" as the Saugus trustee in the Essex Agricultural Society.

[2] In 1891 he was appointed by Governor William Russell to represent Massachusetts at the National Farmers' Congress in Sedalia, Missouri.

In Salem, Hawkes was an expert on woodland titles at the Registry of Deeds; This was a "favorite" position he held late in life.