Timeline of Lynn, Massachusetts

The following is a timeline of the history of Lynn, Massachusetts, USA.

17th-18th century

• 1629 - Saugus founded. Among the founders — Edmund Ingalls
• 1637 - Saugus renamed to Lynn in honor of Reverend Samuel Whiting (Senior), Lynn's first official minister who arrived from King's Lynn.
• 1642 - Saugus Iron Works in business.
• 1644 - Reading separates from Lynn.
• 1720 - Lynnfield burying-ground established.
• 1732 - Saugus burying-ground established.
• 1782 - Lynnfield separates from Lynn.
• 1793 - Post office in operation.
• 1797 - Population: 2,291.

19th century

• 1803 - Floating Bridge constructed on Salem-Boston turnpike.
• 1810 - Population: 4,087.
• 1812 - Eastern Burial-Place established.
• 1814 - Town House built.
• 1815
• Saugus separates from Lynn.
• Social Library formed.

• 1830 - Lynn Record newspaper begins publication.
• 1838
• Eastern Railroad in operation.
• Lynn Natural History Society formed.
• 1840 - Population: 9,367.
• 1841
• Lyceum building constructed.
• Frederick Douglass moves to Lynn.
• September 28 - Frederick Douglass is thrown off the Eastern Railroad train at Lynn Central Square station for refusing to sit in the segregated coach
• 1845 Frederick Douglass writes his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave while living in Lynn
• 1847 - High Rock Cottage (also called "Stone Cottage") is built by Alonzo Lewis for Jesse Hutchinson
• 1848 - First High Rock Tower built.
• 1850
• May 14 - City of Lynn incorporated.
• George Hood becomes mayor.
• Pine Grove Cemetery consecrated.
• 1851 - First High School built.
• 1852
• May - Swampscott separates from Lynn.
• June - Benjamin Franklin Mudge becomes mayor.
• 1853
• February - Saugus Branch Railroad opens for passengers with four stations in Lynn. Lynn's Andrews Breed is the railroad's first superintendent.
• March - Nahant separates from Lynn.
• April - Daniel C. Baker becomes mayor.

• 1854 - Lynn Weekly Reporter newspaper begins publication.
• 1855
• Andrews Breed becomes mayor.
• Lynn Library Association organized.
• 1856
• Ezra W. Mudge becomes mayor.
• African Methodist Episcopal Church established.
• 1858
• William F. Johnson becomes mayor.
• Telegraph in service.
• St. Mary's Cemetery consecrated.
• 1859 - Edward S. Davis becomes mayor.
• 1860 - 1860 New England Shoemakers Strike begins in Lynn
• 1861 - Hiram N. Breed becomes mayor.
• 1862
• Peter M. Neal becomes mayor.
• Free Public Library established.
• 1863 - Boston & Lynn Horse Railroad begins operating.
• 1865
• April 19 - original High Rock Tower destroyed by fire
• 1866
• Roland G. Usher becomes mayor.
• Mary Baker Eddy experiences the fall in Lynn, believed by Christian Scientists to mark the birth of their religion.

• 1867
• City Hall dedicated.
• Lynn Transcript newspaper begins publication.
• 1868 - Young Men's Christian Association organized.
• 1870
• Edwin Walden becomes mayor.
• Music Hall opens.
• 1872
• Labor strike by shoemakers.
• James N. Buffum becomes mayor.
• Odd Fellows Hall built.
• Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad chartered.
• 1873
• Jacob M. Lewis becomes mayor.
• Soldiers' Monument installed.
• 1876 - Lynn City Item newspaper begins publication.
• 1877 - Samuel M. Bubier becomes mayor.

• 1879
• January - George Plaisted Sanderson becomes mayor.
• June - 250th anniversary of settlement.
• 1880 - Lynn Masonic Hall built.
• 1881
• Henry B. Lovering elected mayor.
• Lynn Woods established.
• St. Stephen's Memorial Episcopal Church built.
• Saint Mary's Boys High School established.

• 1882 - Lynn's Henry B. Lovering is elected to the United States House of Representatives.
• 1883
• William L. Baird becomes mayor.
• Thomson-Houston Electric Company in business.
• 1885
• John R. Baldwin becomes mayor.
• G.A.R. Hall built.
• 1886 - George D. Hart becomes mayor.
• 1887
• English High School established.
• Henry Cabot Lodge becomes Massachusetts's 6th congressional district representative.
• 1888
• March 11–14 Lynn and all of Massachusetts are crippled by the Great Blizzard of 1888
• George C. Higgins becomes mayor.
• Thomson-Houston Electric Company powers the first electric streetcar in Massachusetts: the Highland Circuit of the Lynn & Boston Railway Company
• 1889
• Asa T. Newhall becomes mayor.
• A fire sweeps through the downtown, destroying a large swath of commercial and retail space.
• 1890 - Fabens Building and Tapley Building constructed.
• 1891
• E. Knowlton Fogg becomes mayor.
• Lynn Bank Block and Mowers' Block built.
• 1892
• Elihu B. Hayes becomes mayor.
• General Electric formed by a merger of Edison General Electric Company of Schenectady, New York and Thomson-Houston Electric Company of Lynn.
• Lynn English High School on Essex Street opens
• Lynn Classical High School opened.
• 1893 - Lynn Armory built.

• 1894 - Charles E. Harwood becomes mayor.
• 1895 - Boston and Maine's Central Square station rebuilt.
• 1896
• Eugene A. Besson becomes mayor.
• Post Office built.
• 1897
• Walter L. Ramsdell becomes mayor.
• Lynn Historical Society incorporated.
• 1898 - Lynn Public Library built.
• 1899 - William Shepherd becomes mayor.

20th century

• 1900 - Population: 68,513.
• 1903
• Henry W. Eastham becomes mayor.
• Vamp Building constructed.
• 1904
• second High Rock Tower constructed
• 1905
• St. Michael the Archangel Parish established.
• 431 factories in Lynn.
• 1906 - Charles Neal Barney becomes mayor.
• 1907 Lynndyl, Utah, a town named after Lynn, is founded.
• 1908 - Thomas F. Porter becomes mayor.
• 1909 - James E. Rich becomes mayor.
• 1910 - Population: 89,336.
• 1911 - William P. Connery, Sr. becomes mayor.
• 1913
• George H. Newhall becomes mayor.
• Chamber of Commerce established.

• 1916 - James Street addition to the original Lynn English High School opens
• 1918 - Walter H. Creamer becomes mayor.

• 1921 - Bridge rebuilt on Salem-Boston turnpike.
• 1922
• Harland A. McPhetres becomes mayor.
• Lynn's William P. Connery, Jr. is elected to the United States House of Representatives.
• 1924
• March 29 - Fire destroys the 1892 portion of the original Lynn English High School
• 1926 - Ralph S. Bauer becomes mayor.

• 1928 - An explosion at the Preble Box Toe Company factory kills 20.

• 1930
• Population: 102,320.
• J. Fred Manning becomes mayor.

• 1933 - United States Post Office–Lynn Main built.
• 1937
• March 28 - Highland Circuit electric streetcar line (first electric trolley in Massachusetts) is converted to motor bus operations
• June - Congressman William P. Connery, Jr. dies.
• September - Lawrence J. Connery elected to fill his late brother's Congressional seat.
• November 24 - Manning Bowl stadium opens.
• 1938 - Capitol Diner in business.
• 1940
• Albert Cole becomes mayor.
• Fraser Field opens.
• 1943
• River Works plant opens.
• Mayor Albert Cole resigns to serve in U.S. Army. Arthur J. Frawley becomes acting mayor.
• 1944
• Arthur J. Frawley elected mayor.
• 1946
• Albert Cole becomes mayor.
• Lynn Red Sox baseball team active.

• 1947
• Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute established (approximate date).
• WLYN goes on the air.
• 1949
• City Hall built.
• Lynn Tigers baseball team active.
• 1948 - Stuart A. Tarr becomes mayor.
• 1952
• Arthur J. Frawley becomes mayor.
• Boston and Maine's Central Square station rebuilt.
• 1953 - Lynn's Harry Agganis signs with the Boston Red Sox.
• 1955 - Harry Agganis dies at the age of 26.
• 1956 - Thomas P. Costin, Jr. becomes mayor.

- Musician Brian Maes is born.

• 1959 - The Chicago Bears defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 24–21 in the Cardinal Cushing Charity Game held at the Manning Bowl.
• 1960 - Lynn Sunday Post begins publication.
• 1961
• July - Mayor Thomas P. Costin, Jr. resigns to become Postmaster of Lynn. M. Henry Wall becomes acting mayor.
• November - M. Henry Wall elected mayor.
• 1963 - WBWL begins broadcasting.
• 1965 - North Shore Community College established
• 1966
• Irving E. Kane becomes mayor.
• The Rolling Stones kick off their North American Tour at the Manning Bowl.
• 1970 - J. Warren Cassidy becomes mayor.
• 1972
• January - Pasquale Caggiano becomes mayor.
• April - Pasquale Caggiano dies. Walter F. Meserve becomes acting mayor.
• July - Antonio J. Marino becomes mayor.
• Plans to construct Interstate 95 through Lynn and Lynn Woods Reservation are scrapped
• 1974 - David L. Phillips becomes mayor.
• 1975
• Lynn's Thomas W. McGee becomes Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
• Great Stew Chase footrace begins.
• 1976 - Antonio J. Marino becomes mayor.
• 1980 - Lynn Sailors baseball team formed.
• 1981 - November - Fire levels approximately three square blocks of the downtown, destroying 17 buildings
• 1982 - Lynn Sailors relocate to Burlington, Vermont.
• 1986 - Albert V. DiVirgilio becomes mayor.
• 1990 - The Bay State Titans, a semi-pro football team, is established. The team's Defensive Tackle, Eric Swann, would be selected with the sixth overall pick in the 1991 NFL draft.
• 1992
• Patrick J. McManus becomes mayor.
• Central Square - Lynn MBTA station rebuilt.
• 1999 - New Lynn Classical High School building opened.

21st century

• 2001 - City website online (approximate date).
• 2002 - Edward J. Clancy, Jr. becomes mayor.
• 2003 - North Shore Spirit baseball team begins play.

- Madeline Maes is born.

• 2004 - Regina Maes is born.
• 2005 - Manning Bowl is demolished and replaced by Manning Field.
• 2007 - North Shore Spirit cease operations.
• 2008 - North Shore Navigators baseball team relocates to Lynn.
• 2010
• Population: 90,329.
• Judith Flanagan Kennedy becomes Lynn's first female mayor.
• 2011 - KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate (High School) holds its first class.
• 2012 - KIPP Academy Lynn opens doors the Highlands.
• 2014 - Seasonal ferry service to/from Boston is established

• 2016 - Ferry service is suspended
• 2017 - Ferry service resumes
• 2018
• 200th birthday of Frederick Douglass is celebrated throughout the year
• Thomas M. McGee becomes mayor
• Ferry service is suspended
• 2021
• August 18: The Frederick Douglass Park is dedicated, directly across the street from the site of the Central Square railroad depot where Douglass was forcibly removed from the train in 1841.
• 2022
• January 3: Jared C. Nicholson is sworn in as the 58th Mayor

See also

• Lynn history
• List of mayors of Lynn, Massachusetts
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lynn, Massachusetts
• of other municipalities in Essex County, Massachusetts: Gloucester, Haverhill, Lawrence, Newburyport, Salem
• History of Massachusetts

References

Bibliography

Published in the 18th-19th century

Published in the 20th century

External links

• Works related to Lynn, MA, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).
• Items related to Lynn, Mass., various dates (via US Library of Congress)
• Maps of Lynn (via Boston Public Library, Map Center)
• Images related to history of Lynn (via Lynn Public Library)