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'Swampscott' is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,412 at the 2000 census. A former summer resort on Massachusetts Bay, Swampscott is today a residential community which includes the village of Beach Bluff, as well as the unincorporated community of Clifton. The town is home to ''Marian Court College''.

Contents

History

Town seal

Geography

Demographics

Points of interest

References

External links

History

Swampscott was first settled in 1629 as the eastern part (Ward One) of Lynn, but would be set off and officially incorporated in 1852.
Swampscott, a beach town north of Boston, Massachusetts (measuring 3 square miles, and abutting Salem, Marblehead and Lynn) was an important destination for the wealthy at the beginning of the 20th century; while Revere Beach, which lies just several miles down the road, has the honour of technically being America's first public beach, Swampscott was the defacto first resort town. Lynn (also known as the "city of sin," because it was laden with speak-easies during prohibition) was the divider between the poor beach and the rich resort town. The name 'Swampscott' comes from the language of a local native American tribe. The following is verbatim from the official Swampscott web page: "History of Swampscott."
Early historical accounts of Swampscott indicated that the Native Americans, referred to as Naumkeags, came to what was called the "land of the red rock" in the seventeenth century to fish and hunt.
Originally part of the large Saugus land grant and later the eastern part of Lynn’s Ward One, Swampscott was settled and established in 1629 when Francis Ingalls came and built the first Massachusetts Bay Colony tannery on Humphrey’s Brook. Long known as a seafaring fishing village, Swampscott hosted a large commercial fishing fleet which sailed daily from our protected bay. Early accounts of Swampscott considered it a “community of modest means” and indicated that one man in three was a fisherman. Of the rest, a goodly number were shoemakers (also known as "cordwainers"), shoe cutters (known as "clickers"), yeomen or farmers and merchants.
In the late 1700s, Ebenezer Phillips learned the dry fish process from the Naumkeags and set up a processing facility for cod whereby the cod was dried, put in barrels and shipped all over the world. Phillips’ business was a success and he became one of this country's first millionaires.
From its fishing interests, Swampscott reached worldwide status as the place where Ebenezer Thorndike invented the lobster pot in 1808 to revolutionize lobster harvesting. Also, The Swampscott Dory, a fishing boat still in use throughout the world today, was invented in 1840 by Ralfus Brackett to row and to pull lobster pots. The dory was considered the best seaworthy boat for fishermen due to its unique flat-bottomed design.

A few large resorts were built in the 1800s which attracted wealthy patrons, families and businessmen from across the country. Many stayed and built grand homes in the area which played a vital role in the town’s diverse history.
Swampscott separated from Lynn when a group of 97 petitioners told the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that: 1. They are situated somewhat remote from the central portion of Lynn; and 2. That their business is different from that of the principal part of Lynn; and 3. That their convenience and interests would be promoted by a separate government, especially after the citizens of Lynn opted to switch from a town to a city form of government.
Lynn offered no substantial opposition…so…the legislature passed an enabling act which authorized the organization of a separate town government under the date of May 21, 1852. On October 9, 1852 Lynn was paid $5,450.00 for the land it lost to the new community now known as the "Town of Swampscott." In 1857, land at the far western edge of Salem known as the “Salem Finger” was annexed to Swampscott, bringing the total land area to 3.05 square miles.

Alongside Swampscott’s fishing heritage came the advent of large hotels and homes as the community attracted summer residents from every corner of the world. There were also homes of specific historical significance. For example, John Humphrey, the first deputy governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, lived in an attractive saltbox home in 1637 which is now home to the ''Swampscott Historical Society'' at 99 Paradise Road and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Stately homes which evolved in Swampscott include Professor Elihu Thomson’s Georgian revival mansion with its unique and ornate interior carvings. Professor Thomson founded the ''Thomson-Houston Electric Company'', which became the ''General Electric Company'' via a merger with Thomas Edison's company. The building, designed by James T. Kelley, now serves as the ''Town Administration Building'', and is also listed on the National Historic Register. The ''Fish House'', at Humphrey Street on Fisherman's Beach, is the only municipal fish house on the East Coast. Built in 1896 on land taken by eminent domain, the Fish House was built to consolidate the many fishing structures that stretched along the oceanfront obscuring views of the ocean and subtracting from the area's appeal. The Fish House is an historic building and part of the National Register of historic places. It is also home to the Swampscott Yacht Club and the ''Swampscott Sailing Program''.
Andrew Preston, founder of the ''United Fruit Company'', had one of the major summer estates in Swampscott. The Preston estate covered over 100 acres and included its own golf course. Architect Arthur Little built several of the first shingle-styled homes in Swampscott, all expansive summer homes with ocean views and most with ballrooms.

The hotel and boarding house business flourished to serve the influx of summer visitors with the ''Ocean House'', the ''Hotel Preston'', the ''Lincoln House Hotel'', the ''Hotel Bellevue'' and the ''New Ocean House Hotel''. Notable summer guests, including President Calvin Coolidge and his wife, and Woolworth heiress Ethel Donahue, frequented the town's lavish accommodations.
None of the large hotels remain standing today, most having been destroyed by fire or savage coastal storms, and most of the large estates have been subdivided into single family homes.
Nevertheless, Swampscott has retained the essence of a quiet setting along the north shore of the Atlantic Ocean with the soothing sounds of the ocean lapping along the seashore.

Town seal

The town's seal depicts Captain James Phillips on the deck of the fishing schooner Dove, the first fishing schooner owned by members of the town. It was purchased in 379 and was wrecked off the coast of Swampscott in 378. A second schooner, purchased shortly thereafter, met a similar fate. By 1799, the fishermen owned their third schooner, which like the first, was named the Dove. The seal was officially adopted in 1881.

Geography

Swampscott is located at (42.474409, -70.905883).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 17.4 km² (6.7 mi²). 7.9 km² (3.0 mi²) of it is land and 9.6 km² (3.7 mi²) of it (54.83%) is water. Located beside Massachusetts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, Swampscott is drained by Humphrey's Brook.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,412 people, 5,719 households, and 3,986 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,824.4/km² (4,725.9/mi²). There were 5,930 housing units at an average density of 750.7/km² (1,944.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.47% White, 0.74% Black or African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.27% of the population.
There were 5,719 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the town the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $71,089, and the median income for a family was $82,795. Males had a median income of $56,541 versus $38,690 for females. The per capita income for the town was $45,487. About 2.5% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

★ Elihu Thomson House

★ Fishermans Beach

★ Fish House

★ John Humphrey House

★ Mary Baker Eddy Historic House

★ Now defunct Kid's Cove
Former lead singer of the 80's muli platinum band Van Halen David Lee Roth was born in Swampscott and lived there until his teen years

References

External links

★ Town of Swampscott

★ Marian Court College

★ Clifton Improvement Association

★ Swampscott Historical Commission

★ Swampscott Public Library

★ Essex Images

★ Landscape Photos of Swampscott's shore