Carpet Cleaning Swampscott

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.
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 (7.8 km2), 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.
Whale Beach in 1909

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