Timeline of Lynn, Massachusetts facts for kids

This is a timeline showing important events in the history of Lynn, Massachusetts, a city in Massachusetts, USA.

Early Years: 1600s and 1700s

• 1629 - The area known as Saugus was founded. One of the founders was Edmund Ingalls.
• 1637 - The town of Saugus changed its name to Lynn. This was to honor Reverend Samuel Whiting, who was Lynn's first official minister. He came from a town called King's Lynn in England.
• 1642 - The Saugus Iron Works started operating. This was an important place for making iron.
• 1644 - Reading became its own town, separate from Lynn.
• 1720 - A cemetery was started in Lynnfield.
• 1732 - A cemetery was started in Saugus.
• 1782 - Lynnfield became a separate town.
• 1793 - Lynn got its own post office.
• 1797 - Lynn's population was 2,291 people.

Growing Up: The 1800s

• 1803 - A special 'Floating Bridge' was built on the road between Salem and Boston.
• 1810 - Lynn's population grew to 4,087 people.
• 1812 - The Eastern Burial-Place, another cemetery, was started.
• 1814 - The Town House, a building for town meetings, was built.
• 1815
  • Saugus became its own town, separate from Lynn.
  • A "Social Library" was formed, where people could borrow books.

The Lyceum building

• 1830 - The Lynn Record newspaper began publishing.
• 1838
  • The Eastern Railroad started running trains through Lynn.
  • The Lynn Natural History Society was formed to study nature.
• 1840 - The population reached 9,367 people.
• 1841
  • The Lyceum building was constructed. It was a place for lectures and performances.
  • Frederick Douglass, a famous writer and speaker against slavery, moved to Lynn.
  • September 28 - Frederick Douglass was forced off an Eastern Railroad train at Lynn Central Square station. This happened because he refused to sit in a separate car for Black passengers.
• 1845 - While living in Lynn, Frederick Douglass wrote his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.
• 1847 - High Rock Cottage, also called "Stone Cottage," was built by Alonzo Lewis for the Hutchinson Family Singers.
• 1848 - The first High Rock Tower was built.
• 1850
  • May 14 - Lynn officially became a city!
  • George Hood became Lynn's first mayor.
  • Pine Grove Cemetery was officially opened.
• 1851 - Lynn's first High School building was constructed.
• 1852
  • May - Swampscott became a separate town.
  • June - Benjamin Franklin Mudge became mayor.
• 1853
  • February - The Saugus Branch Railroad opened for passengers. It had four stations in Lynn.
  • March - Nahant became a separate town.
  • April - Daniel C. Baker became mayor.

Ezra W. Mudge

• 1854 - The Lynn Weekly Reporter newspaper began publishing.
• 1855 - The Lynn Library Association was started.
• 1856 - The African Methodist Episcopal Church was established.
• 1858 - The telegraph service began in Lynn, allowing faster communication.
• 1860 - The 1860 New England Shoemakers Strike began in Lynn. This was a major protest by shoemakers for better working conditions.
• 1862 - The Free Public Library was established, making books available to everyone.
• 1863 - The Boston & Lynn Horse Railroad started operating, using horse-drawn streetcars.
• 1865 - April 19 - The original High Rock Tower was destroyed by fire.
• 1866 - Mary Baker Eddy had an important experience in Lynn that Christian Scientists believe marked the beginning of their religion.

Music Hall

• 1867 - The City Hall building was officially opened.
• 1868 - The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was organized.
• 1870 - The Music Hall opened, a place for concerts and shows.
• 1872
  • Shoemakers went on strike again.
  • The Odd Fellows Hall was built.
• 1873 - The Soldiers' Monument was put in place to honor soldiers.
• 1876 - The Lynn City Item newspaper began publishing.

St. Stephen's Memorial Episcopal Church

• 1879 - June - Lynn celebrated its 250th anniversary!
• 1880 - The Lynn Masonic Hall was built.
• 1881
  • The Lynn Woods was established, creating a large park and nature area.
  • St. Stephen's Memorial Episcopal Church was built.
  • Saint Mary's Boys High School was established.

G.A.R. Hall and Museum

• 1883 - The Thomson-Houston Electric Company started its business in Lynn.
• 1885 - The G.A.R. Hall was built.
• 1887 - The English High School was established.
• 1888
  • March 11–14 - Lynn and all of Massachusetts were hit by the Great Blizzard of 1888, a huge snowstorm.
  • The Thomson-Houston Electric Company powered the first electric streetcar in Massachusetts. It was the Highland Circuit of the Lynn & Boston Railway Company.
• 1889 - A large fire swept through downtown Lynn, destroying many buildings.
• 1890 - The Fabens Building and Tapley Building were constructed.
• 1891 - The Lynn Bank Block and Mowers' Block were built.
• 1892
  • General Electric was formed! It was a merger of Edison General Electric Company and Thomson-Houston Electric Company of Lynn.
  • A new English High School building opened on Essex Street.
  • Lynn Classical High School also opened.
• 1893 - The Lynn Armory was built.

Emblem of Lynn Historical Society, 1898

• 1895 - The Boston and Maine's Central Square station was rebuilt.
• 1896 - The Post Office building was constructed.
• 1897 - The Lynn Historical Society was officially started.
• 1898 - The Lynn Public Library building was constructed.

The 20th Century: 1900s

Vamp Building

Central Square, around 1920

• 1900 - Lynn's population reached 68,513 people.
• 1903 - The Vamp Building was constructed.
• 1904 - The second High Rock Tower was built.
• 1905
  • St. Michael the Archangel Parish was established.
  • There were 431 factories operating in Lynn.
• 1907 - Lynndyl, Utah, a town named after Lynn, was founded.
• 1910 - The population grew to 89,336 people.
• 1913 - The Chamber of Commerce was established to help local businesses.

English High School 1916 section

• 1916 - A new section was added to the original Lynn English High School.

Walter H. Creamer

• 1921 - The bridge on the Salem-Boston turnpike was rebuilt.
• 1922 - Lynn's William P. Connery, Jr. was elected to the United States House of Representatives.
• 1924 - March 29 - A fire destroyed part of the original Lynn English High School building from 1892.

Lynn Post Office

• 1928 - An explosion at the Preble Box Toe Company factory tragically killed 20 people.

Lynn Beach, State Bath House, Lynn, Mass. (postcard from 1930)

• 1930 - The population reached 102,320 people.

Capitol Diner

• 1933 - The United States Post Office–Lynn Main building was constructed.
• 1937
  • March 28 - The Highland Circuit electric streetcar line, which was the first electric trolley in Massachusetts, was changed to use motor buses instead.
  • November 24 - The Manning Bowl stadium opened.
• 1938 - The Capitol Diner started its business.
• 1940 - Fraser Field opened, a baseball stadium.
• 1943 - The River Works plant opened.
• 1946 - The Lynn Red Sox baseball team was active.

Lynn City Hall

• 1947 - WLYN radio station went on the air.
• 1949
  • The City Hall building was constructed.
  • The Lynn Tigers baseball team was active.
• 1952 - The Boston and Maine's Central Square station was rebuilt.
• 1953 - Lynn's own Harry Agganis signed with the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
• 1955 - Harry Agganis sadly passed away at the young age of 26.
• 1959 - The Chicago Bears football team played against the Philadelphia Eagles in a charity game at the Manning Bowl.
• 1960 - The Lynn Sunday Post newspaper began publishing.
• 1963 - WBWL radio station began broadcasting.
• 1965 - North Shore Community College was established.
• 1966 - The Rolling Stones started their North American Tour at the Manning Bowl.
• 1972 - Plans to build Interstate 95 through Lynn and Lynn Woods Reservation were stopped.
• 1975 - Lynn's Thomas W. McGee became the Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
• 1980 - The Lynn Sailors baseball team was formed.
• 1981 - November - A large fire destroyed 17 buildings in downtown Lynn.
• 1982 - The Lynn Sailors baseball team moved to Burlington, Vermont.
• 1990 - The Bay State Titans, a semi-pro football team, was established.
• 1992 - The Central Square - Lynn MBTA station was rebuilt.
• 1999 - A new Lynn Classical High School building opened.

The 21st Century: 2000s and Beyond

• 2001 - The city's website went online.
• 2003 - The North Shore Spirit baseball team began playing.
• 2005 - The Manning Bowl stadium was taken down and replaced by Manning Field.
• 2007 - The North Shore Spirit baseball team stopped playing.
• 2008 - The North Shore Navigators baseball team moved to Lynn.
• 2010
  • Lynn's population was 90,329 people.
  • Judith Flanagan Kennedy became Lynn's first female mayor!
• 2011 - KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate (High School) held its first class.
• 2012 - KIPP Academy Lynn opened its doors in the Highlands neighborhood.
• 2014 - Seasonal ferry service to and from Boston was started.

Downtown Lynn and the MBTA Lynn station in 2015

Downtown Lynn in 2016

• 2016 - The ferry service was stopped.
• 2017 - The ferry service started again.
• 2018
  • The 200th birthday of Frederick Douglass was celebrated throughout the year.
  • The ferry service was stopped again.
• 2021 - August 18: The Frederick Douglass Park was officially opened. It is right across the street from where Douglass was removed from the train in 1841.
• 2022 - January 3: Jared C. Nicholson became Lynn's 58th Mayor.

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