Long Description:About the Town Hall
The Elihu Thomson House (built 1889) is a historic house located at
22 Monument Avenue, Swampscott, Massachusetts. ?It is a National
Historic Landmark and currently serves as Swampscott Town Hall, it
is right next to the public library and directly across from a
Chabad Lubavich synagogue.
The house was designed by architect James Kelly for the noted
inventor, electrical engineer, and industrialist Elihu Thomson who
was, with Thomas Edison, co-founder of General Electric Company.
The house was built with an observatory, no longer extant.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976
Source: ("http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elihu_Thomson_House"
target="_blank">visit link)
About the town:
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 1909A 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 (7.9 km2).
The Boulevard in 1910Alongside 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
Humphreys, 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 Swampscott 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 (0.40 km2) 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 New Ocean House Hotel circa 1920The 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 although some
still remain to this day. These estates can sell for price upwards
of 3 to 4 million dollars. Swampscott's quiet suburban character,
many beaches, good school system, and easy access to Boston make it
a very desirable town to live and raise a family in.
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.
Source:
("http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swampscott,_Massachusetts"
target="_blank">visit link)