# 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.
* 1934 - President of the Massachusetts Poetry Society Jeanette Maes is born.
* 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