page_title: Swampscott, Massachusetts
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Swampscott, Massachusetts / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Whale Beach, Swampscott, MA; from a 1909 postcard.
context_page_description: Swampscott is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located 15 miles up the coast from Boston in an area known as the North Shore. The population was 13,787 as of 2010. A former summer resort on Massachusetts Bay, Swampscott is today a fairly affluent residential community and includes the village of Beach Bluff, as well as part of the neighborhood of Clifton. It is known for its quiet suburban character and four lovely beaches. The town was home to the scenic oceanfront Marian Court College until 2015.
context_section_description: The English-sounding name "Swampscott" actually comes from the language of a local Native American tribe, which means "red rock".
  Swampscott was first settled in 1629, as the eastern part (Ward One) of Lynn, and was set off and officially incorporated in 1852. In 1857, a piece of the far western end of Salem, then known as the "Salem Finger," became part of Swampscott. A beach town north of Boston, measuring 3 square miles (7.8 km²) and abutting Salem, Marblehead and Lynn, Swampscott 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 honor of technically being America's first public beach, Swampscott was the de facto first resort town. Lynn was the divider between the poor beach and the rich resort town.
  Swampscott's public school system includes three elementary schools: Hadley School, Clarke School, and Stanley School; one middle school, Swampscott Middle School; and one high school, Swampscott High School. The Machon elementary school was shut down in 2008/9, but the property remains on the district's rolls. A new building was completed in 2007 for Swampscott High School. In 2011, Swampscott considered installing a wind turbine, with the approximate height of a 30-story building, on the property of the Swampscott Middle School but ultimately rejected the project.
caption: Whale Beach in 1909
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