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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 2004 - KIPP Lynn Academy opens.
 * 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