Swampscott () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Essex County, Massachusetts Essex County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the total population was 809,829, making it the third-most populous county in the stat ...

, United States, located up the coast from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in an area known as the North Shore. The population was 15,111 as of the 2020 United States census. A former summer resort on

Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its northern and sout ...

, Swampscott is today a fairly affluent residential community and includes the village of Beach Bluff, as well as part of the neighborhood of Clifton.

History

The area in and around Swampscott, Massachusetts has been inhabited by indigenous people for 12,000 years. Prior to European colonization, the town was inhabited by members of the Naumkeag, Pennacook, and Pawtucket groups and Massachusett tribe. They spoke an Eastern Algonquin language, and the Pawtucket migrated seasonally throughout the eastern coasts of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. It's estimated that 50-100 indigenous individuals resided in the Swampscott area at the time of European colonization. A series of

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...

s following European settlement, including

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

, killed many of the indigenous people living in the area, and it's estimated that fewer than 50 individuals remained by the late 17th century. Wood's ''New England Prospect'' lists "Swampscott" as a noted habitation in 1633 before extensive European settlement. According to an early twentieth century source, the name "Swampscott" is variously said to mean "at the red rock", "broken waters", or "pleasant water place". Indigenous people in the Swampscott area subsisted on seasonally determined activities, including hunting, fishing, collecting wild plants and

shellfish Shellfish, in colloquial and fisheries usage, are exoskeleton-bearing Aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrates used as Human food, food, including various species of Mollusca, molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish ...

, and

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

. They hunted

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

marine mammal Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine enviro ...

s, upland game birds, and

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

s, and cultivated crops like

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

pumpkin A pumpkin is a cultivar, cultivated winter squash in the genus ''Cucurbita''. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many dif ...

, squash, and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

. Swampscott was first colonized by Europeans in 1629 when Francis Ingalls settled there and built the first

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

tannery. Ingalls observed that the town's indigenous population lived in wigwams extending from Black Will's Cliff along the entire north shore. Swampscott has an important Revolutionary War site: the final home of General John Glover in Vinnin Square. During the War, the property was seized from Loyalist William Browne; Glover bought the land in 1781. The 1750s era Glover farmhouse, embedded in a former restaurant, is threatened with demolition for new development. The town was first settled as the eastern part (Ward One) of Lynn, and was set off and officially incorporated in 1852. In 1867, 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 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 A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...

. Lynn was the divider between the poor beach and the rich resort town. Swampscott Public Library

Education

The community lies within the Swampscott School District. Swampscott's public school system includes one elementary school, Swampscott Elementary School; one middle school, Swampscott Middle School; and one high school, Swampscott High School. The Machon elementary school was shut down in 2007, and is now a mixed-income senior community. After construction of Swampscott Elementary School was completed in 2024, the Hadley Elementary School was shut down. Stanley Elementary School and Clarke Elementary School are also located in Swampscott. 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. In a special election on October 19, 2021, voters approved a new $98 million elementary school to be built on the site of the Stanley School. This new school replaced all former schools and opened to students in September 2024.

Geography and transportation

Swampscott is located at (42.474409, −70.905883). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of 6.7 square miles (17.4 km²), of which 3.0 square miles (7.9 km²) is land and 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²), or 54.83%, is water. Located beside Massachusetts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, Swampscott lies along a mostly rocky shoreline, though there is enough clear shore for five beaches; Phillips which stretches into Preston and is by far the largest beach in town, Eisman's and Whales, Fisherman's, and a part of King's Beach, which extends into Lynn. There are several small parks, along with the small Harold King Forest in the northwest corner of town and the Tedesco Country Club which bisects part of the town. The town also has two small ponds, Foster Pond and Palmer Pond.

Great Black-backed Gull Swampscott MA June 2024

Swampscott is mostly suburban, with most of the clear land in the northwest corner of town. There are three villages within town, Beach Bluff to the east, Phillips Point to the south, and Phillips Beach inland between the two. The town is centered around Monument Square, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted; which is south of Salem, northeast of

, and southwest of Cape Ann. The town is to the nearest point in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, in the town of Salem. Swampscott is bordered by Marblehead to the northeast, Salem to the northwest, and Lynn to the southwest. The water rights of the town extend into Massachusetts Bay, bordered by those of Marblehead and Lynn.

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, there were 15,111 people, with 6,093 households and 2.45 persons per household, residing in the town. The population density was . The racial makeup of the town was 91.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.2% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian or

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

, 2.6% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.6% of the population. There were a total of 6,093 households, out of which 30% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 57% of households were married couples living together, 26.6% were a female householder with no spouse, and 10.3% were a male householder with no spouse. Of all households, 18.2% were made up of individuals, and 10.9% were individuals over the age of 65 living alone. In town, the population was spread out, with 5.4% under 5 years, 20.5% under 18, 55.5% between the ages of 18 and 64, and 18.6% 65 years and over. The median age of residents was 45 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males. The median household income was $114,086, and the median income for a family was $143,320. Married-couple families had a median income of $156,341 and non-family households had a median income of $60,880. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $63,585. The town is ranked 54th on the List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income. About 5% of Swampscott residents were below the poverty line, including 4% of those under 18 years, 4.2% of those 18-64, and 9.1% 65 years and older. The homeownership rate was 73.4%, and the median value of owner-occupied housing units was $560,500. The median home sale price for the town in 2007 was $565,894. Home values typically range from around $400,000 to upwards of $5 million for ocean front homes. These prices are comparable to other wealthy North Shore towns such as Marblehead and Manchester-by-the-Sea which are located nearby. In upper class oceanfront neighborhoods and neighborhoods with ocean views or views of the Boston skyline, average home prices increase to as much as $1,038,569 and average household incomes can range upwards of $150,000. Larger oceanfront properties have recently been assessed at values greater than $5 million and in some cases upwards of $10 million.

Historic buildings and sites

* Elihu Thomson House: 1889 built home, now serves as Swampscott Town Hall * John Humphreys House: 1700s house, one of the oldest in town, now home to Swampscott Historical Society * Mary Baker Eddy Historic House: house where Mary Baker Eddy lived in the 1860s, one of considered birthplaces of

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...

. * Swampscott Fish House: 1896 built structure, the oldest active fish house in the country. * General Glover Farm: 1700s built house and farm, home to Revolutionary war hero General John Glover. * Swampscott Railway Depot: 1868 built railroad depot for the Eastern Railroad. * Olmsted Subdivision Historic District, located on Monument Avenue Swampscott was home to White Court,

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

's Summer White House, and later Marian Court College until the college's closure in 2015, and demolition in 2018-2019.

Transportation

The MBTA provides

passenger rail A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

service from Boston's North Station with the Swampscott station on its Newburyport/Rockport Line, as well as several bus lines. An abandoned 4-mile branch of the Boston & Maine Railroad originating in Swampscott serves as the Marblehead Rail Trail. Swampscott is located along Massachusetts Route 1A and Route 129. Both routes enter from Lynn, with Route 1A passing north of the town center towards Salem, and Route 129 following the coast for a half mile before going inland north of Phillips Point and returning to the coast before heading into Marblehead. There is no highway within town, which lies well south of Massachusetts Route 128 and

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

. The town is served by numerous MBTA bus routes which lead into the surrounding towns. The nearest air service can be reached at Beverly Municipal Airport, and the nearest national and international air service can be found at Boston's Logan International Airport.

Notable people

* Bill Adams, retired NFL player * Harold Alfond, founder of Dexter Shoe * Osborne Anderson, ice hockey player who competed in the

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 ...

* Anthony Athanas, restaurateur and philanthropist *

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician serving as the sixth president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 72nd governor of Massa ...

, C.E.O. of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Inc.,

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the chief executive, head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonw ...

* Charles Henry Bond, president and general manager of Waitt & Bond, one of Boston's largest real estate holders, and a patron of the arts * Carol Brady, fictional TV mom *

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Come and Get It (1936 film), Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky (film), Kentucky'' (19 ...

, multiple Academy Award-winning actor *

Freddy Cannon Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr. (born December 4, 1936), better known by his stage name Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singing, singer. His biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", ...

, rock singer who had hits with " Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" and " Palisades Park" * Spencer Charnas, lead singer of American Metalcore band Ice Nine Kills * Peggy Stuart Coolidge, composer and conductor *

Kyle Cooper Kyle Cooper is an American designer known for his Title sequence, main title sequence work. He has produced and directed over 350 visual effects and title sequences for Film, motion pictures and Broadcasting, broadcast. Early life Childho ...

, film director, title designer *

Mabel Wheeler Daniels Mabel Daniels, also known as Mabel Wheeler Daniels, (November 27, 1877 in Swampscott, Massachusetts – March 10, 1971 in Boston) was an American composer, Conducting, conductor, and teacher. She attended Radcliffe College and studied with ...

, composer, conductor, and teacher * Jamie Denbo, actress and comedian *

Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (née Baker; July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author, who in 1879 founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, the ''Mother Church'' of the Christian Science movement. She also founded ''The C ...

, founder of the

religion * Larry Eigner, poet * Jefferson Friedman, composer * Robert K. Rainer, American attorney and professor * General John Glover, Revolutionary war veteran and hero in who helped row Washington's troops across Delaware and at

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at and near the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn ...

* Mel Goldstein, chief meteorologist for WTNH television in New Haven, Connecticut *

Nan Goldin Nancy Goldin (born 1953) is an American photographer and activist. Her work explores in snapshot-style the emotions of the individual, in intimate relationships, and the Bohemian style, bohemian LGBT subcultural communities, especially dealing w ...

, artist, photographer, activist * Barry Goralnick, founder of Barry Goralnick Architects; theatrical producer of ''Eve-olution'', ''Scituate'', ''The Irish Curse'', ''Saint Heaven'' *

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, original guitarist of the rock group Boston and the Lisa Guyer Band * Sarah P. Harkness, architect * Jim Hegan, professional baseball catcher and coach * Mary-Louise Hooper, civil rights activist *

Dick Jauron Richard Manual Jauron (; October 7, 1950February 8, 2025) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played eight seasons in the NFL as a safety, five with the Detroit Lions and three with t ...

, professional football player and head coach of the NFL's

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, and Buffalo Bills * Harvey Jewell, Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1868 to 1871 * Theodora J. Kalikow, American academic and university president * Jackson Katz, anti-domestic violence advocate * Michael Kelly, journalist and magazine editor * Piper Kerman, author of '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison'' * Ken Linseman, former professional hockey player (

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and

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) * Bradley Lord, 1961 US men’s figure skating champion who died in the Sabena Flight 548 crash * Todd McShay,

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

NFL draft prospect analyst *

Gerhard Neumann Gerhard Neumann (October 8, 1917 – November 2, 1997) was a German-American aviation engineer and executive for General Electric's aircraft engine division (which today is called GE Aerospace). Born and raised in Germany, he went to Chin ...

, German-born aviation engineer and innovator; former vice president of

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* Chris Paine, documentary director * Michael Palmer, author of ''The First Patient'' * Barry Pederson, former NHL and Bruins all star; current

NESN New England Sports Network, popularly known as NESN , is an American regional sports cable and satellite television network owned by a joint venture of Fenway Sports Group (which owns a controlling 80% interest, and is the owner of the Boston ...

hockey analyst * Johnny Pesky, pro baseball coach, former

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shortstop * Antonio Pierro, recognized as the oldest living man in the U.S. (January 9 to February 8, 2007) and the world's oldest living World War I veteran (January 24 to February 8, 2007) * David Portnoy, founder of

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David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...

, lead singer of the rock group

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* Blondy Ryan, World Series Champion, Major League Baseball shortstop for the New York Giants. * George P. Sanger, lawyer, editor, judge, and businessman * Mark Shasha, artist, author of '' Night of the Moonjellies'' * Fran Sheehan, original bass player of the rock group

* Jim Smith, State Representative, MA House of Representatives. *

Lesley Stahl Lesley Rene Stahl (born December 16, 1941) is an American television journalist. She has spent most of her career with CBS News, where she began as a producer in 1971. Since 1991, she has reported for CBS's ''60 Minutes''. She is known for her ne ...

, ''

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'' correspondent * Thomas Stephens, Retired player for the NFL's

Patriots A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

* G. Joseph Tauro, Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1970 to 1976 *

Elihu Thomson Elihu Thomson (March 29, 1853 – March 13, 1937) was an English-American engineer and inventor who was instrumental in the founding of major electricity, electrical companies in the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Early life He ...

, founder of General Electric *

Ilario Zannino Ilario Zannino (June 15, 1920 – February 27, 1996) was an American mobster who was a member of the Patriarca crime family of New England. Zannino was said to be the third-highest-ranking figure in the Boston faction of the Patriarca family, r ...

, member of the Patriarca crime family

References

External links

Town of Swampscott official website

Swampscott Historical Commission

Swampscott Public Library

Clifton Improvement Association

Marian Court College

Landscape Photos of Swampscott's shore

Photographs of landmarks and historic places in Swampscott, MA
{{authority control 1629 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony Populated coastal places in Massachusetts Populated places established in 1629 Massachusetts placenames of Native American origin