Lynn, MA Summary

One of Massachusetts’ oldest communities, this industrial city of 81,200 on Massachusetts Bay, a few miles northeast of Boston, was named Saugus when it was settled in 1629. In 1637 it was renamed for the English town of King’s Lynn. Shoemaking began here in 1635, and eventually grew in importance to make Lynn the leading shoe-manufacturing center in the country early in the twentieth century. That industry declined, and now Lynn’s economy includes the manufacture of turbines, generators, jet engines, electrical lamps, and processed foods.

Places of interest include the Grand Army of the Republic Museum, and the Mary Baker Eddy Historical House, once the home of the founder of the Christian Science Church (tours are available).

Lynn Woods Reservation, a 2,200-acre city park, offers hiking, rock climbing, picnicking, and cross-country skiing. The Lynn Heritage State Park Visitor Center at 590 Washington Street provides information about the city’s history, as well as the histories of the towns of Nahant and Swampscott. Nearby is the landscaped 41⁄2-acre Waterfront Park, with a long boardwalk and views across Lynn Harbor and Massachusetts Bay.

Lynn can be reached via highways 1A and 107, and air service is available at Boston’s Logan International Airport.