Greenwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Saugus

 

Greenwood Nursing and Rehab is proud to serve Saugus. Saugus was first settled in 1629. Saugus is an Indian name believed to mean "great" or "extended". In 1637, the territory known as Saugus (which also contained the present day cities and towns of Swampscott, Nahant, Lynn, Lynnfield, Reading, and Wakefield) was renamed Lin or Lynn, after King's Lynn in Norfolk, England.

 

The Saugus Iron Works, in operation from 1646 to 1668, was the first integrated iron works in North America. It is now a U.S. National Historic Site.

In September 1687, Major Samuel Appleton was said to have given a speech from a rocky cliff near the Iron Works denouncing the tyranny of Colonial Governor Sir Edmund Andros. The place where he is said to have delivered the speech became known as Appleton's Pulpit.

 

Nearly 100 men from Saugus fought in the American Revolutionary War. Saugus' preacher, Parson Joseph Roby, worked hard to strengthen the spirit of independence in Saugus and was instrumental in seeing that Saugus sent a large representation to participate in the war.

 

The nineteenth century ice industry began in Saugus when in 1804 Frederic Tudor cut ice from a pond on the family farm and shipped it to Martinique.

In 1805 the Newburyport Turnpike (now U.S. 1) was built. About four miles of this road was built in Saugus. At first the turnpike was considered a mistake, as it was built over hills and swamps and grass soon grew over the road bed. From 1840 to 1846, the tolls were discontinued and it became a public highway. The invention of the automobile resulted in an increase of traffic on the Turnpike. In 1933 the road was widened and an overpass was added to separate the traffic on Route 1 and Main Street. In the 1950s new businesses began moving to Route 1. Today the businesses along Route 1 generate millions in dollars for Saugus.

 

The Lynn territory was shortened beginning in 1814 with the incorporation of Lynnfield. On February 17, 1815, present-day Saugus was officially incorporated as a town. The first town meeting was held on March 13, 1815 in the parish church. At the time of its incorporation, Saugus' population was 784. Its main industry was agriculture.

 

During the Industrial Revolution, many new industries moved to Saugus. Shoes and woolen goods were made in Saugus Center, and tobacco was manufactured in Cliftondale and East Saugus. Following the American Civil War, the Cliftondale section of Saugus became a major producer of tobacco as many of the southern tobacco plantations were in ruins. The Waitt & Bond tobacco house became a major producer of cigars and the snuff factory in East Saugus was the nation's largest producer of that product. Due to its thriving tobacco industry, Saugus was dubbed the "Winston-Salem of the North."

Present day, Saugus is divided into several neighborhood villages, including Saugus Center, East Saugus, North Saugus, Pleasant Hill, Lynnhurst, Oaklandvale and Cliftondale. Of these, the majority of the town's population resides in Lynnhurst, Pleasant Hills, Cliftondale, East Saugus and Saugus Center.er.