Lynn

History

The area that is now known as Lynn was inhabited for thousands of years by Native Americans prior to English colonization in the 1600s. At the time of European contact, the area today known as Lynn was primarily inhabited by the Naumkeag people under the powerful sachem Nanepashemet who controlled territory from the Mystic to the Merrimack Rivers. Colonists would not establish a legal agreement with the Naumkeag over the use of their land in Lynn until 1686 after a smallpox epidemic in 1633, King Philip's War, and missionary efforts significantly reduced their numbers and confined them to the Praying town of Natick. European settlement of the area was begun in 1629 by Edmund Ingalls, followed by John Tarbox of Lancashire in 1631. The area today encompassing Lynn was originally incorporated in 1629 as Saugus, the Massachusett name for the area. Three years after the settlement in Salem, five families moved onto Naumkeag lands in the interior of Lynn, then known as Saugus, and the Tomlin family constructed a large mill between today's Sluice and Flax Ponds. The mill not only supplied grains and sustenance for the settlers and trade with the Naumkeag people, but was used to create brews and many fermented casks of hops and wines to send back to King George in England. Lynn takes its name from King's Lynn, Norfolk, England, in honor of Reverend Samuel Whiting (Senior), Lynn's first official minister who arrived from King's Lynn in 1637. As English settlement pushed deeper into Naumkeag territories, disease, missionary efforts, and loss of access to seasonal hunting, farming, and fishing grounds caused significant disruption to Naumkeag lifeways. In 1675, Naumkeag sachem Wenepoykin joined Metacomet in resisting English colonization in King Philip's War, for which he was…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (19.87%) is water. Lynn is located beside Massachusetts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Lynn's shoreline is divided in half by the town of Nahant, which divides Lynn Harbor to the south from Nahant Bay to the north. The city lies north of the Saugus River, and is also home to several brooks, as well as several ponds, the largest being Breed's Pond and Walden Pond (which has no relation to a similarly named pond in Concord). More than one-quarter of the town's land is covered by the Lynn Woods Reservation, which takes up much of the land in the northwestern part of the city. The city is also home to two beaches, Lynn Beach and King's Beach, both of which lie along Nahant Bay, as well as a boat ramp in Lynn Harbor. Lynn is located in the southern part of Essex County and is northeast of Boston and west-southwest of Cape Ann. The city is bordered by Nahant to the southeast, Swampscott to the east, Salem to the northeast, Peabody to the north, Lynnfield to the northwest, Saugus to the west and Revere (in Suffolk County) to the south. Lynn's water rights extend into Nahant Bay and share Lynn Harbor with Nahant. There is no land connection to Revere; the only connection is the General Edwards Bridge across the Pines River. Besides its downtown district, Lynn is also divided into East Lynn and West Lynn, which are further divided into even smaller areas. Lynn is loosely segmented into the following neighborhoods: Central: * Downtown / Business District * Central Square West Lynn: * Pine Hill * McDonough Sq./ Barry Park * Tower Hill / Austin Sq. – Saugus River * The Commons * The Brickyard * Walnut St./Lynnhurst * Veteran's Village East Lynn: * Diamond District / Lynn…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  112,089
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  102,087
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  96,824
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  95,680
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  89,990
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  86,021
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  81,077
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  79,824

Largest nearby schools

• Lynn English High
  High · Lynn · 2,176 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Classical High
  High · Lynn · 1,818 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School
  High · Hathorne · 1,694 students · 11.2:1 ratio
• KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School
  Other · Lynn · 1,612 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• Lynn Vocational Technical Institute
  Other · Lynn · 1,523 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• Peabody Veterans Memorial High
  High · Peabody · 1,476 students · 12.3:1 ratio
• Beverly Middle School
  Middle · Beverly · 1,367 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• J Henry Higgins Middle
  Middle · Peabody · 1,346 students · 13.2:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.8 — 2025-01-27
  9 km SE of York Harbor, Maine
• M 2.7 — 2023-12-23
  5 km SW of Chichester, New Hampshire
• M 2.7 — 2018-02-15
  0 km SE of East Kingston, New Hampshire
• M 2.9 — 2010-06-07
  29 km SE of York Beach, Maine
• M 2.8 — 2008-03-09
  25 km SE of York Beach, Maine
• M 2.5 — 2007-10-19
  2 km WSW of Littleton Common, Massachusetts