Saugus dates to 1629, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 90% of U.S. towns · #153 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks and two historic districts with 6 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Saugus’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Saugus is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #153 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Saugus’ overall grade.
Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Saugus’ 5.2 sits below most of its state (22% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1629.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Saugus’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Native Americans inhabited the area around Saugus for thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers in the 1620s. At the time of European arrival, the Naumkeag, also known as Pawtucket, under the leadership of Montowampate were based near present-day Saugus and controlled land extending from what is now Boston to the Merrimack River. English settlers took the name Sagus or Saugus from the Pawtucket word for "outlet", and used the term to refer to the Saugus River and the region that includes the present day cities and towns of Swampscott, Nahant, Lynn, Lynnfield, Reading, North Reading and Wakefield) which were later renamed Lin or Lynn in 1637, after King's Lynn in Norfolk, England.
Passages that mention Saugus, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Saugus, Massachusetts1916 · page 83Read the page →
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Section 2 — Be it further enacted, that the said town of Saugus shall be entitled to hold such proportions of all the real and personal estate now belonging to and owned by the inhabitants of the town of Lynn as the property of the inhabitants of the town of Saugus now bears to the property of all the inhabitants of the town of Lynn, according to the latest valuation thereof, excepting always all rights of common landing places and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Saugus, Massachusetts1916 · page 82Read the page →
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of Essex lying and being situate within the boundaries of the Second Parish in Lynn aforesaid, together with the inhabitants therein, be and the same is incorporated into a separate town by the name of Saugus, viz. : Beginning at Bride's brook, so called, and continuing as the said brook runs until it meets the river that runs between Chelsea and Lynn, and then by said river until it meets Pines river, and then by said Pines river until
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial anniversary of the town of Saugus1915 · page 30Read the page →
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by authority of the same: That all that part of the town of Lynn in the County of Essex lying and being situate within the boundaries of the Second Parish in Lynn aforesaid, together with the inhabitants therein, be and the same is incorporated into a separate town by the name of Saugus, viz. : Reginning at Rride's brook, so called, and continuing as the said brook runs until it meets the river that runs between Chelsea and Lynn, and then by said river until if meets Pines river, and then by said Pines river until it meets Saugus river, and then along Saugus river by the middle of said river to Great bridge, so called, then running from said bridge a straight line to the easterly
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial anniversary of the town of Saugus1915 · page 13Read the page →
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Hawkes continues: "The name is a reminder of a controversy which was the beginning of the end of the Town of Lynn — the first step which led up in later years to the creation, first of the Town of Lynnfield, and second of the Town of Saugus. For seventy years all the people had worshipped as one parish. The hardship of the long miles from Lynnfield bore upon the outdwellers. A committee representing the three sections which we know as Lynn, Saugus and Lynnfield attempted to CHOOSE a site for the meetinghouse which should be reasonably convenient for all. They selected this now wooded hill as about equally distant from each locality. Lynn objected. Lynnfield was set off as a parish or district, Nov 17, 1712, and its inhabitants were to be freed from parish taxes as soon as a meetinghouse
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Saugus, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1629, according to Wikidata. Saugus’ post office opened in 1831, and the census of 1820 counted 748 people here.
How does Saugus rank for history?
Saugus is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #153 of 283 in Massachusetts. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Saugus?
4 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 2 buildings, among them the Boardman House (a National Historic Landmark since 1961), and 2 historic districts, the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site and the Breakheart Reservation Parkways-Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston, with 6 contributing buildings. 15 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Saugus?
29% of Saugus’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1962.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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