Swampscott dates to 1629, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #11 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Elihu Thomson House, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 554 buildings. Below: 23 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1846.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Swampscott’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Swampscott is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #11 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 2 inputs put Swampscott near the top nationally; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Swampscott’s 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 Swampscott’s 365 sits above most of its state (88% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 558 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1629.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 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 Swampscott’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
The area in and around Swampscott, Massachusetts has been inhabited by indigenous people for thousands of years; radiocarbon dating at archeological sites on the North Shore of Massachusetts places artifacts at around 10,000-11,000 years old, towards the end of the Younger Dryas period. 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 and Rhode Island. It's estimated that 50-100 indigenous individuals resided in the Swampscott area at the time of European colonization. A series of epidemics following European colonization, including smallpox, killed many of the indigenous people living in the area, and it's estimated that fewer than 50 individuals remained by the late 17th …
Passages that mention Swampscott, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men1888 · page 252Read the page →
Read the text
and incorporated under the name Saugus, thus reviving the old name in that detached portion of the territory. In 1852 still another portion was set off, and the new town of Swampscott came into being. The next year, 1853, the pleasant little peninsula of Nahent was unbound and made a separate municipality. By these facts it will be seen that it is very difficult to treat those municipal children of Lynn as
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.
On the map
Swampscott on the map, 1892 to 1997
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Swampscott. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Boston Bay sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Swampscott.
Every building
Swampscott, building by building, 1907–1920
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. Swampscott’s post office opened in 1846, and the census of 1860 counted 1,530 people here.
How does Swampscott rank for history?
Swampscott is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #11 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 Swampscott?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Elihu Thomson House (a National Historic Landmark since 1976), and 1 historic district, the Olmsted Subdivision Historic District, with 554 contributing buildings. 558 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Swampscott?
41% of Swampscott’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (18), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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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