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Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 28,619 at the 2020 census. Saugus is known as the site of the first integrated iron works in North America.

History

Native Americans inhabited the area around Saugus for thousands of years prior to 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.

In 1646, the Saugus Iron Works, then called Hammersmith, began operations. It was the first integrated iron works in North America as well as one of the most technologically advanced in the world. The Iron Works produced over one ton of iron a day, but was not financially successful. It closed around 1670.

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 to strengthen the spirit of independence in Saugus and was instrumental in seeing that Saugus sent a large contingent to fight 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.

Saugus' first post office was established in 1832 in East Saugus. In 1858 two more were established—one in Saugus Center and one in Cliftondale. Now only the Cliftondale post office remains in Saugus.

The first town hall was built in 1837. It was built with $2,000 of the United States revenue surplus distributed by President Andrew Jackson. It is currently an American Legion hall. In 1875, the town built its second and current town hall on Central Street. The construction of the town hall put Saugus in a $50,000 debt. For this and other reasons the neighborhood of East Saugus sought to be set off from Saugus and annexed to the city of Lynn. East Saugus was unable to get a bill in both houses of the state legislature, and the issue was dropped after the town appropriated $5,000 for the laying of water pipes through East Saugus.

Passenger trains ran through Saugus from 1853 to 1958 on the Saugus Branch Railroad. There were three Saugus Branch stations in Saugus (Saugus Center, Cliftondale, and Pleasant Hills) and two just outside the town's borders in Lynn (East Saugus) and Revere (Franklin Park).

During the American Civil War, 155 Saugonians enlisted in the Union Army, and eight others enlisted in the Union Navy. Saugus native Gustavus Fox served as the United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the