Lynn, Massachusetts
Essex county. Lynn is one of the flourishing and beautiful towns in the state. It lies on a plain, surrounded by rising ground, except on the east, where it opens to Lynn bay, embracing the romantic peninsula of Nahant, with its beautiful beach, and Phillips' Point, both highly esteemed resorts for all classes of people;—the sick, the serious, and the gay. The soil of the town is fertile and well cultivated. It is watered by the river Saugus, the Indian name of the place. The town is neatly built on wide and pleasant streets, and contains a population of about 10,000. It lies 9 miles N.E. from Boston and 5 S.W. from Salem.
Lynn has risen to wealth and importance by the enterprise and industry of its people, in the manufacture of shoes, particularly for which, more than any other town in the country, it is justly celebrated. The manufacture of ladies' shoes was commenced here before the revolutionary war, and it is curious to observe the great changes that have occurred in the fashion and manufacture of that article.
In the year ending April 1, 1837, there were manufactured in Lynn 2,543,929 pairs of shoes, and 2,220 pairs of boots, valued at $1,689,793. In this manufacture, 2,631 males and 2,554 females were employed; total number, 5,185. During that time the manufacture of vessels, cordage, tin ware, oil casks, morocco leather and shoe boxes amounted to $188,409. During the same period there were 5 vessels employed in the whale and 14 in the cod and mackerel fishery. Besides this, 4,608,000 pounds of cod, haddock, halibut and other fish were taken in boats and sold fresh. The total value of the fisheries amounted to $170,320. Total value of the manufactures and fisheries of Lynn, in one year, $2,048,522. Lynn was first settled in 1629. Incorporated, 1637.
