The Town of Swampscott is home to one of the oldest homes in the country. In 1637, the John Humphrey house was built. The King of England gave the land the house was built on to Sir John Humphrey; he was the deputy governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This house has been remodeled many times up until 1891. First built on a side street in Swampscott, Elmwood Road. It was then moved to its present location 99 Paradise Rd. Paradise road is one of the main roads through Swampscott. The house has been owned by many different people throughout history, in 1922 the Swampscott Historical Society became the owners and remains to this date. It is located on the National Register of Historic Buildings. This house contains some very interesting items, like the floor boards in the house are still the original floorboards used when the house was made. Nails were very expensive so the house is constructed with pegs. The back door of the house actually had a design in nails, showing that the owner of the house was wealthy. Also there was a secret panel that hid a secret passageway leading into the chimney; this was so the owner could hide in case of danger. In the back of the house there is a birthing room. The kitchen and the birthing house both have very low ceilings; they are the oldest parts of the house. The Humphrey House located in Swampscott is a very great piece of History. People are welcome to visit during scheduled visiting hours.
Above: John Humphrey House
Facts:
-Swampscott overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and you can see Boston from the shore
-Mary Baker Eddy was the founder of the Christian Science Religion, she was resident of Swampscott when she found the healing power of Christ, this is now a major religion throughout the world.
-Elihu Thompson, founder of the Thompson-Houston Electric company which is now known as General Electric, lived in a house which is now the Town Hall of Swampscott
- Johnny Pesky, former third baseman for the Red Sox Currently lives in Swampscott
-Mike Lynch sportscaster of Channel 5 and Leslie Stahl of CBS's 60 minutes grew up and attended school in Swampscott.
- Kim Carrigan of Channel 7 News and Frank Short Sports producer of Channel 5, are residents of Swampscott
- The center of town is called Monument Avenue, this was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, and he was the same designer that designed Central Park.
-Swampscott has a College in town called, Marian Court College
Above: Swampscott Town Hall
In Swampscott their are five main beaches which are the main attractions in the summer time they are called: Whale Beach, King's Beach, Preston Beach, Phillips Beach, and Fishermans' Beach
During the latest Census Survey that was done for the town of Swampscott Ma:
The number of people in Swampscott was: 14,412
The Number of Men in Swampscott was: 6,685
The number of Women in Swampscott was: 7,727
The white race precent is 97.5%
"Swampscott Massachusetts (MA) Census and Detailed Community Profile - AmericanTowns.com." AmericanTowns.com: Online Local Community Network - Connecting The Community Is What We Do Best. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. .
"Swampscott, MA." The Official Site of Swampscott, MA. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. <http://www.town.swampscott.ma.us/Public_Documents/SwampscottMA_
WebDocs/trivia>.
"Swampscott's Historic Humphrey House Will Be Open to All Sunday - Swampscott, MA - The Swampscott Reporter." Massachusetts News - - WickedLocal.com. Web. 05 Dec. 2010.