History Saugus, Massachusetts

saugus civil war memorial , town hall

during american civil war, 155 saugonians enlisted in union army , 8 others enlisted in union navy. saugus native gustavus fox served united states assistant secretary of navy during war. uss saugus, union navy monitor named after town launched in december 1863. following war henry e. hone donated large granite monument town of saugus. monument, designed melzar hunt mosman , cost $10,000 build, contains names of of men saugus served during civil war on bronze tablets. above tablets 2 bronze statues, 1 of soldier , 1 of sailor. topped granite statue of woman wearing helmet eagle on top , holding shield in right hand, serves allegorical representation of united states. monument erected in rotary @ saugus center in 1875.

following civil war, cliftondale section of saugus became major producer of tobacco many of southern tobacco plantations had been destroyed. waitt & bond became major producer of cigars , snuff factory in east saugus nation s largest producer of product. due thriving tobacco industry, saugus dubbed winston-salem of north .

from 1859 1905, saugus home franklin park harness racing track. known old saugus race track or saugus race course. closed in 1905 after local citizens complained questionable patrons racetrack attracted. in 1911 racetrack became airfield. in 1912, property purchased general aviation corporation named atwood park in honor of famous pilot, harry atwood. airfield saw first airmail delivery in new england on may 30, 1912. pioneer aviators ruth bancroft law , lincoln j. beachey flew @ saugus. airport closed in 1920s.

on october 8, 1900, george e. bailey murdered @ breakheart hill farm in saugus. legs , torso found 9 days later in floating bridge pond in lynn. head , arms found there next day. after highly publicized investigation , trial, john c. best found guilty of murder. executed on september 9, 1902.

in 1934, breakheart hill forest, private hunting retreat located in north saugus, purchased metropolitan district commission use state park. shortly after purchasing breakheart, mdc turned land on civilian conservation corps, built roads , trails, planted trees, , restored 2 dams on property. in 1936, breakheart reservation opened public.

wheelabrator technologies waste-to-energy plant in saugus became first commercially successful incineration plant in u.s.

following june 2, 1947, referendum, town adopted plan e form of government. saugus became first town in massachusetts accept form of government. on february 16, 1948, james shurtleff unanimously chosen board of selectmen become first town manager of saugus.

saugus iron works national historic site

in 1948, archaeologist roland w. robbins began excavating site of saugus iron works, had become hidden underbrush since closure. based on archeological evidence gathered robbins historical documents , conjecture, first iron works association, funding american iron , steel institute, reconstructed saugus iron works. saugus iron works opened on september 18, 1954 , operated private museum 1954 until april 5, 1968, when renamed saugus iron works national historic site , became part of national park service system.

saugus home oldest barber shop in united states. 112-year-old george s barber shop located in cliftondale section of saugus.

in 1970s, town, led town manager francis moorehouse, attempted transform area around route 107 having oil refinery , garbage incineration plant built. although refinery plans fell through in october 1975, incineration plant completed. become first commercially successful incineration plant in u.s. , still in operation today.

saugus public library

in 1989, attempted murder of frank salemme angelo mercurio took place in saugus.

during 1990s , 2000s, town s capital improvement plan, designed edward j. collins, jr., resulted in construction of new public safety building, senior center, library , public works facility. saugus town hall , stackpole field clubhouse renovated. in 2001, town manager steven angelo able secure federal funds dredge saugus river, project had lingered since 1960s.

the saugus american little league team represented new england in 2003 little league world series. team finished tournament in 4th place. come-from-behind victory on richmond, texas in tournament s quarterfinals nominated best game espy award.