If Saugus were to have a Freedom Trail…

There are a few landmarks and sites dating back to the Revolutionary War that would make it possible to have a walking tour around town

By Mark E. Vogler

Boston has its iconic Freedom Trail, which spans two and a half miles throughout the city, giving those who choose to walk it a taste of the city’s history, with many of the sites focusing on the American Revolution. Saugus could have its own Freedom Trail, too, as there are a number of landmarks and sites around town with direct ties to the birth of a new nation declaring its independence 250 years ago tomorrow.

In preparing this week’s edition we put this question to a handful of local historians as well as members of the Saugus 250th Celebration Committee:

“If somebody were to do a freedom trail in Saugus, where would the stops be?”

A consensus answer from the Saugus historians and history buffs who responded to The Saugus Advocate was the Revolutionary War Cemetery.

Longtime town historian and writer Janice Jarosz noted this comment from the Saugus Historical Commission dated June 2005:

“Revolutionary War Cemetery

“The tombstone of Parson Joseph Roby and many other early Saugonians are contained in this historic burial ground. Located at the intersection of Main and Central Street, the Cemetery was associated with the Third Parish Church when Saugus became an independent town in 1815.

“The church originally stood where the Civil War Monument now stands, and the cemetery extended from there to the central walkway. In the late 1800s, the development of the rotary island around the monuments resulted in the relocation of many graves from the roadway areas to the space to the west of the central walkway.”

Jean Swanson, a member of the Saugus Historical Commission and a member of the Saugus 250th Celebration Committee, texted us a copy of “Saugus Center, A Historic Walk,” produced by the Saugus Historical Commission in September 2015. The pamphlet mentioned the old cemetery with the exact wording. The cemetery was the only site on the walking tour talk from the American Revolution era.

Laura Eisener, president of the Saugus Historical Society, who writes “The Saugus Gardens” column for The Saugus Advocate, offered several ideas for sites that should be on a Saugus Freedom Trail. She mentioned the monument in the old cemetery, which includes the monument that lists the minutemen who went to Concord/Lexington on April 19. As another, she mentioned the marker on a stone in the rotary in Cliftondale put up by the DAR to the “Sons of Saugus.”

“Probably others have suggested those two locations, but here are two slightly less obvious – Appleton’s Pulpit which was the site of a rebellious speech well before the fighting actually broke out in Lexington, and Saugus Ironworks because without this industrial capacity the Colonies would be severely dependent on Europe,” Eisener continued.

Eisener offered these as possible candidates:

• “The original meeting house/church opened in 1750 with Parson Joseph Roby as its minister from 1750-1803. It was approximately where the Civil War Monument stands today. It was an intersection rather than a rotary at that time.
• “Ironworks House AKA Appleton Taylor Mansfield House – built in 1685 or so, was still owned by the Appleton family but not occupied by them. There may have been tenants – factory or farm workers – living in the house during the Revolution. Later the Mansfield Family took it over. 244 Central St. At Saugus Ironworks National Park. Ironworks not in operation by the time of the Revolution and industrial buildings dismantled before then.
• “The Boardman House at 17 Howard St., owned by the Historic New England was built in 1692 and at the time of the revolution was occupied by Aaron Boardman and his family and residents probably included an enslaved man named Mark. This house was owned by descendants of the Boardmans until the early 20th century. Several Boardmans served in the Revolution.
• “Near where Lincoln Ave and Ballard St. meet was the Rising Sun Tavern, and also a spring where Washington later stopped as they traveled between Boston and the North Shore when Washington visited the states after his election as President, and then in 1824 when Lafayette made his return visit, when he laid the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument. The exact spot is not known as far as I can tell and there are no markers.”

Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian, a longtime participant in projects spotlighting the history of Saugus, didn’t make any recommendations for a Saugus Freedom Trail list. He instead offered an analytical response. “The values of independence, human dignity, and pursuit of happiness expressed in the Declaration of Independence are visible throughout the history of Saugus. The Scottish indentured servants who came to work in the Iron Works as a means to gain their freedom or the most recent newcomers to Saugus seeking a better life exemplify those values,” Manoogian said.

“While our neighbors are changing, the values that newcomers bring to Saugus are the same. Look around you at your neighbors, how hard they work as clerks, contractors, and small business owners. Saugus history, in my view, is not what ‘was’ but rather what ‘is,’ an enduring theme of independence, self-reliance, in our uniquely Saugus way to pursue happiness,” he said.

Readers are welcome to share their views on what a Revolutionary War-themed Freedom Trail in Saugus should include. Email me at mv***@*****st.net.