To all who live within the borders of the ancient township of Lynn, the history of each part of that township has an abiding interest. The little settlement at Saugus, which later became an independent town, is one of the oldest in Massachusetts. As the scene of the first attempt to develop an iron industry in the United States, as the home of many families which have given distinguished men both to the State and the Nation, Saugus has a peculiar claim upon our attention. There is much to be learned from the history of the town as there is from the history of all the early towns of New England.<br><br>These New England towns with their methods of government and the pure democracy of the town meeting have had an influence upon the history of the United States which it is hard to overestimate, for the children of these towns, scattered through the length and breadth of the land, have carried with them the traditions, liberal education, and conduct of life which are so strong in these early little settlements which began on our New England coast nearly three hundred years ago.