ON the fourteenth day of May, 1850, the town organization, under which Lynn had lived peacefully and happily for two centuries, was superseded by the city form of government, The change was not made without a struggle, and for two successive years Mr. George Hood, one of the most public-spirited men of the time, successfully led the opposition to the proposed measure: but the majority of the people were against him. Notwithstanding his pronounced opposition, his fellow-citizens were quick to see his course was governed by motives of public spirit and solicitous regard for the best welfare of the town, and at the first election of city officers, he was chosen Mayor by a small majority. The first City Government was organized on the date above named, with Daniel C. Baker as President of the Council, and Richard Bassett as City Clerk. Under the careful guidance of Mayor Hood, the machinery of the new city was soon made to run smoothly. His large business experience and knowledge of public affairs, gained by several years' service in the General Court and other public positions, specially fitted him for the duties of Mayor, and he devoted himself with as much energy to promoting the interests of the city as he had to opposing the acceptance of the city charter. The second year he was re-elected by a very large majority, showing that the people recognized his faithful service in their behalf. The third year de declined a renomination. Among the more important events of the two years of Mayor Hood's administration may be mentioned the readjustment of the hours of labor, whereby ten hours came to be accepted as a day's work- in bringing this change about, Mayor Hood bore a leading part - the High School building on High street was dedicated; an effort was made to preserve Long Beach from the encroachments of the sea by planting a line of red cedars along the ridge; the excavation in Dungeon Rock was begun by Hiram Marble; a grand reception was tendered to Louis Kossuth; and the sewing machine was introduced. The shoe industry was in a highly prosperous condition. Largely through the efforts of Mr. Samuel Brimblecom, who died in 1850, the methods of carrying on the business had been simplified and systematized, and the manufacturers found a ready market for their product at remunerative prices. The total valuation of the city was $4,834,843, and the municipality started out with a debt of $56,960.
     In 1852 Swampscott was set off as a separate town, and the following year Nahant gained her majority. The following years were uneventful beyond the ordinary happenings of New England towns. The financial depression of 1857 rested heavily upon rich and poor alike, and during the struggle to regain the ground lost, the foundation was laid for the great strike of 1860, which created a decided sensation throughout the country. The hanging of John Brown, in 1859, again roused the slavery-hating citizens of Lynn to a high pitch of indignation, and the bells were tolled at sunrise, noon and sunset. In 1860 the valuation of the city was $9,649,065, population 19,087, showing a gain of 50 per cent. in population, and 100 per cent. in wealth, during the decade.
     In 1861 came the news of the fall of Fort Sumter. The first call for troops by President Lincoln met with a prompt response from Lynn. In five hours after the proclamation was received, two full companies were armed and ready for duty, and the following terse dispatch was sent to headquarters: " We have more men than guns-what shall we do?" At eleven o'clock the next day, April 16th, they left for the seat of war. These two companies - the Lynn Light Infantry, Capt. George T. Newhall, and the Lynn City Guards, Capt. James Hudson, Jr.-were attached to the Eighth Massachusetts Regiment, of which Timothy Munroe, of Lynn, was colonel. Capt. Newhall is still among us, hale and hearty, and wields a pen as mighty for peace, morality and earnest living as his sword was for freedom and the integrity of the Union. The regiment performed honorable, though not very bloody service, and returned after its three months' term without the loss, by death, of a man. Meanwhile the war spirit had kept at fever heat, and enlistments went rapidly forward. Throughout the war Lynn supported the Government loyally, and gave of her men and means without stint. Large and enthusiastic war meetings were held, and great inducements in the way of bounties for volunteers offered, with the result of keeping her quota more than full. During the war Lynn furnished 3,274 men for the field - 230 more than her full quota. Many of those who went into the war from Lynn in private or subordinate positions rose to places of honor and distinction, and not a few who went came not back. Out of those who did return has been organized the largest Post of the Grand Army of the Republic in the country. Those were stirring times in Lynn, and to describe the great war meetings, the departure of troops for the front, the rejoicings over victories achieved, the funeral honors paid to slain soldiers, and the other moving incidents of those memorable days, would require larger limits than this volume affords.
     Hon. Peter M. Neal was Mayor of the city during 1862-5. In those times the duties devolving upon the chief magistrates of our cities were varied and constant. In addition to the routine work of the office, there were the added duties arising from the raising and equipping of troops, the general oversight of all relief operations, and the many questions and requests coming from the friends of those at the front. During the four years of his administration, he generally worked from sixteen to eighteen hours a day. He was indefatigable in his exertions in alleviating the sufterings of our soldiers and their families, and many times visited the army and hospitals, carrying good cheer and messages from home to those in the field, and relief and comfort to the wounded. After the close of the war, for many years he continued his care and service for the soldiers and their families, obtaining for many pensions from the Government, although he would never take any compensation for his efforts. Mr. Neal is a native of Maine, and was born in North Berwick Sept. 21, 1811. His parents were Quakers, and he received his education and early training in the Friends' schools. After leaving school, until 1850 he was engaged in teaching in Maine. In that year he came to Lynn and engaged in the lumber business, in which he still continues.
     The burning of the old City Hall, which from the time of its building, in 1814, until 1832 had stood in the center of the Common, and thereafter on South Common street, left the city without an official home until the new City Hall was completed in 1867. The new building was dedicated on Saturday, Nov. 30. The whole day was generally observed as a holiday. The dedicatory exercises were of a very interesting nature, consisting of addresses, poem, etc., and, what was of equal interest to very many, a free collation in the basement, served at noon. The beautiful structure thus dedicated is justly regarded as one of the chief ornaments of the city. The many conveniences for the transaction of public business which it aftords, and the beneficent influence which it has exerted upon the architecture of the city, have made it worth the cost, which was about $312,000. From this time on, the growth and development of the city has been rapid. The shoe industry, which from the earliest times had been carried on in the little shops scattered here and there over the city, had been gradually developing toward the factory system, and to center about the railroad station. There were no steam engines in Lynn at that time, but the change taking place in the methods of the business rendered them a necessity, and they were soon after introduced; and during the few years ending in 1874 many of the large factories were built. Business was good, real estate rapidly advanced in price, and values of all kinds rapidly expanded. The following year the financial crash came. Real estate declined more rapidly than it had risen, failures were numerous, and business had a blue time generally. This depression lasted nearly two years. The recovery was gradual but healthy, and since that time the growth of the city, while being measurably rapid, has been regulated by the demand of the time rather than by any speculative movement. The shoe business and its collateral branches has steadily expanded. The later years have been prolific of labor troubles, and the inducements held out by various country towns have caused many of our manufacturers to locate a part of their business outside the city, where they hoped to be free from disturbance of this nature. At present, many towns in Maine and New Hampshire receive their principal business impulse from the operations of Lynn capital and brains in their midst, and hence may almost be looked upon as outlying wards of the city proper.
     The two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Lynn was celebrated in 1879, on the 17th of June. In all these many years she has enjoyed a steady increase both in population and business importance. Though possessing a large water frontage, the harbor is approachable only by a small class of vessels, the channel being both narrow and shallow. Yet when the Lynn yachtsmen come together in their annual regattas. the harbor presents an animated appearance. In respect to her harbor she has been, for all commercial purposes, less fortunately situated than some of her sisters who started in life about the same time with herself. Yet this very fact is now seen to have contributed largely to her success. Little of her capital and few of her citizens being engaged in shipping or foreign commerce, the emhargoes and blockades resulting from our numerous wars inflicted very little loss or hardship here, and she was left free to develope the peculiar industry for which her people and soil seem best adapted; and having a home market for her manufacture, the disturbances at home and abroad, which oftentimes had a well-nigh disastrous effect upon many seaboard towns, troubled her but little, and that only incidentally. The foundations of the city's prosperity were laid broad and deep, and consist not more in the reputation for excellence, finish and cheapness of her product, than upon the inborn enterprise and ability of her manufacturers and the skill and faithful work of her mechanics. And enough business has gone from Lynn, to escape labor troubles and take advantage of the inducements offered by country towns, to make, if all were collected together, another city of almost equal size and importance with herself.
     The census of 1885 credits Lynn with a population of 45,867, with 13,278 polls, a valuation of $28,459,243, and a tax roll of $533,130.53; 7,144 houses on 564 streets, places and courts, make up the city. A Police Department with 44 patrolmen guard the peace of the town; a Fire Department of five steamers, one chemical engine, four hose companies, and two hook and ladder companies, protect us from conflagrations. One High, seven Grammar and sixty-four Primary schools, besides numerous private schools, provide for the education of our youth, and the spires of twenty-six churches point the way to a better life. A free public library of 32,000 volumes furnishes good reading to whomsoever chooses to avail themselves of its advantages, and the social, charitable and protective associations number one hundred and three. Connection with the outer world is maintained by the Boston & Maine, Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn, and the Lynn and Boston (Horse) Railroad Companies. Five National Banks facilitate our business exchanges, and two Savings Banks guard the small savings of the people. It may, therefore, be asserted that Lynn is not only a city having a history and a goodly heritage, but also is possessed of all the advantages and appliances of a live, modern manufacturing town, and an industry that is destined in the future, as it has done in the past, to keep her in the front rank of the sisterhood of the cities in the Commonwealth. As we pass on, we shall have occasion to examine many features of our modern city more in detail, and to get something of an idea of her resources and developments of her social life.