September‎ 24‎, ‎2023 – Lynn, Massachusetts

Difficulty: Easy

Parking: 30 Circuit Ave, Lynn, MA 01902

Parking is available at the circle at the end of Circuit Avenue.

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Overview:

High Rock Reservation (aka High Rock Park) is a city park in the Highlands neighborhood of Lynn, Massachusetts. Designed in 1907 by the Olmsted Brothers, the roughly 7-acre park encompasses the summit area of a hill with commanding views of the surrounding area, as well as the Atlantic Ocean which is approximately half a mile away.

The park’s principal attraction is the High Rock Tower, a stone structure measuring 85 feet high and completed in 1905. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

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History:

In the 17th century, High Rock served as meeting place for the Pawtucket tribe and as the headquarters of their chief, Nanepashemet.

In the late 1840’s, Jesse Hutchinson (1813-1853) of the Hutchinson Family Singers, a politically-active abolitionist singing group, purchased the 5-acre parcel of land at the summit of High Rock.

In 1847, Jesse Hutchinson made plans to build the original High Rock Tower, which was designed by local surveyor, architect and historian Alonzo Lewis. The tower was completed in 1848 and a piazza and balcony were later added to the structure.

The Hutchinson family felt very strongly about making High Rock open to the public and believed it should be used as an “Institute of Advanced Thought” and a “free rostrum for the decision of all the great questions of the day.”

Toward the end of Jesse Hutchinson’s life in 1853, he decided to give the summit of High Rock to the city for the construction of an observatory.

During the Civil War, the Hutchinson family held nightly concerts and rallies on the property. Eventually the tower fell into disrepair and vandals burned it down in celebration of the Fall of Richmond in April of 1865.

By 1904 the city also purchased additional land around the summit to create High Rock Reservation, which is now one of Lynn’s oldest parks.

In 1905, the city constructed High Rock Tower, which was designed by H.K. Wheeler & Charles Betton and made of granite. High Rock Tower was built on top of an outcrop of porphyry (crystal filled granite). The tower was officially dedicated in December 1905.

High Rock Tower is featured prominently on the Lynn city seal.

High Rock Tower was added to the National Register of Historical Places on October 11, 1979.

The lands surrounding the tower were protected by The Trust for Public Land and conveyed to the City of Lynn in 1988.

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The Tower:

In 1905, the City of Lynn commissioned the construction of the 85-foot stone, Romanesque-style High Rock Tower. It was designed by architects H.K. Wheeler and Charles Betton.

The City of Lynn periodically opens the tower and observatory to the public for free use of the telescope. Registrants are offered night-sky investigations of galaxies, star clusters, planets and the surface of the Earth’s moon.

In 1998, High Rock Tower was restored with the help of a Massachusetts Historical Commission grant and a new astronomical observatory replacing the original observatory.

In 1906, from April to December, 50,000 people visited the High Rock Tower. Today the tower is mostly closed to visitors, although the base around the tower is open for those that are seeking views.

Rising to a height of 170 feet above sea level, High Rock is less than three-quarters of a mile from the ocean and commands unobstructed views of Boston, Nahant, and Swampscott.

Egg Rock (sometimes called Elephant Rock) in Nahant Bay, is a 3-acre island southeast of High Rock Tower. It was formerly the site of a lighthouse known as Egg Rock Light but now is owned by the state of Massachusetts as a bird sanctuary. Egg Rock can be seen clearly from the coasts of Nahant, Swampscott, and Lynn. Egg Rock is the setting for Sylvia Plath’s poem “Suicide off Egg Rock,” and also appears in her novel, The Bell Jar.

Since this is a short and easy walk, it can be combined with other stone towers in the area. Slayton Memorial Tower is about 7 miles away in Melrose, and Wright’s Tower is about 18 miles away in Medford.

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Sources:

• High Rock Cottage and High Rock Tower
• High Rock Tower – Visit Lynn
• High Rock Tower Reservation
• The Spirits’ Machine at High Rock
• High Rock Tower – North of Boston
• High Rock – Location, History, and Legends
• High Rock Tower – GoXplr
• National Register of Historic Places
• High Rock Tower – History of Massachusetts Blog
• Massachusetts Historical Commission

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