Swampscott Memorial Arboretum
A Bit Of History
The Swampscott Arboretum was first described in the 1945 report from the Park Commissioners John Homan and Frederick C. Burk. That year Town Hall went through a major transition from being a private residence to becoming the administration building for the Town of Swampscott and the Park Department worked on re-grading and landscaping the grounds around Town Hall. The report included a list of 43 memorial trees that were donated and were going to be planted in the Spring of 1946 with bronze plaques to identify the trees, the donors and the person in which memory it was planted. Many of the trees were donated in memory of fathers, sons and brothers and we assume that these were men memorized for their service in wars.
How the Plaques Were Found
On September 3, 2021, a volunteer was operating a forklift moving a pallet with supplies for Swamptoberfest when the floor of the garage collapsed. The volunteer was briefly trapped but not seriously injured. After the dust settled, Gino Cresta (Head of DPW) found 38 of the plaques from the memorial arboretum in the garage basement.
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The Tree Task Force wants to share this great discovery with you and see if we can learn more about the history of our Town and organize a fundraiser to replant some of the trees of the arboretum that have been lost.
If you are interested in this project, know more about the Swampscott Memorial Arboretum and/or the people who were donor or memorialized please fill out the contact us form. If you are interested in donating money to support the restoration of the Arboretum please let us know!
The plaques were found here when the garage floor collapsed.
Verena and Molly cleaning and photographing the plaques found in the garage basement.